Explain late-life depression and SSRI plan to patient and daughter — CASC communication station

Station brief

Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes active time after reading. You are the psychiatry registrar in the old-age outpatient clinic. ^[4]

Candidate instructions. Explain late-life major depression in plain language; address the daughter's fear that this is "only grief" or "early dementia"; outline starting sertraline with older-adult cautions (including sodium); discuss early worsening of suicidal thoughts and how to seek help; outline approximate duration after recovery; check understanding. Examiner plays the patient; a second examiner or role-player may be the daughter. ^[1][4]