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They are less costly techniques: While relaxation and imagery are indeed inexpensive, cost reduction is not the main rationale for their use in clinical pain management. The focus is on enhancing patient safety and reducing drug-related risks.

They can be used at home: Although true, the ability to use these techniques at home is a secondary advantage. The primary rationale remains the potential to reduce drug dosage and adverse effects.

They do not require self-injection: This point is irrelevant, as not all analgesics are given by injection. Pain medications may be oral, transdermal, or intravenous, so avoiding injections is not the key rationale here.

As needed:
This leaves the patient waiting until pain becomes severe before taking medication, leading to unnecessary suffering and poor pain control.

Around the clock:While helpful for steady control, it does not address breakthrough pain, which is common in cancer-related pain.

On schedule during waking hours only:
Cancer pain persists throughout the night. Restricting dosing to waking hours risks nighttime suffering and disturbed sleep.

Refer the client to a drug treatment center if addiction occurs: This is not an appropriate discharge teaching plan. The nurse’s role is prevention and education about safe use, not assuming addiction will develop.

Monitor for GI bleeding: GI bleeding is associated with NSAIDs, not opioids or acetaminophen. Acetaminophen toxicity primarily affects the liver, not the GI lining.

Teach the client to self-assess blood pressure: Opioids do not usually cause hypertension requiring home BP monitoring. While hypotension can occur, it is not the main concern for teaching.

Refer the client to a drug treatment center if addiction occurs: This is not appropriate as routine discharge teaching. The nurse should focus on safe use, storage, and short-term use guidelines, plus signs of misuse and when to contact the provider—not assume addiction will occur.

Encourage increased fluids and fiber in the diet: Opioids slow gastrointestinal motility and commonly cause constipation. Teaching the client to increase fluids, dietary fiber, and activity (and to use stool softeners or mild laxatives as ordered) helps prevent constipation and related complications.Rationale for incorrect answers:

Teach the client to self-assess blood pressure: Routine blood-pressure self-monitoring is not required for outpatient teaching about Percocet. While opioids can cause hypotension in some cases, the primary teachable risks are constipation, sedation, respiratory depression (especially with higher doses or other CNS depressants), and hepatotoxicity from excess acetaminophen.

Increased temperature: Not directly related to morphine administration. Fever is more likely due to infection, not opioid use.

Decreased bowel sounds: Morphine does slow GI motility, but this leads to constipation and ileus, which are significant but not immediately life-threatening compared with respiratory depression.

Increased red blood cell count: Morphine has no effect on red blood cell production. This finding would be unrelated to opioid therapy.