If we’re not careful, patients experiencing manic episodes can take us for a wild ride during the initial assessment. When working with mania, clear boundaries, directive communication, and an assertive attitude are essential to keeping the session on track. In this video, we see engaging scenarios that contrast unskillful and skillful interventions with a verbally and emotionally challenging woman during a home visit. Here, you’ll learn the different methods involved in conducting a successful (and unsuccessful) initial assessment, and see how follow-up interventions can further improve patient outcomes.

You’ll watch two contrasting home visits to Mrs. Kitchener, a woman who has impulsively removed her IV and called her doctor for support. In the first vignette, a beginning nurse visits her later that morning to find her in the midst of a torrent of activity. Amid the patient’s fast-paced speech, paranoia, grandiosity, and sense of emotional chaos, the novice nurse becomes withdrawn and defensive, letting the patient berate her and ignoring her real concerns about her medical condition.

The second vignette features a much more experienced, confident nurse gaining and maintaining control of the assessment by making firm eye contact, using assertive communication, and empathizing with Mrs. Kitchener’s stories while keeping the focus on their medical objectives. You’ll also see this nurse make a follow-up call to her doctor after the visit, offering her assessment and setting up next steps for patient care. Before-and-after commentary adds context to the scenarios, deepening the lessons presented.

With this video, you’ll get valuable instruction on the subtle yet meaningful differences between novice-level care and advanced skills that keep you in the driver’s seat. If you’re looking to enhance your own skill set, or support students in theirs, you’ll want to add this title to your collection.