The health care provider orders a trough level of an antibiotic administered every twenty four hours.
When should the nurse plan for a trough level to be drawn?

What are the client’s cultural norms? This question is important because it helps to assess whether the client’s behavior is influenced by their cultural background and values, which may differ from those of the staff and other clients.

For example, some cultures may value privacy, modesty, or respect for elders more than others, and may avoid eye contact or social interaction as a sign of politeness or deference.

Understanding the client’s cultural norms can help to provide culturally sensitive and appropriate care.

Choice A is wrong because it assumes that the client’s behavior is caused by negative interactions with other clients, which may not be the case.

Choice B is wrong because it assumes that the client’s behavior is caused by hostile thoughts about others, which may not be the case.

Choice C is wrong because it assumes that the client’s behavior is caused by fear of others in the unit, which may not be the case.

These choices are not relevant to planning the client’s care and may reflect bias or stereotyping on the part of the staff.

Notify the health care provider. The nurse should take this action first because the provider can prescribe appropriate interventions to prevent or minimize harm to the client.

The nurse should also inform the unit supervisor, document the error in the client’s medical record, and record the error on the appropriate quality improvement report, but these are not the priority actions.

Choice A is wrong because informing the unit supervisor is not the most urgent action. The supervisor can provide support and guidance to the nurse, but cannot prescribe interventions for the client.

Choice C is wrong because documenting the error in the client’s medical record is not the most urgent action.

The nurse should document the error after notifying the provider and assessing the client. Documentation should include the medication name, dose, route, time, client’s response, and actions taken.

Choice D is wrong because recording the error on the appropriate quality improvement report is not the most urgent action.

The nurse should record the error after notifying the provider and assessing the client. The report should include a factual description of what happened and what was done.