Editing Pharmacology – LPN Flashcards (section)

== Safe Administration Basics ==

;List the rights of medication administration.
:Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation, right reason, right response, right to refuse, and right education.

;How many times is the label checked, which identifiers are used, and when is the dose documented?
:The label is checked three times: when removing the medication from storage, when preparing it, and at the bedside before giving it. Two identifiers are used, such as full name, date of birth, or medical record number, checked against the identification band; the room number is never an identifier. Documentation occurs immediately after administration, never before.

;Which oral medications must never be crushed?
:Enteric-coated and extended-release forms, identified by labels such as EC, SR, XR, XL, CR, and LA, plus sublingual tablets and capsules containing coated beads unless the manufacturer permits opening. Crushing can deliver the entire dose at once. If a client cannot swallow, report it and request a different formulation.

;What should the nurse do with an order written as ".5 mg"?
:Clarify it with the prescriber and have it rewritten as 0.5 mg. A leading zero is always used before a decimal, and a trailing zero is never used, because missed decimal points cause tenfold and hundredfold overdoses.

;May the practical nurse give a medication that another nurse prepared?
:No. The nurse who administers the medication must be the nurse who prepared and verified it.

;Name three actions generally outside the practical or vocational nurse scope of practice.
:Performing the initial patient assessment, pushing intravenous medications and titrating continuous infusions such as heparin or vasopressors, administering blood products, and creating the initial patient teaching plan. The practical nurse reinforces teaching the registered nurse initiated. Always verify the state nurse practice act and facility policy.