The nurse is conducting an initial admission assessment for a woman who is a Jehovah's Witness and is scheduled to deliver a baby by Cesarean section within the next 24 hours. Which action should the nurse take?

A. "The healthcare provider will share this information with you" implies that the father has the right to access the client’s information, which is incorrect unless the client has provided explicit consent.

B. "I'm sorry, but your son's medical information is none of your business" is inappropriate and dismissive. While the father does not have automatic rights to the information, the response should be respectful and professional.

C. "I can give you those results as soon as I get them back from the lab" violates the client’s privacy, as the father is not automatically entitled to this information without the client’s consent.

D. "I can only give medical information to your son because he is an adult" is correct because the client is 19 years old and legally an adult. Under privacy laws such as HIPAA, the nurse cannot share medical information with anyone, including parents, unless the client has given permission.

A. Use at least 2 client identifiers before administering a dose – This is a critical step in preventing medication errors, but it would not have prevented the error in this scenario. The issue was with the dosage of the medication, not the identification of the client.
B. Document all medication as soon as it is given – While documentation is important for patient safety, it does not directly address the error of giving the wrong dose. Proper calculation and verification of the dose before administration are more effective in preventing this type of error.
C. Question unusually large or small doses – This is a key technique for preventing medication errors. The nurse should have questioned the unusually large dose of potassium, which was not calculated based on the client's weight and the prescribed amount. This would have alerted the nurse to the error before administering the medication.
D. Double check the dosage of high-risk medications with another nurse – Potassium is considered a high-risk medication, and double-checking the dosage with another nurse would have been an effective safety measure. This technique helps to catch errors in dosage calculations, especially with medications that have narrow therapeutic windows like potassium.
E. Involve and educate clients in medication administration – While involving and educating clients is important for overall safety and understanding, it is not a technique that would have helped prevent this particular medication error. The error was related to the nurse’s calculation and administration of the dose, not the client's involvement.