An adult female inpatient client with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia will not take her medications from the nurse. She states, "I know you are poisoning that medicine." Which nursing action is most appropriate?
a. Promise the client that the staff would not do anything to harm her.
b. Let the client watch the medication preparation process.
c. Administer medications to her in unit dose packages so that she can open the packages herself.
d. Allow the client to retrieve the medications out of the medication cart with supervision.
C
Administering medications in unit dose packages would help to prevent the client from thinking that the nurse is poisoning the medications. The client would be allowed to open the packages herself. Promising the client that the staff would not harm her will not alleviate her paranoia. Letting the client watch the medication preparation process may help, but if she feels that the poisoning is happening when the nurse is placing the medication in the cup, the client will remain paranoid. Allowing the client to retrieve medications from the medication cart would go against facility policy.
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