A school nurse is interviewing a high school student sent to the office for frequent crying episodes.The student admits to thinking of suicide and has made a previous attempt.The nurse determines that the teen has a suicide plan but does not yet have access to the materials needed to carry out the plan.How does the nurse interpret and act on this information?

Question

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Individuals who have suicidal thoughts should be assessed for a specific plan,the means to carry out the plan,and previous suicide attempts.This student has two of the three high-risk identifiers,so the teen should be seen by a mental health professional immediately.The safest way to ensure this occurs is to access the emergency medical system.The district counselor may not be prepared to deal with this situation and may not be available.The student is not low risk,so a referral should not be sent home.The student is not moderate risk,and the burden of ensuring immediate access to a health-care professional should not be placed on the parents,who also may be unavailable.

A School Nurse Is Interviewing a High School Student Sent