The nurse was very busy and unfamiliar with a new medication, but ...

[colton]

The nurse was very busy and unfamiliar with a new medication, but administered it anyway. Later the nurse looked up the medication. How does the nurse manager evaluate this behavior?
 
  1. This was acceptable as long as the nurse looked up the action and side effects of the drug later.
  2. An error could have occurred because the nurse was unfamiliar with the medication.
  3. The nurse manager was partially at fault because the nursing unit was understaffed and the nurse was too busy.
  4. An error did occur because the nurse could have administered the medication via the incorrect route.

Question 2

The nurse administers an evening medication to the patient in the morning. The medication did go to the correct patient. What is the nurse's best course of action at this time?
 
  1. Change the medication administration time to the morning.
  2. Notify the physician about the error and complete an incident report.
  3. Tell the evening nurse to hold the evening dose just for tonight.
  4. Notify the physician and ask if any further action needs to be taken.

[Melissahxx]

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2
Rationale: Nurses should never administer a medication unless they are familiar with its uses and side effects; an error could have occurred because the nurse was unfamiliar with the medication. It is not acceptable for a nurse to administer an unfamiliar medication and then look up the action and side effects later; an error could occur. An error did not occur, but could have because the nurse was unfamiliar with the medication. There is no information in the stem of the question that the nursing unit was understaffed, so the nurse manager is not partially at fault.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 2
Rationale: Even though the medication went to the correct patient, this is still considered a medication error. The time of the medication cannot be changed without an order from the physician. Telling the evening nurse to hold the evening dose is unethical; an error has been committed. There is no need to ask the physician if any further action needs to be taken; an incident report needs to be completed.

[colton]

Gracias!

[kusterl]

TYSM