Mental health: Learning outcomes
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After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Outline the considerations when advising on the choice of a medicine for a patient with a mental health condition.
- Describe strategies for swapping and stopping antidepressants and antipsychotics.
- Discuss the significant side effects associated with antidepressants and antipsychotics.
- Talk to patients with a mental health condition about their medicines and answer their questions.
You can download a PDF of the whole tutorial (without interactive elements such as the Learning Exercises) and a one-page summary of key points.

Competencies
This tutorial is aimed at hospital trainee pharmacists, and will help you achieve GPhC learning outcomes such as these:- LO 5 Proactively support people to make safe and effective use of their medicines and devices
- LO 12 Take an all-inclusive approach to ensure the most appropriate course of action based on clinical, legal and professional considerations
- LO 16 Apply professional judgement in all circumstances, taking legal and ethical reasoning into account
- LO 27 Take responsibility for the legal, safe and efficient supply, [prescribing] and administration of medicines
- LO 29 Apply the principles of clinical therapeutics, pharmacology and genomics to make effective use of medicines for people [including in their prescribing practice]
- LO 30 Appraise the evidence base and apply clinical reasoning and professional judgement to make safe and logical decisions which minimise risk and optimise outcomes for the person
- LO 34 Apply the principles of effective monitoring and management to improve health outcomes
- LO 35 Anticipate and recognise adverse drug reactions, and recognise the need to apply the principles of pharmacovigilance
- LO 48 Actively take part in the management of risks and consider the impacts on people
- 1.4 Selection of the medicine (medicine-medicine, medicine-patient, medicine-disease interactions)
- 1.7 Monitoring medicine therapy
- 3.2 Knowledge (drug interactions)
- 3.3 Analysing information
- 3.4 Providing information
Continuing professional development
Finally, here are some CPD activities you could consider:
★ Find out if you have a local community mental health team and arrange to shadow the different members.
★ Establish how clozapine is supplied by your Trust. Who is responsible for the supply in pharmacy? How are patients' blood test results reviewed? What happens out-of-hours? Read the relevant procedures and know where to find them.

★ Establish how clozapine is supplied by your Trust. Who is responsible for the supply in pharmacy? How are patients' blood test results reviewed? What happens out-of-hours? Read the relevant procedures and know where to find them.
★ Arrange to accompany a specialist mental health pharmacist on their inpatient rounds and at a multidisciplinary team meeting.