Medication Administration
Nurses, physicians, and pharmacists are held legally responsible for safe and therapeutically effective drug administration no matter who actually prescribed it. All members of a health team may be held liable for a single injury to a client. Nursing organizations have adapted similar codes of ethics that can serve as guides for the development of one's own code. The client's rights as defined by these codes of ethics are to promote health, prevent illness, restore health, and alleviate suffering (White, Duncan, & Baumle, 2011, p. 516). For example, a patient has every right to know necessary information about a drug he or she is receiving and to refuse to take it after having been given an explanation, no matter
…show more content…
The nurses have very important responsibilities when it comes to making sure that all necessary precautions are taken when medicine is administered, these include: Obtaining current knowledge base of drugs, referring to authoritative sources in professional literature, questioning a drug order that is unclear or that appears to contain an error, refusing to administer a drug if there is a reason to believe it will be harmful, performing correct techniques and precautions, monitoring client response and documenting drug effects, patient and family education. It is important to know Information about the medication such as: side effects – appropriate dose -Age specific considerations – routes. It’s also important to know Information about the client: What other medications are they taking, allergies or other problems w/ meds, gag reflex, impaired swallowing, dietary and/or fluid restrictions, cultural and/or religious influences, genetic factors, vital signs, lab values – renal & liver function / protein & albumin, age and if they are pregnant/breast feeding …show more content…
525-528). I determined that the drug was the right one by checking the labels against the Medication Administration Record (MAR) three times before administering the medication. The insulin was checked by myself and the instructor prior to administration. I verified the correct route on the (MAR) including making sure injections were administered into the correct site. I made sure the medication was given at the time indicated on the (MAR). The patient was identified using their name and date of birth. After medication was administered it was approved on the patient’s electronic chart.
Medications such as AmLODIpine, Metoprolol and Diltiazem cannot be given without first checking their apical pulse and should be withheld if pulse is less the 50 BPM (Vallerand, Sanoski, & Deglin, 2013, pp. 142,853,437). Glucosamine should not be administered without first evaluating the patient for a shellfish allergy (Vallerand, Sanoski, & Deglin, 2013, p. 1360). HumaLog and novaLog are both fast acting insulins that have an onset time between 15 and 30 minutes and cannot be given without first checking the patient’s blood glucose level (Vallerand, Sanoski, & Deglin, 2013, pp.
The first provision of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) “Code of Ethics” states, “ The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problems.” The second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is the patient, whether the patient is an individual, family, group, or community” (Fowler, 2010). As nurses we need to respect the autonomy and allow for the patient to express their choices and concerns. We also need to provide them with support by giving them knowledge and understanding so they
...estions if not 100% sure of something or use a double checking system. When a nurse is administrating medication, they should use the ten rights of medication administration (right patient, right drug, right route, right time, right dose, right documentation, right action, right form, right response, and right to refuse). Nurses should always keep good hand hygiene and always wear appropriate clothing to prevent from the spread of disease. Good communication with patients and healthcare team members is also key to success. Keeping on the eye on the patient within an appropriate time is important. If the patient ever seems to be looking different than their usual self vitals should be taken immediately. Encouraging patients to ask questions if they are unaware of something can prevent errors as well. Nurses should make sure the patient is on the same page as they are.
B) Teach patient about his medications: their purpose, side effects, any interactions with other medications, and any other relevant information.
Precision of a patient’s intravenous medication is essential; it must be safe from. contamination, toxicity, and side effects. Most people believe these medications are compounded or mixed by a trained and licensed individual. However, this is inaccurate because the pharmacy technician actually compounds a large percentage of a patient’s medications. Compounding involves a technician’s math skills, aseptic technique, and professional ethics.... ...
Medication Errors one of the biggest issues happening in an acute care setting today . Although, Medications are given based on the five rights principles: the right patient, right medication, right route, right dose, and right time. Even with the five rights principles medication errors are still happening. However, some of the errors that are occurring are due to poor order transcriptions and documentation, drug interactions, proper drug name and not paying enough attention and environment factors.
Currently, through observations and clinical experience on Med/Surg at Cary Medical Center, medication is administered by the nurse. Nurses are responsible and accountable for administrating medications to patients. Patient me...
Nurses face many legal and ethical issues on a daily basis and they must practice according to the standards of care in order to make the best decision for the patient and themselves. According to Furlong (2007), in making ethical decisions, three resources that are valuable for nurses are (1) the ANA Code of Ethics, (2) an understanding of ethical principles, and (3) the ethics of caring. Utilizing the information set by nursing organizations allow nurses to function as advocates for patient’s and avoid any legal issues. It is important for nurses to understand how ethics, nursing, and law intertwine. The law and legal authority to practice nursing in a state is implemented by the Nurse Practice Act, this is a core aspect every nurse should be familiar with (Furlong, 2007).
Currently, through observations and clinical experience on Med/Surg at Cary Medical Center, medication is administered by the nurse. Nurses are responsible and accountable for administrating medications to patients. Patient medication education is conducted by the nurse. Medication education includes informing the patient the reason for the medication, when and how long to take the medication, drug interactions, and importance of checking with primary care provider prior to taking any over-the-counter or herbal products. If the nurse is unfamiliar with a certain medication, a drug book is available for the nurse to utilize and gain knowledge regarding the drug use, action, adverse reaction, and contraindications.
Providing the steps to ethically sound excellent care, healthcare providers must acknowledge first the legal and ethical matters involved with proper investigation and then devise a plan for best possible action recognizing the rights of the patient and its benefits followed by the application of the chosen intervention with positive outcome in mind (Wells, 2007). Delivery of excellent and quality of care at a constant level (NMC, 2008) must be marked in any responsibilities and duties of the care provider to promote exceptional nursing practice. Codes of nursing ethics and legal legislation have addressed almost all the necessary actions in making decisions in consideration to the best interest of the patient. Nurses must make sure that they are all guided by the set standard to lead their action and produce desirable and ethically sound outcomes.
When administering medications it is critical to pay great attention to the task at hand. This task becomes more important when administering medications to the elderly because of the different physiological and psychological changes that occur in the body. Equally important are, the lab values related to the medications being administered, differences in administering medications to the elderly, and the use of the six rights and three checks.
Physicians write a prescription order for inpatients, the prescription orders are sent to the central pharmacy. Pharmacists check the prescription order and give an okay for pharmacy technicians to place drugs in unit-does carts. The carts have drawers with patient’s medications in it. Each drawer is labeled with the patient’s name, identification number, ward, and room number. The a medication chart includes: the Rx number, generic name of the drug along with strength number, how much the patient need to take, directions, PARs, and number of medications need to return to the pharmacy. Pharmacy technicians finish filling the medications for each patient and place in the drawers. Pharmacists check each drawer’s medications for accuracy in case
Drug administration forms a major part of the clinical nurse’s role. Medicines are prescribed by the doctor and dispensed by the pharmacist but responsibility for correct administration rests with the registered nurse (O'Shea 1999). So as a student nurse this has become my duty and something that I need to practice and become competent in carrying it out. Each registered nurse is accountable for his/her practice. This practice includes preparing, checking and administering medications, updating knowledge of medications, monitoring the effectiveness of treatment, reporting adverse drug reactions and teaching patients about the drugs that they receive (NMC 2008). Accountability also goes for students, if at any point I felt I was not competent enough to dispensing a certain drug it would be my responsibility in speaking up and let the registered nurses know, so that I could shadow them and have the opportunity to learn help me in future practice and administration.
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal
More basic than MTM is counseling, and more basic than that is appropriate dispensing. The pharmacy patient information system tracks potential dangers to each patient in every prescription order, and if there is a safety issue or an error in the patient’s medication use, the system will inform either the pharmacy tech or myself, and I plan on paying attention to those warnings and assuring that everything is appropriate for every medication order before dispensing it to the patient. By doing this, I hope to avoid any serious medication errors and protect my patients and assure that they receive the best medication therapy possible. If I don’t properly use my pharmacy informatics resources, I am responsible for any patient harm that is caused by my negligence.
If a patient is confused or thinking of altering their medication regimen the nurse and/or physician should be informed