Depression in the Elderly - Simulated Patient Small Group Activity
University of Nebraska College of Medicine
This product was designed as a small group activity for students to gain knowledge in care of elders with depression and to learn best techniques gathering history from collateral sources. It requires 2 simulated patients (portraying the patient and their collateral source family or friend). It requires faculty facilitation. The product comes with a complete facilitator guide, patient and collateral source scripts, handout with information on care of depression in the elderly, handout regarding interviewing techniques of collateral sources and a student outline. This product has been utilized and refined over eight years in a medical school curriculum and continues to be extremely popular with students, faculty and simulated patients.
After completion of this endeavor, the student will be better able to:
- Define depression.
- Elicit the appropriate historical elements to diagnose and treat depression in the elderly.
- List the medications at risk to cause depression in the elderly.
- List the appropriate exam elements to perform in evaluation of depression in the elderly.
- List the unique symptoms of depression in the elderly.
- Use collateral source historians effectively to obtain information.
- List nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments of depression in the elderly
Comments
This is a very useful case. I did note that the Pt Scenario says the patient is on Aldomet, but other items list clonidine.
The med list doesn't indicate that buproprion has the advantage of a low risk for sexual dysfunction. That may not be important for this patient, but bears discussion.
The risk for drug interactions with clonidine and mirtazepine, SNRIs and TCAs would be useful to identify.
Thanks!