The parents of a young child with congestive heart failure tell the nurse that they are "nervous" about giving digoxin. The nurse's response should be based on knowing that:
a. It is a safe, frequently used drug.
b. It is difficult to either overmedicate or undermedicate with digoxin.
c. Parents lack the expertise necessary to administer digoxin.
d. Parents must learn specific, important guidelines for administration of digoxin.
ANS: D
Digoxin has a narrow therapeutic range. The margin of safety between therapeutic, toxic, and lethal doses is very small. Specific guidelines are available for parents to learn how to administer the drug safely and monitor for side effects. Digoxin is a frequently used drug, but it has a narrow therapeutic range. Very small amounts of the liquid are given to infants, which makes it easy to overmedicate or undermedicate. Parents may lack the necessary expertise to administer the drug at first, but with discharge preparation they should be prepared to administer the drug safely.
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A nurse manager is working on a task force to develop policy for man-made disasters. There is some discussion in the committee about whether fire should be included in the policy. Which suggestion by a task force member would be most useful?
1. "Fire is a natural occurrence, so we should not address it." 2. "Fires are not generally a real disaster, so we should not include it." 3. "We should only focus on wildfires." 4. "We should only focus on arson fires."
The nurse has returned from an in-service in which "high-alert" drugs were discussed. For which drugs should the nurse be particularly alert?
1. IV epinephrine 2. Heparin 3. Digoxin 4. IV morphine 5. Oral propranolol
Which of the following statements made by the nurse shows the best understanding of the ther-apeutic value of a support system for a client experiencing stress?
1. "They will be there when you need them and make sure you will have your needs met." 2. "They will provide you with someone to talk with about your problems and sup-port your decisions." 3. "When you are experiencing stress, it is always comforting to have people who care about you nearby." 4. "These individuals have experienced what you are going though and can offer you effective suggestions."
An ECG tracing from a patient with a pacemaker may have wide or bizarre __________ if the pacemaker captures the chamber it is pacing.?
A) P waves B) T waves C) QRS complexes D) R-R intervals