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Nursing Pharmacology: Key Responsibilities

This chapter discusses the nurse's role in drug therapy and the application of the nursing process. It begins by explaining that the nurse's responsibilities with drugs go beyond just the Six Rights of Administration. Nurses must anticipate drug responses and ensure patients receive the correct medication. Evaluation is also important to achieve maximum benefit with minimum harm. The nursing process is applied to individualize treatment, gather assessment data, identify potential issues, and evaluate therapeutic responses and adherence. Education is key to informing patients and minimizing adverse effects.

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81 views2 pages

Nursing Pharmacology: Key Responsibilities

This chapter discusses the nurse's role in drug therapy and the application of the nursing process. It begins by explaining that the nurse's responsibilities with drugs go beyond just the Six Rights of Administration. Nurses must anticipate drug responses and ensure patients receive the correct medication. Evaluation is also important to achieve maximum benefit with minimum harm. The nursing process is applied to individualize treatment, gather assessment data, identify potential issues, and evaluate therapeutic responses and adherence. Education is key to informing patients and minimizing adverse effects.

Uploaded by

LLLJJJ
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Lehne: Pharmacology for Nursing Care, 8th Edition

Chapter 02: Application of Pharmacology in Nursing Practice


Key Points: Print
Chapter 2 egins !ith a discussion of the nurse"s role in drug therapy#
Nursing responsibilities with regard to drugs extend far beyond the Six Rights of
Drug Administration.
The Six Rights are important, but important events occur after the pill has been
delivered, and the nurse must be able to respond to these.
Nurses must be able to anticipate drug responses and not simply react to them
after the fact.
The nurse is the patients last line of defense against medication errors.
Steps to ensure correct administration of medications include!
o Reading the order carefully
o "erifying the patients identity
o Reading the medication label carefully
o "erifying that the dosage calculations are correct
o #mplementing special handling for drugs that re$uire it
o %dministering only drugs about which the nurse &nows the action and the
reason for its use
'valuation is one of the most important aspects of drug therapy.
Patient adherence is the extent to which the patients behavior coincides with
medical advice.
(y applying their &nowledge of pharmacology, nurses ma&e a significant
contribution to achieving the therapeutic ob)ective of maximum benefit with
minimum harm.
$he chapter continues !ith a description of the measures applied to minimi%e
ad&erse effects and ad&erse interactions and discusses the nurse"s role in educating
patients aout their drugs#
%ll drugs have the potential to produce undesired effects.
%dverse drug interactions can lead to reduced drug effectiveness or intensify
adverse effects.
*atients should be instructed about the following!
o The drugs name and its therapeutic category +e.g., penicillin, antibiotic-
o .osage si/e
o .osing schedule
o Route and techni$ue of administration
o 'xpected therapeutic response and when it should develop
o Nondrug measures to enhance therapeutic responses
o .uration of treatment
o 0ethod of drug storage
1opyright 2 3456, 3454 by Saunders, an imprint of 'lsevier #nc.
Key Points: Print
o Symptoms of ma)or adverse effects and measures to minimi/e discomfort
and harm
o 0a)or adverse drug7drug and drug7food interactions
o 8hom to contact in the event of therapeutic failure, severe adverse
reactions, or severe adverse interactions
$he chapter then re&ie!s the application of the nursing process to drug therapy#
%pplication of the nursing process in drug therapy is directed at individuali/ing
treatment, which is critical to achieving the therapeutic ob)ective.
The goal of preadministration assessment is to gather data needed for +5-
evaluation of therapeutic responses and adverse effects, +3- identification of high7
ris& patients, and +6- assessment of the patients capacity for self7care.
The analysis phase of the nursing process is directed at +5- )udging the
appropriateness of the prescribed therapy, +3- identifying potential health
problems that treatment might cause, and +6- characteri/ing the patients capacity
for self7care.
Planning is directed at +5- defining goals, +3- establishing priorities, and +6-
establishing criteria for evaluating success.
Implementation of the care plan in drug therapy has four ma)or components! +5-
drug administration, +3- patient education, +6- interventions to promote
therapeutic effects, and +9- interventions to minimi/e adverse effects.
#n the evaluation stage, the ob)ective is to evaluate +5- therapeutic responses, +3-
adverse reactions and interactions, +6- the patients adherence to the prescribed
regimen, and +9- the patients satisfaction with treatment.
1opyright 2 3456, 3454 by Saunders, an imprint of 'lsevier #nc.
373

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