A Reflection from the Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner’s Handbook

Knowing when to change the plan is as important as knowing how to create one.

In psychiatric practice, it is easy to stay the course longer than necessary. Yes, a treatment has been started; or the formulation has been made; or a direction has been chosen. However, clinical reality shifts, or patient’s needs evolve; or new information emerges. As a result, what once made sense may no longer fit. As such, instead of continuing on the same path, thoughtful practice requires ongoing reassessment.

Nonetheless, the adjustment needs to be intentional and informed, instead of proceeding with impulsive or reactive change. It’s important than for us to ask:  What has changed? What has not responded? What have we learned?

With that, we’ll be able to fully experience that changing the plan is not a failure of the original plan. It reflects attention. It is a willingness to revise, and it is a mark of clinical maturity.

More to come.

The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner’s Handbook

Healing with Precision, Presence and Power

If these reflections resonate with your experience in practice, the full handbook explores these themes in depth.

The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner’s Handbook is now available wherever books are distributed.