An adolescent who attempted suicide and was admitted to an inpatient mental health unit had been assessed as being at high risk of self-harm,but he has shown improvement.His doctor is now considering discharge and asks the nurse's opinion.Which of the following observations most reliably indicates that he may be ready for discharge to outpatient care?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Demonstrating effective problem-solving abilities and demonstrating hopefulness and a future orientation (looking forward to what lies ahead)are indicators that the internal turmoil underlying suicide risk is resolving.Denial of suicide ideation and intent may or may not be genuine;patients sometimes deny risk quite convincingly to evade treatment or precautions and resume their efforts to commit suicide.Although his family's willingness to monitor him closely at home will be helpful,it does not mean that the patient himself is ready for discharge.A SAD PERSON score,or any similar rating score,is not in and of itself sufficiently reliable in an individual case to determine that a person is safe.Such assessments are screening tools designed to determine what response should be made at the beginning of treatment,not when a person is safe to discharge.

An Adolescent Who Attempted Suicide and Was Admitted to an Inpatient