Medication Administration

What are 5 Rights of Administration the nurse must follow?

Right patient

Right drug

Right route

Right time

right dosage

What are two important things to do as the nurse to adhere to the Right patient? What do we absoultary not use?

use Two identifiers (pt wristband and EMAR)

the ROOM number

As the nurse to make sure you have the right Drug & dose what do two things do we double check?

EMAR & physician’s verbal order

What does the right route mean?

Give the medicine either parenterally, enterally, or topically

Some med admin vocabulary include, “standing” or routine” what does this mean?

Give the medication UNTIL dosage has changed

Some med admin, vocab include, “Single” what does this mean?

a one time dose

Some med admin vocabulary include the words “STAT or NOW” what do these two mean? What is the diff?

NOW is given between 30-60 min of order and STAT is give within 30 min of order

Enteral tubing med admins have a specific order. What is the FIRST thing you do BEFORE administering anything?

Draw stomach contents out to see if it has correct placement & place it back

After checking that the stomach contents are there, you then begin to administer WHAT first?

30 to 60 ml of saline

After flushing the Enteral tubing, you are ready to administer your meds. What is the important thing to do, ESPECIALLY if you have more than one medication to adminster?

do NOT mix all meds together, do one at a time.

Flush between each medication

What angle to do you give IM injections, SubQ, & intradermal

90, 45 or 90, & 15

What are the 3 sites for IM injection?

Deltoid, vastus lateralis & ventrogluteal

What is important thing to do especiallty giving continuous injections?

rotate or change injection sites

What is the purpose of the Z track method?

It traps the medication in the muscle tissues

What is an important step before adminsering ANY IM injections?

aspirating to see if there is any blood, if there is pull back and try again

For ear admins what do you do BEFORE administering meds to toddler (less than 3 y/o) or adults?

toddler- pull auricle BACK & DOWN

Adults pull auricle UP & BACK

For eye med administration, where is the correct placement?

in the conjectiva NOT the sclera

What position must the head be BEFORE administering nasal medications? And what must the patient do WHILE the medication is being sprayed in?

Head tilted back; inhaling

When should we give someone a spacer for their inhaled medication?

WHen they cannot coordinate their breaths

What is the correct placement of rectal Suppository?

up against the well of the Rectum NOT the feces

When you give someone any medication, that med goes through onset, peak, duration, plateau, & trough. (not in this specific order)

What does onset mean?

onset = the time it takes for the med to START working

When you give someone any medication, that med goes through onset, peak, duration, plateau, & trough. (not in this specific order)

What does duration mean?

HOW long the medication will stay in the body w/ a theraputic effect before trough

When you give someone any medication, that med goes through onset, peak, duration, plateau, & trough. (not in this specific order)

What does trough mean? What does this indicate?

the time where the med starts to wear off; THE NEXT DOSE needs to come

When you give someone any medication, that med goes through onset, peak, duration, plateau, & trough. (not in this specific order)

What does plateau mean?

When med has reached a stable concentration in the blood that maintains therapeutic effect

What do patients do AFTER given their ear medication?

lay on side with infected ear is up for 5 to 10 min

IV piggyback is a secondary IV bag that is hung where in terms of the primary bag?

What is the purpose of IV piggyback?

Higher; to give medicines INSTEAD the primary one for a short period of time

for more comfortablulty, insulin, ear, & eye meds can be given at __________. temperature

How would you achieve this?

Room; rubbing the vial between palms of your hands

after administering your inhaler what should the patient do first?

hold breath for 10 sec