Haldol (haloperidol) 5.0 mg PO tid was ordered for a patient who is agitated.
Which action should a nurse take before administering the medication?
Discuss the use of PO with the healthcare provider.
Discuss the use of tid with the healthcare provider.
Discuss the use of Haldol with the healthcare provider.
Discuss the use of the trailing zero with the healthcare provider.
The Correct Answer is D
This action should be taken by the nurse before administering the medication because the use of a trailing zero after a decimal point (5.0 mg) is a common cause of medication errors and should be avoided. A trailing zero may be misread or misinterpreted as a larger dose (50 mg) or omited altogether, resulting in a 10-fold overdose or underdose, respectively. For example, when prescriptions have been writen for "Coumadin 1.0 mg," patients have received 10 mg in error. Therefore, the nurse should clarify the intended dose with the healthcare provider and use the correct notation (5 mg) without a trailing zero.
The other options are not appropriate actions because:
a) Discussing the use of PO (by mouth) with the healthcare provider is not necessary, as PO is a standard route of administration for Haldol (haloperidol) and does not pose a risk of confusion or error.
b) Discussing the use of tid (three times a day) with the healthcare provider is not necessary, as tid is a standard frequency of administration for Haldol and does not pose a risk of confusion or error.
c) Discussing the use of Haldol with the healthcare provider is not relevant to the question, as Haldol is the prescribed medication for the patient who is agitated and does not need to be changed or questioned by the nurse.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
The nurse should administer 4 mL to this patient.
This answer is correct because it is based on a simple ratio and proportion calculation. The nurse can set up a proportion as follows:
2 mg / 1 mL = 8 mg / x mL
Cross-multiplying and solving for x gives:
x = 4 mL
Therefore, the nurse should administer 4 mL of ondansetron to deliver 8 mg of the medication to the patient.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
The nurse should administer 0.35 mcg of medication to the infant.
This answer is correct because it is based on a simple multiplication calculation. The nurse should multiply the prescribed dose per kilogram by the infant's weight in kilograms to get the total dose in micrograms, as follows:
0.05 mcg/kg x 7 kg = 0.35 mcg
Therefore, the nurse should administer 0.35 mcg of medication to the infant.
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