00:01
Now, the fifth and final area
of the sports physical
is the mental health assessment.
00:08
Now this may be an area that
you feel very comfortable,
or you may not feel comfortable.
00:12
But either way,
I know that you can perform
a thorough and adequate assessment.
00:17
So you're going to think about key
assessment cues for mental health.
00:21
Because mental health
is an important part
of being evaluated for
clearance to participate in sports.
00:27
This is essential to keeping
this athlete safe
and the other athletes
that they're playing with safe.
00:33
Now, it is a very sad statistic
that elite athletes
have a 51.7% lifetime prevalence
of mental health problems.
00:42
So and the symptoms can start to
appear or manifest at a young age.
00:46
That's why you are
so important in this role.
00:50
So you want to be thoughtful
about your assessment?
You want the student
athlete to feel safe?
You may need to consider
if the athlete needs
to speak in front of the parent,
or if the parent could
not be in the environment,
And you can ask some questions.
01:05
You'll be able to tell that through
your first kind of assessment
of their mental health.
01:09
So again, it's really important
to adjust your questions
based on the athletes age and
their developmental stage.
01:16
And make referrals to qualified
mental health professionals.
01:20
And there's options
that are available in schools
if the family does not
have the resources
to pay for that on their own.
01:28
There's lots of resources
in the community
while they're in the school system.
01:33
So if you have a concern,
or an issue, or risk,
and you've identified it, please
be sure to make that referral.
01:40
Let's talk about some kind of
non-threatening questions
that you could ask
about mental health.
01:46
Tell me about your sleep.
01:47
Do you have a hard time
falling asleep or staying asleep?
Can you give me an example
of something
you are proud of yourself for?
We're trying to look
at the self-esteem there.
01:56
And how they're feeling
about themselves?
Do you feel that you are
as valuable as other people?
Now, I know that some
of these questions are yes and no.
02:05
And you are welcome to adapt these.
02:08
But I would start this kind
of discussion with them and say,
"I'm going to ask you some questions
that may seem kind of odd.
02:14
But I just want to check in
and see how you're feeling,
and how you're doing
with in your activity."
So I would ask these questions in
that manner with that type of intro.
02:26
Have you noticed that you have
less energy than you used to?
That could be an
indication of depression.
02:30
Do you enjoy sports
as much as you used to?
Again, could be an
indication of depression.
02:36
Do you find it easy to concentrate
or is that difficult for you?
Might indicate ADHD.
02:42
Would also ask them where you've
done the screening if they're on.
02:46
You'll know if they're on
any ADHD medications.
02:50
Now the next one leads into grief,
which might also be a challenge.
02:54
It's kind of an easy way I find to
go into the questions about suicide.
02:58
Not that death is easy for anyone
but just say,
"Have you lost anyone
important to you lately?"
Now, that could be
a relationship that's ended.
03:06
That could be a death or a loss?
Then I would ask them,
Have you lost anyone to suicide or
know someone
who has attempted suicide?"
We had a student here,
actually, in my city
that committed suicide
at a football game.
03:23
Jumped off from the top, very,very
top of some high bleachers.
03:27
And of course,
the athletes around them,
the students were
all affected by that event.
03:34
The last one is,
"Have you ever thought of
harming yourself?"
If you build up to that question,
it doesn't come off as so weird.
03:42
It's just randomly in
a sports physical say,
"Have you ever thought
of harming yourself?"
And you know, the follow up
question is always,
"Have you ever thought
about a plan to do that?"
So those are some
examples of questions
that you can use assessment cues
for assessing their mental health.
04:00
So that wraps up the key
components of a sports physical
in your role
as a nurse practitioner.
04:07
Remember, we've talked about the
five main components
of a sports physical.
04:12
The medical and family history.
04:14
The physical exam,
which had five parts of its own.
04:17
The nutritional assessment.
04:19
Heat and Hydration
Related Risk Factors,
And the mental health assessment.
04:23
Be sure that you are allowed
the time and environment
that is appropriate for
doing these types of assessments,
and that you are not
having to rush any assessment.
04:34
Because you're critically important
to the health and safety
of all the athletes
that you examine.
04:41
Thanks for listening today.
04:42
I hope you'll join us
for another part of our series.