The nurse working on a psychiatric unit follows which of the following guidelines when offering medication to a client with paranoid schizophrenia in the client's room?
Explanation
• Psychiatric nurses must learn to be aware of their surroundings and always keep client and personal safety as the primary goal. The nurse should always maintain a clear exit path and keep the client room door open. The only time the door should be closed is when an invasive procedure is undertaken, and in this instance, the nurse should have another nurse or nurse assistant as a chaperone.
• Patient medication times are not altered for nurse convenience. Psychiatric patients may be calm at certain times, but nurses must administer medications at the scheduled times.
• Nurses cannot always wait to administer medications until another nurse is available to accompany them. Each nurse has responsibilities during a work shift that must be accomplished in a timely manner to maintain therapeutic nursing care.
• Nurses should never turn their back on a client when alone in a client room, especially if the client has an illness or history associated with violent or unpredictable behavior. While maintaining a clear exit path is important, the nurse must maintain a line of sight on the patient when alone in a room.