Verified Document

Clinical Decision-Making Process In Regards To Drug Therapy For The Elderly Essay

Clinical Decision Making Process in Regards to Drug Therapy for the Elderly The objective of this study is to examine how an undergraduate student nurse would use the clinical decision-making process in regards to drug therapy for the elderly. Included will be issues and considerations for clients from different cultural and indigenous groups. The nurse role is significantly involved in the preparation and administration of medications and therapeutic substances in elderly care.

Professional Legal and Ethical Implications of Medication Administration

It is reported that laws on administration of medication "vary from state to state." (Hauswirth, 2012) While doctors, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses are "generally trained and authorized to administer medical, however, other medical disciplines are reported to be limited in administration of medications except in specific situations such as in residential care settings. It is also reported that the distribution of and access to medications that are able to be abused or those referred to as controlled substances are restricted by state and federal laws.

II. Quality Use of Medicines in Process of Ensuring Safe Patient Outcomes

It is reported that most adults over 65 years of age use medications and 39% of those take five or more medications and approximately 90% use...

35% of the elderly experience adverse drug errors with nearly 50% of those errors being preventable. Safety measures to improve the safety of geriatric medication includes:
(1) "always double-checking "high-alert drugs" -- those medications that have an increased risk of causing harm to patients when used in error -- by doing independent calculations;

(2) Allowing time between re-checks is a strategy that allows health-care professionals to find their own errors;

(3) Eliminating the use of specific abbreviations can also narrow the margin for error. As a bottom line, health-care professionals should write out the words when preparing prescriptive orders instead of using frequently mistaken symbols and abbreviations." (Family Nurse Practitioner, 2012)

III. Factors In Administration of Medication to Elderly

Factors involved in administration of medications in the elderly include the patient's diet, renal function, ability to take medications orally, as well as other factors related to the patient's health status including cardiovascular changes and specifically the reduction in the hearts elasticity and the aorta and great arteries compliance. The result is a higher systolic arterial pressure in addition to "impedance to left ventricular ejection, and subsequent left ventricular hypertrophy and interstitial…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

Harris, H. (2012) The Nurse's Role in Geriatric Medication Safety. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/about_6544279_nurse_s-role-geriatric-medication-safety.html

Hauswirth, K (2012) Administration of Medication. Healthline. Retrieved from: http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/administration-of-medication

Mangoni, AA and Jackson, SHD (2004) Age-Related Changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics: basic principles and practical applications. Br J. Clin Pharmacol. 2004 January 57(1):6-14. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1884408/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Clinical Psychology
Words: 60005 Length: 200 Document Type: Dissertation

Clinical Psychology Dissertation - Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings An Abstract of a Dissertation Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings This study sets out to determine how dreams can be used in a therapeutic environment to discuss feelings from a dream, and how the therapist should engage the patient to discuss them to reveal the relevance of those feelings, in their present,

Drug Challenges When Dealing Older Patients
Words: 875 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Geriatric Pharmacotherapy and Medication Challenges Prescription Problems in Elderly Patients In elderly patients, prescriptions, over the counter (OTC), and herbals may cause problems because they suffer from several chronic disorders resulting in the excessive use of drugs compared to any other age group. It can be understood by the diminished physiological reverse, which is mostly associated with aging and can further be depleted by the chronic or acute state of diseases and

Assessment Process
Words: 3434 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Therapy is usually applied in cases such as the one exhibited by Kong, following the loss of a loved one. The procedure is outlined below: The Semi-Structured Clinical Interview The informal assessment of individuals faced with the effects of the loss of a loved one such as Kong's case is the semi structured interview. This approach allows the therapist to classify victims according to the symptoms that they exhibit. The approach allows

Abuse and Pregnant Women
Words: 13948 Length: 40 Document Type: Capstone Project

Violence against pregnant women is a commonplace phenomenon and this research paper will explain the background of violence against pregnant women. Women undergo different forms of violence for instance, beating, threats, raping and unwilling prostitution. Some years back, it wasn't a big issue as approach towards women was a tad bit different back then. Men were treated as the dominant sex due to their physical strength. So is the case

Japanese-American Biopharmaceutical Industry in the 21st Century
Words: 20340 Length: 60 Document Type: Term Paper

Japanese-American Biopharmaceutical Industry in the 21st Century Optimizing Ethical Drug Availability Between These Two Pharmaceutical Superpowers" The Japanese-American biopharmaceutical industry represents an ongoing international effort between the two top pharmaceutical markets in the world. These two economic powers provide consumers with a majority share of all pharmaceuticals produced in the world. However, a number of pharmaceutical products that are currently available to U.S. residents are unavailable to Japanese consumers. From a humanitarian perspective, this

Analyzing Healthcare Cultural Assessment
Words: 5773 Length: 18 Document Type: Capstone Project

cultural diversity issues and its impact on nursing professionals' practice. It assesses a client hailing from a different culture, and employs information derived from the assessment determining and reflecting on health practices and beliefs of the client's culture. Lastly, nurses' role in the care of patients hailing from diverse backgrounds care is analyzed, and a conclusion is drawn. Client Interview Data Client's health beliefs in relation to cultural diversity The client comes

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now