by Hillary Sciscoe | Apr 4, 2024 | Case studies and stories
As nurse practitioners, we encounter a myriad of challenges when managing patients with mental health disorders. One such challenge is navigating the impact of lifestyle factors on psychotropic medication efficacy and safety. Let’s explore a fictional scenario...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, APRN, PMHNP | Jun 27, 2023 | Best practices, Case studies and stories
As mental health providers, we’re often tempted to jump straight to treatment when a patient comes to us with a problem. However, skipping the crucial foundational steps can lead to misdiagnosis, inappropriate medication prescribing, and a vicious cycle of...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, APRN, PMHNP | Sep 16, 2021 | Case studies and stories
I have a very clear memory of a time I felt completely out of place as a nurse practitioner. Annoyingly, this wasn’t even in my first few weeks or months into being a nurse practitioner. I was probably about a year into practice as a nurse practitioner when I...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, APRN, PMHNP | Sep 10, 2021 | Case studies and stories
The pattern is unmistakable. Hearing Tracey from my office engage in small talk with each of my patients as she walks them through the hallway and brings them to her office before seeing me. The routine was always the same—pleasant conversation about how things had...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, APRN, PMHNP | Aug 27, 2021 | Case studies and stories
Challenging the ‘Non-Compliant Patient’ Label: A Nurse Practitioner’s Perspective on Addiction Treatment As a nurse practitioner working in outpatient addiction treatment, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the healthcare system approaches patients...
by Claire Ellerbrock, DNP, APRN, PMHNP | Jul 14, 2021 | Advocacy, Case studies and stories
What if I told you that you would die up to 25 years earlier than you were expected to? 25 years sooner. Many individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) experience this loss of life. Individuals with SMI die on average 10-25 years earlier than the general population...