Deck 3: Legal Aspects Affecting the Administration of Medications

Question 1

Which of the following is a document that is considered to be a legal record and hospital property?

A) Kardex
B) Medication card
C) Armband.
D) Patient chart

Answer 1

Patient chart

Question 2

Levels of regulation to which the nurse must adhere when administering medications include which of the following? (Select all that apply. )

A) City
B) Federal
C) State
D) Institutional

Answer 2

Federal
State
Institutional

Question 3

Which of the following is the missing component of this medication order: "Atropine 1 mg IV"?

A) Frequency
B) Indication
C) Route
D) Dilution

Answer 3

Frequency

Question 4

A patient brings his multivitamins to the hospital and asks the LPN/LVN if he can take them.Which of the following is the nurse's best response?

A) "Yes,but I must keep them in the medication room."
B) "No,I have to obtain a doctor's order first."
C) "Yes,let me put them in your bedside stand for you."
D) "Not until the pharmacist adds them to your medication record."

Question 5

A patient is discharged from the hospital.All the medications the patient was taking that are classified as controlled substances must be given to which of the following?

A) The patient at discharge
B) The patient's family at discharge
C) The hospital pharmacy after the patient's discharge
D) Another hospital patient after the patient's discharge

Question 6

Meperidine,75 mg IV push,is ordered by the physician to be given "stat." The nurse understands that this is which type of order?

A) Standing
B) Immediate
C) Flexible
D) Indefinite

Question 7

The order reads,"Theochron 200 mg PO qid." The nurse understands that this is which type of medication order?

A) Priority
B) Standing
C) Flexible
D) Indefinite

Question 8

Important information is recorded in a patient's hospital chart while he remains in the hospital.When a patient is discharged,which of the following is true regarding the ownership of his chart?

A) The patient owns the chart,but the hospital keeps the record.
B) The chart is a record that no one really owns.It is kept by the hospital.
C) The chart is a legal document that is owned by the state courts.
D) The chart is a legal document that is owned by the hospital.

Question 9

As the nurse is coming on duty to take over the day shift,the night nurse tells the nurse that she has already counted the controlled drugs for the day shift.Which of the following will the nurse do in this situation?

A) Do nothing;this is standard procedure.
B) Accept the keys and recount the drugs.
C) Recount the drugs with another nurse.
D) Count the drugs at the end of your shift.

Question 10

Enactment of which of the following major federal drug regulations required that new drug products be proven both safe and effective before they could be approved for sale in the U.S.?

A) Federal Food,Drug,and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act),1938
B) Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act (Controlled Substances Act),1970
C) Durham-Humphrey Amendment to the FD&C Act,1951
D) Kefauver-Harris Amendment to the FD&C Act,1962

Question 11

Which of the following is the title of legislation passed in 2001 for health care workers?

A) Federal Food,Drugs,and Cosmetic Act
B) Durham-Humphrey Amendment
C) Kefauver-Harris Amendment
D) Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

Question 12

A nurse has administered the wrong medication to a patient.Which of the following is the highest-priority nursing action at this time?

A) Document the occurrence in the patient record.
B) Notify the immediate supervisor of the error.
C) Complete an incident report and submit it to the nurse manager.
D) Evaluate the patient's condition and notify the physician.

Question 13

A nurse is taking care of an older adult patient with hypertension.He was prescribed an antihypertensive medication;however,he has decided to use a cheaper herbal product that he can buy over the counter and which he thinks will lower his blood pressure.The patient tells this information to the nurse in an interview.Which of the following is the best response to this patient?

A) "That sounds good,but you need to check your blood pressure often."
B) "There are several kinds of over-the-counter medications to decide from that can work."
C) "You will not need a prescription for over-the-counter medication,and it is cheaper."
D) "Herbal products are not regulated for effectiveness in treating hypertension."

Question 14

Which of the following is your interpretation of this order: "Rx Epifrin 0.25% 2 gtt OU bid"?

A) Two drops in both eyes twice daily
B) Two drops in the left eye four times daily
C) Two drops in the right eye twice daily
D) Two drops in both eyes four times daily

Question 15

Which of the following health care professionals is licensed to prescribe controlled substances?

A) LPN/LVN
B) Physical therapist
C) Pharmacist
D) Physician

Question 16

If a controlled substance is accidentally spilled or contaminated,the nurse will first do which of the following?

A) Obtain another dose from the narcotic control system.
B) Document the occurrence in the medication record.
C) Clean up the spill and notify the supervisor.
D) Ask another nurse to cosign the inventory record describing the situation.

Question 17

Which of the following is a drug distribution system that is commonly used when ordering medication in an agency?

A) Multidose system
B) Health care system
C) Welfare system
D) Ward stock system

Question 18

To identify medication errors in a patient's orders,a nurse can do which of the following? (Select all that apply. )

A) Clarify any unreadable or ambiguous orders with the prescribing physician.
B) Check the order in a medication Kardex.
C) Ask the patient about the medication.
D) Identify the medication with an old medication record.

Question 19

Which of the following medications is an example of a controlled substance?

A) Birth control pills
B) An antibiotic
C) Codeine
D) A laxative

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of a Schedule I controlled substance?

A) Morphine
B) Lomotil (diphenoxylate with atropine sulfate)
C) Heroin
D) Pentobarbital

Question 21

The narcotic control system is used by nurses working in any hospital or agency.Which of the following are special conditions that all nurses must follow? (Select all that apply. )

A) Narcotics are watched by everyone on the unit.
B) Medication is stored in a special cabinet.
C) The nurse signs for the medication.
D) An inventory must be kept on drugs.

Question 22

When a nurse realizes that a medication error has occurred,the nurse should take which of the following steps? (Select all that apply. )

A) Immediately check the patient and determine if the error poses a risk to the patient's condition.If so,notify the physician immediately.
B) Try to find someone to blame for the error.
C) Notify the nursing supervisor,record in the patient's chart exactly what happened,and fill out any other required (incident/medication error)reports.
D) Analyze how and why the error occurred,and how it might be avoided in the future.
E) All of the above are correct steps.

Question 23

At change of shift,two nurses (one from each shift)discover a discrepancy in the narcotics inventory for morphine 5 mg/mL vials.The count is short by one vial.Which of the following steps should be taken to reconcile the count? (Select all that apply. )

A) All nurses having access to the Pyxis machine or the narcotics cabinet should be asked about medication they have given.
B) Steps must be retraced to identify whether someone forgot to record any medication removed.
C) Check patient charts (MAR)to see if medication was given that was not signed for on the inventory report.
D) Notify the nursing supervisor (charge nurse)and the pharmacy department of any undocumented (unreconciled)discrepancy.
E) None of above

Question 24

A health care provider has written the following order: Mylanta 30 mL PO 30 minutes ac.The nurse giving this medication should interpret this order to include which of the following? (Select all that apply. )

A) Administer by mouth 30 minutes before meals.
B) Administer by mouth 30 minutes after meals.
C) Administer medication,eat in 30 minutes.
D) Take 30 minutes to eat,then take medication.