Online Companion: Fundamentals of Nursing Standards and Practice 2E
Frequently Asked
Questions
The nurse reviews
a physician's order for a drug and realizes that the MD has made an error in
the dose level ordered for the client. Three doses of the ordered drug have
been given to the client in the last 24 hours. What does the nurse do in this
situation?
The student who has read Chapter 23 understands the legal implications of the
described situation. The first consideration is to assess the client for possible
untoward effects from the inaccurate drug doses. The nurse's next step is to
contact the physician and discuss the concerns about the ordered dose of the
drug. It sometimes happens that the MD has a source of information that indicates
that the ordered dose level has been successfully used or is being tried for
certain clinical conditions. It sometimes happens that the drug dose is indeed
inaccurate and the physician makes indicated changes in the order. The nurse
and physician should work collaboratively in this situation to arrive at a decision
that is in the best interest of the client. The health care agency usually has
a policy that this incident is written in a report that is sent to the agency's
administrators for analysis. The administrators should critically examine how
and why the medication system did not have a mechanism to prevent this incident.
A client who is
HIV positive has not told her family. The client's mother observes the nurse
wearing gloves when handling the client's urine specimen cup and asks the nurse
if the client has AIDS. What is appropriate action for the nurse in this situation?
The nurse is aware that the client has the right to withhold information about
her HIV status from her family. The nurse may be held liable for disclosing
such information to her family member. The nurse explains to the client's mother
that the precaution of using gloves to handle body fluid specimens is a routine
procedure used for all clients.
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