Researching and Preparing Medications
PPT adopted from FA Davis
& revised
NURS 353
Associate Professor Dr. Luzviminda
Banez Miguel
UHH BSN Program
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Names of Medications
Chemical Brand
The name of the exact Trade name of a drug is
ingredients of the usually shorter and easier
medication to remember
Generic Owned by the
Assigned by the U.S. pharmaceutical company,
Adopted Name Council proprietary name
Based on the chemical
name but is more of a
shorthand version
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Categories of Medications
Prescription
Available with a written direction from a health-
care provider with prescriptive authority
Physicians; nurse practitioners, physician assistants (PA)
Over-the-counter (OTC)
Available without a prescription (nonprescription
medications)
They may be purchased by the consumer for use at
recommended dosages
Before a medication is offered OTC, it must be
determined safe at the dose available
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Routes of Medication Administration
Oral route Topical route
Taken through the Applied to the skin
mouth, either by Parenteral route
swallowing or buccal Given beneath the skin
Sublingual route Includes all injections
Absorbed under the Intradermal (between the
layers of the skin)
tongue Subcutaneous (beneath the
Mucosal route skin)
Intramuscular (within
Absorbed through the muscle layers)
mucosa Intravenous (into the vein)
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Legal Regulation of Medications
Box 35.1 Laws Regulating Medications
Many laws have been passed regarding medication quality and safety. The following
four laws impact the way drugs are developed, marketed, stored, and named today
• Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938: Established a government
agency to approve all new drugs and determine that the drug was safe for
humans. This agency became the U.S. FDA
• Durham-Humphrey Amendment of 1952: Specified the criteria
for prescription medications and OTC medications
• Kefauver-Harris Amendment of 1962: Established the FDA as
responsible for giving drugs official (generic) names and specified criteria for
deeming a drug safe and effective before it is offered for sale
• Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970:
Established Schedules I through V, categorizing drugs according to their potential
for abuse; set guidelines for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of controlled
substances; addressed the need for treatment for drug abuse and dependence;
and made it illegal to possess a controlled substance without a legal prescription
for it
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Drug Abuse in Nursing
No research shows that nurses abuse drugs
at a higher rate than the general population
Nurses deal with high work-related stress
and easy access to drugs
The American Nurses Association suggests
up to 10% of the nursing workforce may be
dependent on drugs or alcohol
Peer assistance programs
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Medication Effects
Desired effect Allergic reactions
Occur when the patient’s body
The reason a medication is reacts to the medication as a
prescribed or the purpose foreign invader to be
for which it is given destroyed
Anaphylaxis
Side effect A more severe reaction, life-
threatening
Occurs when an unintended Causes swelling of the airways,
outcome takes place shortness of breath,
respiratory arrest, decreased
Adverse effect blood pressure, and eventually
Unintended but are more circulatory collapse
severe or harmful than side Toxicity
Too much of the medication in
effects the body
Desire is for therapeutic levels
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Drug Interactions Researching
With other Medications
medications Nursing drug guides
With certain foods Physician’s Desk
With vitamin and Reference (PDR)
herbal supplements Pharmacology
textbooks
Internet resources
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Reading Medication Orders
Date and time of the order
Name of the medication, either generic or brand
Dosage of medication
Frequency for taking the medication
Route of administration, such as oral, intramuscular,
or intravenous
Patient’s name
Specific reason for administrating the medication
Signature of the prescriber
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Medication Administration Record
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Systems of Measurement
Metric To set up the problem, arrange the
Grams, liters, etc. information in this manner:
Apothecary
An older system of
measurement is
used when
medications are
ordered that have
existed for a very
long time
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Obtaining Medications
Computerized cabinets
Medication charts
Locked bins in patient rooms
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Rights of Medication
Right medicine
Right dose
Right route
Right patient
Right indication
Right date and time
Right documentation
Right to know purpose of medication
Right to know effects
Right to refuse
Right to question
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Safety Checks
Verify the medication, dose, route, patient,
indication, date, and time as you remove the
medication from the cart, bin, or Pyxis® machine
Verify the medication, dose, and route against the
MAR prior to placing it in the medication cup and
returning the container to the drawer, if applicable
Verify the patient, medication, indication, dose, and
route at the bedside prior to opening it and
administering it to the patient
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Medication Errors
Box 35.5 Tips for Preventing Medication Errors
It is easy to confuse some medication names and doses. You must be very careful to read
names and doses exactly to prevent errors. You also must focus completely on the task at
hand when preparing medications for administration
• Read drug names carefully. Many drug names are similar and can be
confusing. Examples include Zantac and Xanax, baclofen and Bactroban, Plavix and
Pradaxa, Zostrix and Zestril
• Read doses carefully, especially those with decimals. Look for
a 0 in front of the decimal to call attention to its presence so that it will not be
overlooked. Example: 0.125 milligrams and 0.25 milligrams are both doses of digoxin.
Also, doses in different units of the metric system can be the cause of an error.
Example: Thyroid hormone is provided in micrograms (mcg) but may be ordered in
milligrams (mg); 0.1 milligram is equal to 100 micrograms
• Never administer a medication you are unknowledgeable
about. If you do not know what the medication is for or what the expected effects
are, you must look it up. Even if it is inconvenient and time-consuming, you must
know what you are administering and if the dose is within the appropriate range
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Safe Medication Errors & Practices
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Be honest and report following facility
policy
Complete incident report
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