Chapter 6, Problem 1O

Summary Introduction

To discuss:

The importance of patient education in the safe and efficient administration of drugs (example: prescription drugs, over-the counter drugs, herbal preparations, dietary supplements).

Concept introduction:

A nurse is an important health care professional who assess the patient for providing therapy and medications. It is the duty of the nurse to teach the patient ‘how to manage with the therapy’ for satisfactory outcomes. Staff nurse should assess the efficiency of the drug therapy. The medical condition of the patient is managed by drug therapy.

Explanation of Solution

Nurses do not involve in the alteration of pharmacotherapy or suggested over-the counter medications. This is due to the fact that ‘prescribing’ is not found in the scope of nursing practice. Drugs in the prescription can be administered by the staff nurse. Over-the counter (OTC) drugs are medicines that can be vended to a buyer without a prescription. Registered nurse staffs have awareness, talents, and abilities to handle the OTC drugs. They can administer OTC to a patient as it lies under the scope of practice. An example of OTC drug is Tylenol.

Herbal medicines are used as home remedies in some culture (people). The administration of herbal medications or preparations and OTCs do not need a prescription.  Dietary supplements are substances that are proposed for ingestion (eat or drink) for adding nutritional value to the body. Dietary supplements can be recommended by the nurse staffs. Example: vitamin capsules.

For safe administration of any drug, the nurse should have knowledge about the drug, the route of administration, the drug dosage, preparation or formulation of the drug, timings to be followed, and recording.

Conclusion

Nurses can make decisions in the administration of drug by using current evidences so that they can decrease the side effects. A registered staff nurse can prescribe medicines autonomously.