the goals and objectives on the practicum experience plan, a reflection of three challenging patients, learned practicum experiences, resources available,

This paper will include a discussion on the goals and objectives on the practicum
experience plan, a reflection of three challenging patients, learned practicum experiences,
resources available, evidenced based practice used, new skills learned, what would’ve been done
differently, and how patient flow and volume were managed.
My objectives for this quarter included independently performing a mental health status
exam. The second objective included developing a list of potential diagnoses. The final objective
was to appropriately select a screening exam for the clients. The first objective was somewhat
reached. I have some difficulty remembering each part of the MSE as I tend to miss at least one
part. The second objective was completed; I was able to give report on my patients and give
suggestions on their diagnoses. We discussed why the chosen diagnoses would not be the most
correct and why they would be. Most of the patients all received a depression or anxiety
screening. I believe that many of the patients would have benefited from the use of other
screening tools. However, the psychiatrist I was with does not use the screening scales very
often.
I saw a patient that was hard for me to communicate with; her speech was pressured and
short worded. I ended the interview earlier as it appeared she would rather talk to the provider.
Another patient was autistic, and he would yell and hurt himself during the interview. It was
difficult to watch the parents must handle that situation and then also trying to get the patient the
help they need. I had a patient who appeared to be very young and autistic to me during my
assessment. It was determined that she was acting the way she was due to having such an
increased level of stress that she was functioning at a lower level than she would be without
anxiety.