Question

a nurse is preparing to administer medications to a client who tells the nurse, \i dont want to take my fluid pill until i get home today.\ which of the following actions should the nurse take?

file an incident report with the risk manager.
document the refusal and inform the clients provider.
contact the pharmacist to pick up the medication.
give the client the medication to take at home and document that it was administered.

Explanation:

Analyze the client's statement and autonomy

The client is exercising their right to refuse a medication at the scheduled time by stating, "I don't want to take my fluid pill until I get home today." Competent adult clients have the right to refuse any treatment or medication.

Evaluate the options based on nursing standards

Using the Incident Reporting and Medication Error Documentation knowledge points

• Filing an incident report is incorrect because a client refusing a medication is a standard clinical event, not an error or unexpected adverse event.
• Giving the medication to take home and documenting it as administered is illegal and unsafe (nurses cannot dispense medications for home use in this manner, nor document administration falsely).
• Contacting the pharmacist to pick up the medication is not the immediate priority action.
• Documenting the refusal and notifying the provider is the standard protocol to respect autonomy while ensuring continuity of care.

Answer:

• File an incident report with the risk manager.
• Document the refusal and inform the client's provider. (Correct answer)
• Contact the pharmacist to pick up the medication.
• Give the client the medication to take home and document that it was administered.