Practice Question
A nurse is transcribing a client's medication prescriptions and is having difficulty reading the provider's handwriting. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Contact the provider to clarify the prescription.
Rationale:
🟦 The nurse must always clarify unreadable, ambiguous, or incomplete prescriptions directly with the prescribing provider to ensure safe medication administration.
🟦 Contacting the provider prevents serious medication errors, including wrong dose, wrong drug, or wrong route.
🟦 Only the provider can legally verify and correct their own orders, making this the safest and legally appropriate action.
🟦 This action aligns with nursing safety standards and supports accurate transcription of medication orders.
🟦 Clarifying directly with the provider ensures that the nurse follows scope-of-practice guidelines and protects the client’s safety.
Interpret the prescription according to the client’s medical history
🟦 Nurses should never guess, interpret, or assume prescription details based on medical history.
🟦 Doing so risks administering an incorrect medication or dose, compromising client safety.
🟦 Interpretation is outside the nurse’s scope when the order is unclear.
🟦 Medical history cannot replace direct provider clarification.
🟦 This option would violate safe medication practice standards.
Clarify the prescription with the family
🟦 Family members do not have the authority to interpret medication orders.
🟦 They may misunderstand medical terminology or provide inaccurate information.
🟦 This approach increases the risk of medication error.
🟦 Only the provider can validate and confirm the intended prescription.
🟦 Therefore, involving the family would be inappropriate and unsafe.
Ask the pharmacist for clarification
🟦 Pharmacists play an essential role in medication safety, but they cannot interpret unreadable provider handwriting.
🟦 A pharmacist may identify risks but must also consult the provider for final clarification.
🟦 Relying on pharmacy alone bypasses the requirement for provider verification.
🟦 The pharmacist cannot legally change an unclear order without provider input.
🟦 This option does not meet the legal standard for safe transcription.
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This question is from Custom Fundamentals Exam FA2024 which contains 64 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Fundamentals of Nursing
- Answer Choices: 4