Safe Medication Administration & Nursing Process Lecture

These flashcards cover major concepts from the lecture on safe medication administration, prescription types, the nursing process, legal considerations, medication errors, safety strategies, and common pharmacology fundamentals. They are formatted as question–answer pairs to aid exam preparation.

What four processes make up pharmacokinetics?

Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (elimination).

Which pharmacology term describes the time required for the drug’s plasma concentration to decrease by 50 %?

Half-life.

What branch of pharmacology studies the effects of drugs on the body (the ‘what the drug does to the body’ concept)?

Pharmacodynamics.

Which type of drug molecule binds to receptors and blocks the action of an agonist?

Antagonist.

According to the lecture, what must be present for an agonist to produce its enhanced drug action?

Receptors on the target cells/tissues.

List the Six Rights of Medication Administration.

Right person, right medication, right dose, right time, right route, and right documentation.

What two patient identifiers are typically used before giving a medication?

Name and date of birth.

Why should a nurse never administer a medication prepared by someone else?

It violates the ‘right medication’ principle and increases error risk; the nurse cannot verify preparation accuracy.

What is the first nursing action when a dose seems unusually large?

Re-calculate and verify the dose (consult a reference or the prescriber if still uncertain).

Which state-level body regulates an RN’s scope of practice?

The State Board of Nursing (via the Nurse Practice Act).

Under federal law, which act governs monitoring and storage of narcotics and other scheduled drugs?

The Controlled Substances Act.

What are the five basic steps of the nursing process (ADPIE)?

Assessment, analysis/diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

During which step of the nursing process are medication goals and doses calculated?

Planning (generate solutions).

What is the nurse’s priority after discovering a medication error?

Assess and take care of the patient first, then complete the incident report per facility policy.

Name two national organizations specifically linked to medication-safety standards mentioned in the lecture.

The Joint Commission and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP).

Define medication reconciliation.

A formal process of creating the most accurate list possible of all medications a patient is taking and comparing it with current orders to identify and resolve discrepancies.

What type of prescription is taken on a fixed, ongoing schedule until changed or discontinued?

Routine (standing daily) prescription.

Which prescription type must be given immediately?

Stat order.

Give an example of the essential components that must appear on every prescription or medication order.

Date/time written, patient’s full name, drug name, dose/strength, route, frequency (or specific times), dispensing directions, and provider signature.

List three common causes of medication errors cited in class.

Giving the wrong medication, wrong strength/dose, or administering to the wrong patient (others include wrong route, wrong time, omitted dose, giving despite allergy).

Why should leading zeros be used but trailing zeros avoided?

A leading zero (0.5 mg) prevents misreading a dose as 5 mg, while a trailing zero (5.0 mg) can be misread as 50 mg.

State one look-alike or sound-alike drug pair discussed and the safety strategy used to distinguish them.

Example: naloxone vs. Lanoxin; use Tall Man lettering to highlight differing parts of each name.

Give two examples of error-prone abbreviations that should be written out.

QD (once daily) and U or u (unit).

Which abbreviation is acceptable: "kg" or "Mg" for kilogram?

"kg" is acceptable; "Mg" can be mistaken for milligram or magnesium and should be clarified.

What high-risk patient populations are especially susceptible to adverse drug reactions?

Older adults, pediatric patients, and clients with multiple comorbid conditions or polypharmacy.

Name two serious respiratory adverse reactions nurses should monitor for.

Bronchospasm and laryngeal/airway edema (others: dyspnea, wheezing, cyanosis).

Identify two critical cardiovascular adverse reactions highlighted in the lecture.

Hypotension and tachycardia (others: palpitations, syncope, cardiac arrest).

What is the nurse’s responsibility when a patient states, “This pill looks different from what I take at home”?

Stop and verify the medication before administering; educate the patient about generic or color differences once verified.

Why are electronic bar-code medication administration (BCMA) systems used?

They add a safety check by matching the scanned drug to the patient’s bar-coded ID and MAR, reducing human error.

What does the abbreviation “XL” or “XR” on a drug label indicate?

Extended-release formulation.

When is a second nurse witness commonly required during drug preparation?

When preparing high-alert medications such as insulin, heparin, or opioids.

What step immediately follows ‘implementation’ in the nursing process, and what does it involve regarding medications?

Evaluation – assessing the client’s response to the medication to determine effectiveness or need for change.

According to the lecture, list at least four pieces of data a nurse must collect before giving a hepatotoxic medication.

Current liver function labs (e.g., AST/ALT), medication history, allergy history, current vital signs, and any comorbid liver disease.

What immediate information does a nurse need before administering an antihypertensive drug?

Current blood pressure and other relevant vitals to ensure BP is not already low.

Explain why “HS” is no longer an accepted abbreviation for bedtime dosing.

It can be misinterpreted as ‘half-strength’; writing ‘at bedtime’ prevents error.