Pharmacology for Nursing Practice Questions
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Discussion 3
Assessment for pain is an effective way of providing effective treatment. The nurse would measure Madam Lillian’s pain by using a numeric pain scale. Self-reporting of pain is the best way for measuring Lillian’s pain, which helps in the verbal rating scale. The nurse would verify the presence of pain by the patient’s mood is happy, and the pain is minimal or no pain; sleep pattern if the patient has disturbed sleep pattern the patient has pain. The pain would be rated on the pain scale and aggravates or relieves the pain (“Assessment of pain,” 2008). The nurse should assess pain before giving the acetaminophen and after 4 hours of acetaminophen administration or waking hours. This would grant the nurse an accurate overview of Madam Lillian’s pain accurately which will determine the pain management. The nurse should record Madam Lillian’s pain according to pain score every time (“Clinical guidelines (Nursing): Pain assessment and measurement,” n.d.).
Zolpidem is a drug prescribed for Madam Lillian, categorized under sedatives typically known as hypnotic nonbenzodiazepine. The mode of action for this medicine is increasing GABA activity, which is a chemical that causes sleep, thus increasing the sleepiness of the individual this is according to Vallerand and Sanoski (2019). The drug’s onset of action is immediately or approximately 30 minutes after administration and lasts for 7 to 8 hours that when you wake up. Regarding safety considerations, geriatric patients metabolize the drug at a slower rate, thus recommended to administer it at a lower dose. Additional, the drug should not be used by patients with compromised respiration, any symptom of depression, and you should avoid driving the car the next day after waking up for it causes drowsiness and dizziness (“Zolpidem: Side effects, dosage, uses, and more,” n.d.).
There could be many resulting factors for Madam Lillian’s fall, like what drug she was using, the surrounding environment, and the prognosis of her condition even her age can cause her to fall. The CDC says that falls of the elderly can be significantly attributed to age (“Older adult falls,” 2020). As people get older, vision acuity declines. Also, changes in gait will affect a person’s center of gravity and stability. Furthermore, Lillian’s hospital environment could have had dim lighting or a slippery tile floor. Or in other cases, the medication taken by Madam Lillian could cause loss of balance that may be brought about by weak muscles or dizziness that may be affected by constipation after relieving it, bringing paroxysmal vertigo.
References
Assessment of pain. (2008, 9). Nursing Times. https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/pain-management/assessment-of-pain-18-09-2008/
Clinical guidelines (Nursing): Pain assessment and measurement. (n.d.). https://www.rch.org.au/rchcpg/hospital_clinical_guideline_index/Pain_assessment_and_measurement/
Davis’s Canadian drug guide for nurses. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Vo7mDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=vallerand+and+sanoski+2019+zolpidem&ots=QsPHplYfg-&sig=_s238bgcZOlA5SEFrGNe1X3C5C0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=vallerand%20and%20sanoski%202019%20zolpidem&f=false
Zolpidem: Side effects, dosage, uses, and more. (n.d.). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/zolpidem-oral-tablet