The healthcare provider suggests that a 65-year-old female patient take 1200 mg of calcium supplements every day. Before the patient leaves the clinic, what suggestions should the nurse make when instructing the patient about this supplement?
Select all that apply.
1. Take 600 mg of calcium with lunch.
2. Take 600 mg of calcium with breakfast.
3. Take 400 mg of calcium with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
4. Take 600 mg of calcium with breakfast and 600 mg at bedtime.
5. Take the full dose of 1200 mg of calcium in the morning on an empty stomach.
Correct Answer: 1, 2, 3
The nurse should recommend that the prescribed dose of calcium be limited to no more than
600 mg of calcium at a time since as the amount absorbed declines at higher doses. This means that the maximum dose for any meal should be calcium 600 mg. This would be appropriate for breakfast and lunch. Recommending calcium 400 mg with breakfast, lunch, and dinner would also be appropriate. Calcium should be taken with food, so recommending a dose in the morning on an empty stomach or at bedtime is not appropriate.
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A community member asks a community/public health nurse, "How much progress has been made toward consolidating state health services into a single agency?" Which of the following statements would be accurate for the nurse to make?
a. "Incredible progress; about half the states have done so." b. "Little progress; no state has completely done so." c. "Some progress; about one third of the states have done so." d. "Successful progress; most states have done so."
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What will be an ideal response?
The postpartum mother with a third degree laceration tells the nurse she is afraid to have a bowel movement because of her painful episiotomy. What should the nurse do?
a. Offer a suppository or enema b. Encourage ambulation c. Offer stool softeners as prescribed d. Offer pain medication before defecating