medication administration and the nursing process of drug therapy Flashcards
what are the legal responsibilities of the nurse when administering medication?
- safe, accurate medication administration
- recognizing and questioning erroneous orders
- refusing to administer unsafe medications
- delegating in compliance with the law
what can med errors result in?
- serious illness
- conditions that prolong hospitalization or require additional treatment
- death
name 3 common med errors
- given incorrect dose
- not giving an ordered medication
- giving an unordered medication
name some medications often associated with errors
- insulin
- heparin
- warfarin
describe harm
impairment of the physical, emotional, or psychological function or structure of the body and/or pain resulting therefrom
describe monitoring
to observe or record relevant physiologic or psychological signs
describe intervention
may include change in therapy or active medical/surgical treatment
describe intervention necessary to sustain life
includes cardiovascular and respiratory support (e.g. CPR, defibrillation, intubation, etc)
name some systemic medication forms
- oral, liquids
- tablets, capsules
- suppositories (rectum), transdermal (patch)
- injections
what does PO stand for
by mouth
what does SL stand for
sublingual
what does SQ stand for
subcutaneous
what does IM stand for and what are some considerations to take
- intramuscular
- site can be determined by amount of muscle in area and volume of med
- Z track (used for meds that can be irritating to the skin)
what does IV stand for
intravenous
when calculating medication dosages, ______ is of utmost importance
accuracy
calculating medication dosages involves…
- mathematic abilities
- knowledge of common units of measurement
- knowing how to use data in performing calculations
describe some general nondrug interventions
- promoting health
- preventing/decreasing need for drug therapy
- using nondrug measures to enhance therapeutic effects or decrease adverse effects
- patient teaching
- individualizing care
- observing patient responses
describe drug therapy evaluation criteria
- progress toward stated outcomes (relief of symptoms)
- accurate administration
- avoidance of preventable adverse effects
- patient compliance
- specific parameters measured to evaluate response to particular medications
describe the nursing process to medication administration
- assessment (history and physical exam)
- nursing diagnosis
- planning
- implementation (proper drug administration, comfort measures, patient/family education)
- evaluation
what are the six “rights” of med administration
right…
- med
- documentation
- route
- time
- client
- dosage
describe evidence based nursing practice
- requires a conscientious and continuing effort to provide high quality care to patients
- obtaining and analyzing best scientific evidence from research
- scientific evidence is integrated with the nurse’s clinical expertise and the patient’s preferences and values to yield best practice
names some herbal/dietary supplement concerns
- questionable safety due to unknown effect on humans
- use of supplements may keep the patient from seeking medical care
- supplements may interact with prescription meds to decrease therapeutic effect or increase adverse effect
- use of supplements not communicated to healthcare provider
describe the purpose of phase 1 of clinical trials
- to evaluate safety, identify side effects, determine a safe dose range, and learn how the agent is absorbed and handled by the body
- determine answer to three questions:
- is the treatment safe?*
- are there any side effects?*
- does the treatment work better than current treatment?*
describe the number of participants/characteristics of phase 1 of clinical trials
- small number (20-80) of participants, usually healthy volunteers, in some cases patients with advanced diseases (e.g. cancer)
- divided into small groups called cohorts
