A nurse is caring for a 70-year-old woman in the emergency room who is complaining of shortness of breath and has a history of congestive heart failure along with hypertension
She was seen by a new cardiologist this week and was started on four new medications. She thinks one is a new "water pill," and she is unsure about the others. The drugs are very expensive and she is waiting for them to arrive by mail order, so she quit taking all her other medications two days ago. The nurse's best set of interventions would be to:
A) Obtain a list of her current medications, check for interactions, and consult the emergency room physician
B) Obtain a brief history and vitals, then allow the emergency room physician to sort out the details because he will be ordering the medications
C) Obtain a set of vitals, do a focused assessment, compile a list of her medications along with when she took them last, and consult with the emergency room physician
D) Obtain a set of vitals, do a complete assessment, compile a list of her medications and exactly when she took them last, then consult with the emergency room physician
Ans: D
Feedback: A nurse sorting out drug noncompliance should begin with a complete assessment along with a thorough drug history; followed by compiling a list of current medications along with the times they were taken to provide a guide for intervening now and when the newly prescribed medication is restarted. Option A is incorrect; the Nursing Process always begins with assessment, which in this case would include a complete assessment prior to consulting with the emergency room physician.
Option B is incorrect; the nurse has not used the Nursing Process or worked collaboratively with the emergency room physician. Option C is a good answer, but a complete assessment would be more appropriate with this patient.
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