Safe Medication I Flashcards
7 cards from real ISMP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Safe Medication I flashcards as text
A home health nurse finds a patient storing multiple medications in unlabeled containers 'to save space.' What is the primary safety risk per ISMP guidelines?
Answer: Risk of taking the wrong medication due to loss of identifying label information
Removing labels eliminates critical information such as drug name, dose, and expiration date, creating significant risk of medication mix-up and error.
Which practice does ISMP identify as a root cause of errors related to oral liquid dosing in pediatric patients at home?
Answer: Using household teaspoons, which are inaccurate and variable in volume
Household teaspoons vary significantly in actual volume (2–10 mL), making them unreliable for medication dosing; oral syringes or dosing cups should be used instead.
During a medication administration, a nurse scans the patient's armband and receives an alert that the medication is not due for another 2 hours. According to ISMP bar-code medication administration (BCMA) principles, what should the nurse do?
Answer: Assess the clinical reason for the alert, consult the prescriber if appropriate, and document the decision
Alerts from BCMA systems should not be routinely overridden; each alert requires clinical assessment and documentation to maintain the safety benefit of the system.
An order is written for 'Celebrex (celecoxib) 200 mg PO daily.' A nurse unfamiliar with the drug confuses it with 'Cerebyx (fosphenytoin).' What ISMP strategy would most directly prevent this error?
Answer: Using the generic name in the order alongside the brand name to reduce reliance on brand-name recognition alone
ISMP recommends including the generic name on all orders so clinicians are not solely reliant on brand names that may be confused with similar-sounding products.
A patient with renal impairment (CrCl 20 mL/min) is ordered the standard adult dose of a renally cleared antibiotic. What is the medication safety principle being violated?
Answer: Failure to adjust dose for organ function, which can cause drug accumulation and toxicity
Many drugs require dose reduction or interval extension in renal impairment to prevent toxic accumulation; this is a standard component of safe prescribing.
Which action best reflects ISMP's principle of a 'just culture' following a medication error?
Answer: Analyzing system factors contributing to the error and holding individuals accountable only for reckless behavior
Just culture distinguishes between system failures and individual recklessness, encouraging reporting and system improvement while maintaining appropriate accountability.
A prescriber orders 'MgSO4 2 g IV over 20 minutes.' The nurse accidentally programs the pump for 2 g over 2 minutes. What preventive control does ISMP recommend for this scenario?
Answer: Programming MgSO4 into the smart pump drug library with hard limits on infusion rate
A smart pump drug library with hard rate limits would reject a 2-minute programming entry for MgSO4, catching the pump programming error before infusion begins.