ATI RN
Medication Administration NCLEX Questions Questions
Question 1 of 5
The pain management nurse follows the recommended protocol for preventing constipation when starting a patient on opioids by:
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Opioid-induced constipation is best prevented with a bowel stimulant (e.g., senna) and stool softener (e.g., docusate), per standard guidelines.
Question 2 of 5
All of the following are required sources to confirm the patient's identity before administering medication EXCEPT:
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The patient's room/bed number is not a reliable source to confirm identity, as it can change or be shared. The identification bracelet, asking the patient, and the chart provide accurate identity verification.
Question 3 of 5
What must be done by the nurse to ensure key steps are followed while administering medication?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Checking for discoloration and expiration ensures the medication is safe and effective, a fundamental step in the administration process.
Question 4 of 5
You have a patient with severe multiple sclerosis that is advanced and progressive who now develops renal failure secondary to diabetes. The patient is alert and has elected to put the DNR (Do-Not-Resuscitate) order in place at her own discretion. The patient's potassium level is now markedly elevated at $8 \mathrm{meq} / \mathrm{L}$. Which of the following is the most appropriate management of this patient?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A 'Do-Not-Resuscitate' (DNR) order is very specifically defined as refraining from cardiopulmonary resuscitative efforts such as chest compressions, antiarrhythmic medications such as amiodarone or lidocaine, and electrical cardioversion in the event of the patient's cardiopulmonary arrest. A DNR order has nothing to do with any of the other forms of care that the patient is receiving. A DNR order has no impact on the use of dialysis. You should pretend that the DNR order does not exist when evaluating for dialysis. Hyperkalemia is life threatening. It is illogical to use an inferior therapy such as kayexalate for the long-term management of the hyperkalemia of renal failure if dialysis is indicated. This patient is awake, alert, and able to understand his or her own medical problems. The patient's family is not relevant in terms of the decision-making pathway if the patient has the capacity to understand his or her own medical problems.
Question 5 of 5
A 37-year-old man comes to your office for his regular visit. He has seemed severely depressed for some time but refuses to discuss either his feelings or treatment options of any kind. He does not want to use antidepressant medications. His only medications are vitamins. Your relationship with him is excellent but he just won't confront his feelings of depression although he firmly denies suicidal ideation. You prescribe a serotonin reuptake inhibitor for him and tell him that it is a vitamin. Over the next several months his mood markedly improves and he feels much better. Which of the following most appropriately characterizes your action toward the patient?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: A patient must give consent to any test or treatment performed upon him as long as the patient has the capacity to decide. Physicians are not acting ethically when they treat a patient without his consent even if it benefits the patient. It is very difficult for some people to accept that goodwill and sincerity are not sufficient to override the absolute necessity for informed consent. This is true even if you are right in the sense that the treatment will help the patient and that only the patient will benefit from the procedure or treatment. This is true even if payment is not received. Autonomy of the individual outweighs beneficence, which is the desire to do good. This is the physician's desire to treat the patient. Another way of saying it is: I have a right to be sick and miserable if that is what I want.