What considerations/actions should the nurse make regarding the client’s refusal to restart his blood pressure medication?
What should the nurse think about or do about the client’s refusal to take his blood pressure medicine again? The nurse would want to know why Mr. B doesn’t want to take the medicine again and would respect the patient’s decision to not take the medicine. “A bad fall can make it harder to do things on your own and lower your quality of life.” (Jin, 2018). But the nurse would also want to check how well the patient understands the risks of not taking the medicines. The nurse should find out if the patient can read the label on the medicine. Tell the patient how important it is to take the medicine as the doctor ordered. Encourage the patient to think about changing the dose or seeing another doctor for a second opinion. The nurse should have noticed that the two medications were given by two different doctors. This is called polypharmacy. The low blood pressure caused the patient to feel dizzy, which made him or her fall. “Health care providers can help patients stick to their medications by teaching them how to take them, bringing up any reluctance to take medications and talking to patients about it, and talking to patients about what they think and know about their health and treatments.” (Costa et al., 2015).
2, What things or steps could the healthcare team have taken to keep the client from falling? Teaching the patient what to expect from medicines that change their heart rate and blood pressure (BP). For example, you could teach the person to move slowly when getting out of bed or a chair. And if they start to feel dizzy, they should sit or lie down. Teach Mr. B how important it is to drink a lot of water while taking his blood pressure medicine. Think about the patient’s diet, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and prescription drugs that could interact badly with the metoprolol and hydrochlorothiazide. Have the patient tell his provider about all the drugs he is taking so that they can look out for bad drug interactions. Given the patient’s age, they could help him figure out things like the environment, throw rugs, dim lighting, stairs, or feeling weak, dizzy, or lightheaded that could make him more likely to fall.
