Share This Link

Simply documenting the disclosure while honoring the client's request to keep the mistreatment secret violates mandatory reporting statutes. Unreported abuse frequently escalates in severity, placing the vulnerable client at ongoing risk for serious physical or financial harm.

Submitting a report covertly without informing the client damages the therapeutic nurse-client relationship and destroys interpersonal trust. Transparent communication demonstrates respect for the client's autonomy while clearly communicating legal mandates.

Postponing a mandatory report until the client consents to accept state protective services violates statutory timelines. Mandatory reports must be filed promptly upon establishing reasonable suspicion, regardless of whether a cognitively intact adult ultimately chooses to accept or decline offered protective services.

While new physical symptoms require eventual evaluation, requesting abdominal imaging before conducting a foundational bedside safety screening overlooks the immediate, high-priority risk of suicidal ideation in a highly vulnerable, withdrawn client.

Recommending a nutritional consult addresses a secondary physiological concern related to fatigue, but fails to assess the underlying psychological cause of the client's systemic symptoms and emotional withdrawal.

Encouraging social activity is a supportive wellness intervention that should be considered later in the plan of care. Recommending social outings without first screening for acute clinical depression or suicidal risk is unsafe and premature.

Sertraline is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) that serves as a first-line, FDA-approved pharmacotherapy for PTSD. Starting at a low dose (25 mg daily) follows the "start low, go slow" principle recommended for geriatric populations.

Prazosin is an alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist frequently prescribed at bedtime to treat PTSD-associated nightmares and sleep disturbances by dampening central sympathetic hyperarousal. Starting at 1 mg at bedtime is standard practice to monitor for orthostatic hypotension.

Escitalopram is an SSRI that is considered a first-line agent for PTSD, anxiety, and depression in older adults due to its favorable side-effect profile and low potential for drug-drug interactions. A 5 mg starting dose is appropriate for geriatric clients.

Initiating emergency protective custody forcibly removes an individual against their will. This is an inappropriate, coercive intervention for a cognitively intact client who retains full legal capacity to make living arrangements and medical decisions.

Petitioning for guardianship based solely on "poor judgment" or unwisely remaining in an exploitative living dynamic violates client autonomy. Guardianship requires proof of incapacity, not simply making decisions that others disagree with.

Withholding a report because a client declines protective services violates mandatory reporting legislation. The duty to report suspicion of exploitation is legally required regardless of whether the client ultimately accepts intervention from Adult Protective Services.