Drug Administration
What degree angle would you administer the follow:
IM, subQ, & ID injections?
90 degrees, 45-90 degrees, 10 degrees
daily- once a day
STAT- immediately right now
PRN- as needed, nurse can decide on time
once- given one time at specific time
What is phase 1 of the clinical trial?
Test the medication on a small group of volunteer individuals to see what the medication does to healthy tissue.
What is the bare minimum time that you can administer vancomycin over via the IV route?
60 minutes
Give me an example of a PPI (proton pump inhibitor).
omeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole
Remember...PPI ends in "prazole"
What are some different ways that you can give a medication?
oral, sublingual, buccal, IV, IM, ID, subQ, rectal, transdermal, optic, otic, nasal
What are the rights of safe medication administration?
Right patient
Right dose
Right time
Right route
Right medication
Right documentation
What is phase 2 of the clinical trials?
Drug is given to people who have the disease to see if the medication is effective
If a patient takes a drug and ends up with angioedema...what does this look like?
Rash, hives, angioedema, wheezing
You have a demented and confused patient. Where would be the best place to put a transdermal patch so they cannot reach it to remove it?
Upper part of their back
Why does a nurse need to know if a patient is taking herbal supplements?
It may interact with other medications that will be prescribed to the patient or other medications the patient is taking.
What is phase 3 of the clinical trials?
What are some unpleasant & sometimes "scary" side effects taking the TB drug, rifampin, that you have to teach the patient and their family about?
That it could possibly cause reddish orange discoloration of the urine and other body fluids
If a patient is taking an opioid, what is a SEVERE adverse reaction that you as the nurse need to be aware of and watch for with each administration of the drug? (HINT: antidote for opioid overdose is Narcan)
respiratory depression...which can lead to death if not treated quickly
You have to give an infant an injection. Where would be the best location & what gauge needle would you use?
In the upper part of the thigh, vastus lateralis, & would use a 20 gauge needle
Where are enterically coated medications dissolved at in the body?
In the small intestine.
What does it mean to be culturally competent?
Make sure you know what religion or culture your patient practices and treat each patient as an individual. Don't assume their culture. (Ex. not all Asian patients are the same)
What are some things that you would have to teach a patient taking a sulfasalazine drug? (give me a few)
Take this med with food (may cause upset stomach)
Drink plenty of water (can cause crystals in urine)
May change color of urine
What would be an adverse reaction of an antidiarrheal medications? (Think bigger picture...if you gave someone an antidiarrheal..it is because they were having excessive amounts of diarrhea and losing water...think dehydration...bigger picture...what happens if you get dehydrated...you become what?)
dizziness, fatigue
What is the difference between an agonist medication and an antagonist medication?
Agonist is a helper medication that stimulates the receptor to produce a therapeutic response....antagonist medication decreases effectiveness of the medication
What is a kinesthetic learner and if you patient is this type of learner, how would you teach them about how to change a dressing on their new wound?
They learn by doing hands on. You would show them how to do it first, then you would have them do a return demonstration so that you as the nurse can see that they understand how to do it properly.
What does it mean if medications are an "adjunctive therapy" to one-another?
This means two medications are working together to help one-another. For example, the pain ladder can use an opioid and an NSAID and by adding them both together it gets a "stronger" bond by helping the patients pain receptors to calm and relax working together and making the patient use less of the opioid in the long run.
What are some contraindications for taking a sulfonamide drug?
Patients who are allergic to sulfa drugs, patients who are pregnant near their due date,
Group A beta-hemolytic strep infection.
Ulcerative Colitis.
If a patient is on a blood thinner such as warfarin (coumadin)...what would be the best medication class to give them if they are in pain?
a nonsalicylate, such as acetaminophen
...an NSAID will increase action of warfarin, so this would be contraindicated