The nurse applies topical medication to the client. Which intervention(s) should the nurse use to apply the medication properly? (Select all that apply.)
1. Use clean gloves for topical application.
2. Avoid reusing the site for at least 1 week.
3. Massage all topical medications into skin.
4. Use soft brush to cleanse site before reuse.
5. Avoid other forms of the same medication.
6. Apply thick layers of creams and ointments.
1, 2, 5
1. The nurse uses clean gloves for application of topical medication to prevent con-tamination of the medication in the container and self-contamination from the client's skin.
2. The nurse allows the application site to rest for 1 week before reapplying topical medication.
5. The nurse risks client injury and medication overdose if the nurse administers two forms of the same medication. The nurse is especially cautious about medications that appear on the MAR in more than one form because this is a frequent cause of life-threatening medication errors.
3. Topical medication is not massaged into the skin because it is designed to absorb slowly; massaging potentially increases tissue perfusion and increases the rate of ab-sorption. For example, massaging nitroglycerin ointment potentially leads to hypo-tension.
4. The nurse rarely uses a brush to cleanse skin and never uses a brush to cleanse the skin gently.
6. The nurse administers topical medications at the prescribed thickness.
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The nurse should be particularly alert to somatization of psychological distress among patients whose cultural beliefs include: (Select all that apply.)
a. mental illness reflects badly on the family. b. mental illness shows moral weakness. c. food choices influence one's health. d. the mind, body, and spirit are merged. e. intergenerational conflict is common.
A client who is afraid of aging asks if anything can be done to slow the process. What should the nurse explain to this client?
1. Drink more wine. 2. Move to a less expensive neighborhood. 3. Make positive dietary changes. 4. Keep the client's weight higher.
A patient tells a nurse, "My chest pain starts when I am resting, and when I had a cardiac catheterization, the doctor said I was having vasospasms
" Which type of medication would the nurse anticipate to be prescribed to treat the patient's angina? 1. A vasodilator such as nitroglycerin (NTG) 2. A calcium channel blocking agent 3. An antidysrhythmic such as lidocaine 4. A beta adrenergic blocking agent
When a nursing student expresses concerns about how mental health nurses "lose all their nursing skills," the best response by the mental health nurse is:
a. "Psychiatric nurses practice in safer environments than other specialties. Nurse-to-patient ratios must be better because of the nature of the patients' problems." b. "Psychiatric nurses use complex communication skills as well as critical thinking to solve multidimensional problems. I am challenged by those situations." c. "That's a misconception. Psychiatric nurses frequently use high technology monitoring equipment and manage complex intravenous therapies." d. "Psychiatric nurses do not have to deal with as much pain and suffering as medical-surgical nurses do. That appeals to me."