Psych Med Emergencies: NCLEX Warning Signs Nurses Need to Know

A lot of patients are on psych meds, not just psych patients. They're used for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders can sometimes cause dangerous reactions that nurses must recognize quickly. Prepare for bedside care and the NCLEX by learning the warning signs of EPS, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, serotonin syndrome, and an MAOI-related hypertensive crisis—and which nursing actions come first. 👉 Visual Learner? Watch comic book based videos on Super Nurse Comics You'll learn: How antipsychotics used for schizophrenia, other psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, and some depressive disorders are associated with EPS and NMS How serotonergic antidepressants used for major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and panic disorder can contribute to serotonin syndrome When acute laryngeal dystonia becomes an airway emergency How to distinguish NMS from serotonin syndrome using rigidity, reflexes, and clonus How MAOIs used for depression can interact with tyramine and cause a hypertensive crisis Chapters 00:00 A Stable Patient Suddenly Deteriorates 01:59 EPS: Four Movement Symptoms to Know 03:39 Acute Laryngeal Dystonia vs. NMS 04:29 NMS Warning Signs and First Nursing Actions 07:30 Serotonin Syndrome: Hyperreflexia and Clonus 08:55 MAOI Hypertensive Crisis and Tyramine 10:39 NCLEX Recap: Recognize, Compare, Escalate 👉 Explore the complete Super Nurse clinical reference library on Super Nurse AI 6:23 PM The content presented in The Super Nurse Podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. The host and creators are not responsible for any clinical decisions made based on this content. Always adhere to your institution’s policies and consult appropriate healthcare professionals when making patient care decisions.