A Plan for Paul

Interactive Case Study: At a Loss: Helping Let Go

In your supervisory role at the hospice, you discover that many of the clients residing in the facility with AIDS suffer from depression. After hearing an employee’s discussing personal sensitive medical information, you decide to create an AIDS awareness campaign to educate your employees on interacting with clients with AIDS. At the start of you shift, you find out that one of your clients (Paul) was transported to the hospital for attempting to commit suicide. He overdosed on prescribed medication. It is unclear how he acquired the medication, although the nurses suspect he stored pills instead of taking them.

Upon reading the chart notes, you see that earlier in the week the doctors changed his prognosis from less than three months to live to less than a month. Paul received emergency treatment at hospital, which keeps him alive. Health practitioners need to make a decision regarding Paul’s care. You are invited as an expert to participate on a panel consisting of Paul’s treating physician, psychiatrist, and nurses to provide your professional opinion regarding his ongoing care. In preparation for the meeting, you prepare a 4-5 page report (paper) in which you 

(1) assess Paul’s behavior, 

(2) discuss if Paul should be returned to hospice care or remain in the hospital under suicide watch, 

(3) develop a plan (use concepts from the reading), 

(4) indicate how to implement the plan, and 

(5) discuss how you will evaluate the plan.