An 81-year-old patient is being discharged from the hospital to home. She is on seven different medications, which are to be taken at four different times during the day. What would be most useful in helping this patient manage her medications? The nurse
a. the package inserts from all of the medications for the client to read
b. a pillbox with compartments for each day and each of the doses
c. a written list of all the client's medications and administration routine
d. a suggestion that the client's daughter administer the medications
ANS: B
Providing a pillbox is an effective method to reinforce which medications are to be given at what times. It also serves as an effective method to remind patients when they have missed a dose. Package inserts are often written in language that is not easy for patients to understand. Another consideration is that the size of the print in package inserts may be too small for aging eyes. Although providing a written list of the medications is appropriate, it does not make as much of an impact on the overall management of this patient's medications as other options. There is no indication that this patient cannot self-administer the medications.
You might also like to view...
A pregnant woman who abuses cocaine admits to exchanging sex for her drug habit. This behavior puts her at a greater risk for:
a. depression of the central nervous system. b. hypotension and vasodilation. c. sexually transmitted diseases. d. postmature birth.
When assessing a laboring client who has received medication for pain, the nurse would expect the client to experience a lesser degree of nausea and vomiting when the client received which drug?
A) Meperidine B) Butorphanol C) Nalbuphine D) Morphine
At birth, an infant weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces. Three days later, the newborn is being discharged. The parents note that the baby now weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces. The nurse explains that the change in the newborn's weight is which of the following?
1. Excessive 2. Within normal limits 3. Less than expected 4. Unusual
A preschooler knows she should not ram her tricycle into the garage door at home, but she does this at a friend's house. What is the most logical reason for this difference in behavior at home and at the friend's house?
a. The preschooler values her own house more than she values the house of a playmate. b. The child's mother is much stricter and supervises children much more closely than the playmate's mother. c. A young preschool child may have difficulty applying known rules to a different situation. d. There is a higher level of frustration when outside her own home and play territory.