Suicide and documentation: don't let the pen kill your career.
1. Nurses' notes must reflect the assessment performed regarding their patients' risk factors, red flags, and protective supports, especially for suicidal patients. 2. Nursing interventions range from the least-restrictive methods to full restraints, if necessary to prevent patients from harming themselves. 3. Medications, such as antidepressant, antipsychotic, and antimanic agents, as well as benzodiazepines, have been shown to help psychiatric patients cope with depression, psychosis, and mood stability.
Garbarino
Diana
D
New York Presbyterian Hospital-Westchester Division, White Plains, New York, USA. diana10994@yahoo.com
D004282:Documentation; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009737:Nursing Records / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D000092864:Suicide Prevention