Cases That Test Your Skills
Cases That Test Your Skills
The patient nobody liked
Mr. L’s recurrent suicidality and aggressive, disruptive behaviors anger patients and hospital staff. What is his diagnosis? How would you get him...
Cases That Test Your Skills
One patient’s ‘shot’ at redemption
Mr. B believes shooting himself in the abdomen expunges his guilt. Is he delusional? Depressed? Obsessive-compulsive? Is another psychopathology...
Cases That Test Your Skills
A young man’s ‘trips’ to heaven and hell
Mr. F hears voices from Jesus and Satan. He has schizophrenia and is addicted to dextromethorphan in cold medications. Which problem is causing...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Is she being abused or ‘acting out’?
Ms. L says her caretaker is beating her, but the allegation may be suspect. How can you find out the truth and ensure the patient’s safety?
Cases That Test Your Skills
After the ‘pink clouds,’ he sees red
Mr. T receives lamotrigine for longstanding mood swings, hypomania, irritability, and anxiety. Two weeks later, a rash covers much of his body. Is...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Unhappy feet: One woman’s severe akathisia
Continuous leg and arm movements have left Ms. K sleepless and suicidal. A medication change stills the involuntary motion but causes sudden...
Cases That Test Your Skills
A young man’s affair of the heart
After several failed antipsychotic trials, clozapine resolves Mr. Z’s delusions and hallucinations, but sudden chest pain, fatigue, and shortness...
Cases That Test Your Skills
A life of drugs and ‘downtime’
Unrelenting depression and opioid addiction have destroyed Mr. B’s career and marriage. Numerous medications have not improved either condition....
Cases That Test Your Skills
Conquering his fears, one step at a time
Mr. Q fears crossing the street. Nightmares and flashbacks fuel his phobia, and a stutter worsens his anxiety and blocks communication. Which...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Getting to the heart of his ‘shocking’ trauma
Implant jolts cause Mr. J severe pain and embarrassment—and revive the specter of his troubled youth. He’d rather die of tachycardia than fear the...
Cases That Test Your Skills
Depression, medication, and ‘bad blood’
Clinicians find 2 antidepressants that reduce Mr. G’s chronic depression. Unfortunately, each medication decreases his WBCs. What would you do?