The nurse is caring for a client diagnosed with a terminal illness and experiencing a great deal of pain. After administration of IV analgesia, the client continues to complain of severe pain. Which action by the nurse is the most appropriate in this situation?
1. Explain to the client the need to wait for further medication to prevent overdosage complications.
2. Ask the family to help divert the client from the discomfort.
3. Call the health care provider, if necessary, to request an order for additional analgesia.
4. Wait an hour for the medication to take effect.
3
Rationale 1: Waiting would cause needless suffering for the client.
Rationale 2: The family should not be placed in the position of having to divert the client when the client is in pain.
Rationale 3: The nurse's role when caring for someone with a terminal illness is to make the client as comfortable as possible. Clients receiving narcotics regularly develop a tolerance for the drugs, and might require a larger dosage to get the same effects.
Rationale 4: IV medications do not take an hour to reach peak effect.
Global Rationale: The nurse's role when caring for someone with a terminal illness is to make the client as comfortable as possible. Clients receiving narcotics regularly develop a tolerance for the drugs, and might require a larger dosage to get the same effects. The family should not be placed in the position of having to divert the client when the client is in pain. IV medications do not take an hour to reach peak effect, and waiting that long would cause needless suffering for the client.
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