The nurse is working hard to prevent medication errors. Which plans will assist the nurse in preventing most errors?
1. Plan to validate all orders with another nurse prior to administration of medications.
2. Plan to assess for patient variables such as age, weight, and diagnostic lab studies prior to administration.
3. Plan to tell health care providers that verbal orders will not be accepted.
4. Plan to always check the client's identification band prior to administration of medications.
5. Plan to record the medication on the medication administration record (MAR) immediately prior to administration.
Correct Answer: 2,3,4
Rationale 1: Only high-risk drugs (e.g., insulin) need to be validated with another nurse. It is okay to validate any drug with another nurse if the nurse giving the medications wants a second opinion.
Rationale 2: Nurses should always account for patient variables such as age, weight, and any diagnostic studies that may impact the administration of medication.
Rationale 3: Requiring a written medication order also reduces the possibility of an error related to similar-sounding drug names.
Rationale 4: This is one of the five rights of drug administration to prevent errors.
Rationale 5: Medications should never be documented on the MAR until they have been administered. Documenting anything prior to the actual event is false documentation.
Global Rationale: Nurses should always account for patient variables such as age, weight, and any diagnostic studies that may impact the administration of medication. Requiring a written medication order also reduces the possibility of an error related to similar-sounding drug names. Checking the client identification band is one of the rights of drug administration to prevent errors. Only high-risk drugs (e.g., insulin) need to be validated with another nurse. It is okay to validate any drug with another nurse if the nurse giving the medications wants a second opinion. Medications should never be documented on the MAR until they have been administered. Documenting anything prior to the actual event is false documentation.
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