A home health client is having difficulty keeping his medication schedule organized. He makes this statement to the nurse at their next visit: "There are so many pills and the names are all confusing to me

Question

I don't even understand what they're for." The nurse should:
1. Help the client remember color and size in relationship to dosing time.
2. Write out the generic and trade name of all the pills for the client.
3. Fill a pill bar and tell the client not to worry, just take the pills according to that system.
4. Have the physician talk to the client about his medications.

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 1
Rationale 1: Learning is facilitated by material that is logically organized and proceeds from the simple to the complex. This helps the learner comprehend new information, apply it to previous learning, and form new understandings. Naming the pills by color and size and dosing time helps the client move from that level to learning what each medication is for and why he is taking it-simple to complex.
Rationale 2: Learning generic and trade names is memorization and may not make sense for this client.
Rationale 3: Filling a pill box or bar is not helping the client learn about his meds, it merely puts them into an order without information.
Rationale 4: Nurses must rely on their own creativity and resourcefulness-not depend on physician input.