CME Instructions
HERE ARE THE STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO EARN CREDIT FOR THIS ACTIVITY:
- Read and study the activity, using the provided references for further research.
- Scan the QR code below, or log on to www.cmecity.com to take a post-test; tests can be taken after each issue or collectively at the end of the semester. First-time users will have to register on the site using the 8-digit subscriber number printed on their mailing label, invoice, or renewal notice.
- Pass the online tests with a score of 100%; you will be allowed to answer the questions as many times as needed to achieve a score of 100%.
- After successfully completing the last test of the semester, your browser will be automatically directed to the activity evaluation form, which you will submit online.
- Once the completed evaluation is received, a credit letter will be e-mailed to you instantly. You will no longer have to wait to receive your credit letter.
CME Questions
1.Which of the following statements is true?
- A majority of patients visit a physician before suicide.
- About half of the patients visit a physician before suicide.
- Less than half of the patients visit a physician before suicide.
- Very few patients visit a physician before suicide.
2.Which of the following statements is most true?
- Proper assessment of a suicidal patient often takes intensive staff resources so that it can be done quickly.
- Proper planning for a suicidal patient should start before the patient even arrives.
- Suicidal patients always disclose thoughts of self-harm, usually to nursing staff, if they are being seen in the ED.
- Physicians should avoid asking friends or family for information about the patient.
3.Which of the following statements is most true?
- In general, medications are often required for suicidal patients in the ED.
- In general, restraints are often required for suicidal patients who attempt to leave the ED without completing a full psychiatric assessment.
- In general, involuntary mental health holds are always required for suicidal patients who attempt to leave the ED without completing a full psychiatric assessment.
- A suicidal patient should be mostly sober before completing a psychiatric assessment.
4. One good way to approach the topic of suicide with patients is by asking which of the following questions?
- "Have you reached the point where you've thought of harming yourself?"
- "Have you thought about suicide?"
- "Have you thought about death?"
- "Why did you come to the ED today?"
5.Warning signs of imminent suicide include which of the following?
- psychosis
- presence of a weapon at home
- hopelessness
- physical illness
6.Risk factors for suicide include which of the following?
- age older than 50 years for women, age older than 65 years for men
- responsibility to pets
- life dissatisfaction
- previous serious attempts
7.Protective factors for suicide include which of the following?
- age older than 50 years for women, age older than 65 years for men
- responsibility to pets
- life dissatisfaction
- previous serious attempts
8.Which of the following is true?
- Suicide risk assessment and suicide risk formulation are an exact science.
- When performing a traditional risk assessment, clinicians often count the number of risk factors and the number of protective factors. If there are more protective factors than risk factors, the patient is safe for discharge (and vice versa).
- When performing a traditional risk assessment, clinicians often weigh risk factors and protective factors. If protective factors outweigh risk factors or if protective factors outweigh the harm caused by psychiatric hospitalization, the patient will likely be discharged.
- When performing a traditional risk assessment, clinicians often ask questions in four domains.
9.Which of the following is most true?
- Screening tools are recommended to help the clinician remember to ask all of the important questions in suicide assessment.
- Screening tools may be useful in identifying patients at higher or lower risk of suicide, but cannot be used to justify hospital admission.
- Screening tools have been shown to reduce mortality by catching patients at the earliest stage of self-harm thoughts.
- Several selected screening tools have been shown to have excellent predictive value when identifying individual patients who will commit suicide.
10.Which of the following is most true?
- Informed refusal involves the following elements: factual understanding of the procedure or treatment; risks of the procedure or treatment; and alternatives to the procedure or treatment.
- Courts often defer to decisions by emergency clinicians regarding competency.
- Suicidal patients may be restrained if they do not wish to comply with needed treatment to prevent self-harm.
- Mental health patients, by virtue of their disease, are often presumed not to have clear decision-making capacity.
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