The prescriber orders atenolol (Tenormin) 25 mg to be given orally once a day to control a patient's high blood pressure
The nurse takes the patient's vital signs and finds that the blood pressure is 128/80 mm Hg and the heart rate is 60 beats per minute. What does the nurse do first before giving this drug? a. Check the order for prescriber limitations on when the drug should be given.
b. Notify the prescriber and ask if the drug should be given.
c. Reassess the blood pressure and heart rate in 30 minutes.
d. Give the drug exactly as prescribed.
A
Prescribers often include limitations about when a drug should or should not be given. The nurse should first check the order for any limitations. Because a heart rate of 60 beats per minute is borderline low, and unless there are no limitations, the nurse may want to notify the prescriber and ask if the drug should be given to this patient.
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