A patient with severe postoperative pain is ordered to receive morphine 2 mg intravenously. The patient asks if the drug could be taken by mouth instead. What is your best response?
a. Giving the drug intravenously will give you faster pain relief.
b. I will call your prescriber and ask if the order can be changed.
c. Your surgeon wants you to receive the drug intravenously.
d. We can substitute the intravenous drug with an oral drug.
Question 2
The prescriber orders atenolol (Tenormin) 25 mg to be given orally once a day to control a patient's high blood pressure. You check the patient's vital signs and find that the blood pressure is 128/80 mm Hg and the heart rate is 60 beats/min.
What should you do first before giving this drug?
a. Check the order for prescriber limitations on when the drug should be given.
b. Notify the prescriber and ask if the drug should be given.
c. Reassess the blood pressure and heart rate in 30 minutes.
d. Give the drug exactly as prescribed.