The nurse administered the narcotic Demerol, 50 mg PO at 1400 to a patient with pain rated as 9 on a 0 to 10 scale
At 1430, the patient stated that the medication was not working and requested to have morphine IV, which the provider had prescribed for severe pain. What is the nurse's best evaluation of this situation?
a. The patient needs to understand that it takes time for the medication to reduce pain.
b. Administering Demerol PO was not the best nursing intervention in this situation.
c. The provider should be notified if the patient's pain is not relieved in 2 hours.
d. Demerol PO was the best intervention because morphine IV can cause drug addiction.
B
Administering Demerol PO was not the best nursing intervention in this situation because the patient was in severe pain (9/10). The patient needed immediate pain relief, which would not occur with PO pain medication. The nurse should have been administered morphine IV. Waiting 2 hours to notify the physician does not provide patient comfort. The nurse should focus on pain relief and not worry about the patient becoming "addicted" to the morphine.
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