Toxicity
It's the medical term for a substance's ability to cause liver damage, a major risk in an overdose of acetaminophen.
What is hepatotoxicity?
In the safe medication administration process, the first safety check is completed at this specific moment.
What is when the nurse pulls the med?
When a patient is taking the diuretic Lasix, a critical depletion of this specific electrolyte can cause a life-threatening imbalance.
What is potassium?
To help thin and loosen mucus, a nurse should encourage a patient taking an expectorant to increase their intake of this daily necessity.
What is water?
The nurse knows to place the patient in this position for an enema.
What is on their left side with right leg flexed?
While often confused with NSAIDs like ibuprofen, acetaminophen actually belongs to these two distinct drug classes based on its ability to relieve pain and reduce fever.
What are non-opioid analgesics and antipyretics?
A nurse knows that when performing an intradermal injection, this slanted opening at the very tip of the needle must always be facing upward.
What is the bevel?
This specific, intermediate-acting insulin is inherently cloudy and must be gently rolled between the hands, never shaken, before it is drawn into a syringe.
What is NPH?
The nurse should administer at this angle range for a subcutaneous injection.
What is 45-90 degree angle?
This is the best way to prevent needle stick injuries.
What is do not recap needle after administering injection/use safety needle safety device?
After verifying proper placement of a nasogastric tube, a nurse knows to flush it with this specific liquid both before and after administering medications to maintain patency.
What is tap water?
This 12-letter medical term describes a drug or substance that has the ability to cause toxic damage to the kidneys.
What is nephrotoxicity?
This medical term from the Greek for "much thirst" describes the excessive, unquenchable craving for fluids caused by hyperglycemia.
What is polydipsia?
Where this goes, water follows.
What is salt?
This Schedule II (CII) narcotic is considered the "gold standard" for managing severe pain in hospice patients.
What is morphine?
Eye drops are placed here.
What is the lower eyelid (conjunctive sac)?
To comply with federal regulations, federal law requires that this specific class of highly controlled substances be stored in a double-locked drawer or cabinet on the nursing unit.
What are narcotics?
When administering an intramuscular injection into the deltoid muscle, this is the maximum volume of fluid, in milliliters, that should safely be injected.
What is 2 mL?
These two clear insulins are the only insulins that can be safely mixed in the same syringe with NPH.
What are short-acting and rapid-acting insulins?
The nurse knows to administer an IM injection at this angle.
What is a 90 degree angle?
During a system downtime, a nurse who receives a written order that is incomplete or unsigned knows they must perform this action before any medication or treatment can be safely administered.
What is call the provider?
To prevent clogging and altered absorption, a nurse knows that administering this type of medication via NG tube is strictly contraindicated.
What are extended release or enteric coated medications?
An overdose of aminoglycoside antibiotics like gentamicin can trigger this specific type of toxicity, which damages the inner ear or auditory nerve.
What is ototoxicity?
In the safe medication administration process, the second safety check is completed at this specific moment.
What is prepping the med?
Insulin acts like a key, opening up the cell to let in both potassium and this vital, simple sugar.
What is glucose?
A nurse knows that to protect the patient's stomach lining and ensure proper absorption, an enteric-coated medication must never be modified in this way.
What is crushed?
The nurse instructs the patient to do this first when administering nasal spray.
What is have patient blow their nose?
Frequently prescribed to reduce inflammation, the use of this class of drugs is notorious for causing a spike in a patient's blood sugar levels.
What are steroids?
A nurse knows to rotate injection sites for insulin or other subcutaneous medications to prevent lipoatrophy and this condition, the localized thickening or scarring of fatty tissue.
What is lipohypertrophy?
When mixing insulins, the nurse injects air into the cloudy NPH vial first, but always draws this medication into the syringe first.
What is the "clear" rapid or short acting insulin?
This injection is inserted at 5-15 degree angle.
What is an intradermal or ID injection?
To ensure safe medication administration, Joint Commission guidelines dictate that a nurse must use at least two of these, most commonly a patient's full name and date of birth.
What are patient identifiers?
To minimize the risk of aspiration, a nurse knows to place a patient in this specific position prior to administering any medication via a nasogastric tube.
What is high fowlers?
A nurse should immediately report this yellowish symptom, a classic hallmark sign indicating a patient is developing hepatotoxicity.
What is jaundice?
Meaning "much eating," this is the medical term for the excessive, insatiable hunger experienced by a patient due to hyperglycemia.
What is polyphagia?
When assessing a positive TB skin test, a nurse looks and feels for this.
What is erythema (redness) and + induration (hard bump noted) at injection site?
On a medical prescription, the abbreviation "SL" indicates that a medication should be administered via this route, placed right under the tongue.
What is sublingual?
When treating acute asthma attacks or bronchospasms, a nurse knows that this specific medication is the most commonly used fast-acting bronchodilator.
What is albuterol?
Patients taking this common class of blood pressure medications must be closely monitored, as they are the drug class that most often causes the life-threatening swelling known as angioedema.
What are ACE Inhibitors?
When administering intramuscular vaccinations to infants, pediatric nurses most commonly use this large muscle of the anterolateral thigh.
What is the vastus lateralis?
This short-acting type of insulin must be administered within 30 minutes before a meal to properly manage blood sugar spikes.
What is regular insulin (Humulin R/Novolin R)?
To administer insulin, a nurse knows to select a syringe with a needle gauge falling within this thin, 4-digit range.
What is 28-31 gauge?
Delivering a dose of morphine via this specific route bypasses the digestive tract entirely and provides the fastest onset of pain relief.
What is intravenous (IV)?
Though checking pH is common, this imaging technique is the gold standard method used to definitively verify NG tube placement before administering any medications.
What is a chest X-ray?
This lab is used to determine if a medication is at a therapeutic or toxic level.
What is a Peak?
In the safe medication administration process, the third safety check is completed at this specific moment.
What is before passing the medication to the patient at bedside?
Heroin belongs to this specific classification, considered the most dangerous class of drugs because of its high potential for severe dependence and lack of accepted medical use.
What is CI or schedule I?
A nurse knows to instruct a patient to avoid this for a short period after taking this type of medication, which is designed to dissolve slowly in the cheek or pouch of the mouth.
What is eating or drinking?
The nurse knows to do this after applying a transdermal patch on a patient.
What is to initial, date, and time the patch?
This is the most common side effect of narcotics/opioids.
What is constipation?
This method of intramuscular injection involves pulling the skin and subcutaneous tissue to one side before inserting the needle, effectively sealing the medication in the muscle.
What is the Z-track method?
Prescribed for once-daily dosing to provide steady blood sugar control, Lantus is categorized as this type of long-acting insulin.
What is a basal insulin?
A nurse will select a needle gauge in a slightly thicker range when administering subcutaneous heparin.
What is 25-27 gauge?
These are the 4 additional rights of safe med administration.
What are the right to refuse, evaluation, assessment, and teaching?
If a patient is ordered an enteric-coated medication via an NG tube, the nurse knows to perform this action rather than crushing the pill.
What is contacting the provider to request an alternative form (such as a liquid formulation)?
Emergency responders and nurses frequently carry this crucial reversal agent, used to rapidly restore normal breathing in a patient experiencing an overdose of narcotics like heroin or fentanyl.
What is Narcan (naloxone)?
Derived from the Greek for "much urine," it's the medical term for the excessive urination a patient experiences due to hyperglycemia.
What is polyuria?
Characterized by their high potential for severe psychological and physical dependence, Schedule I and this other federally restricted drug category are the two classes with the highest risk for addiction.
What is Schedule II or CII?
Doctors look at this blood test value, often paired with the PT, to determine the therapeutic dose and effect of the blood thinner warfarin.
What is an INR?
To ensure proper absorption and effectiveness, a patient must try to retain a rectal suppository for at least this many minutes.
What is 5-15 minutes?
This is the reversal agent for overdose of narcotics.
What is Narcan (naloxone)?
While it can be administered IV or PO to manage high blood pressure and chest pain, metoprolol is a medication that belongs to this specific drug class.
What is the beta blocker class of antihypertensives?
Once punctured, a multidose vial of intermediate-acting NPH insulin from a manufacturer like Eli Lilly or Novo Nordisk typically expires within this many days.
What is approximately 28 days?
This must be used when drawing medication from a glass ampule.
What is a filter needle?
Upon noticing unexpected cloudiness or floating particulate matter in a medication vial that should normally be clear, a nurse knows to immediately perform this action.
What is hold the medication and call pharmacist?
To prevent gastric contents from leaking and to stop air from entering the stomach, a nurse knows to do this to the nasogastric tube immediately after completing medication administration and the final flush.
What is clamp the tube for 30-60 minutes?