Module 1 - The Home NUrse

TLE 10 1st Q
MODULE The Home Nurse, Her Duties

1 and Responsibilities
Name_________________________________________________________ Date _________________ Score ________________
A home nurse plays an important role in the patient’s early recovery. He or she must be healthy and strong in order that
he/she may be able to cope with the difficulty’s attendant to his/her duties and responsibilities as a home nurse.
A home nurse does not need a degree in nursing or medicine to be able to take care of a patient at home. A normal thinking
individual with the right attitude and plenty of common sense will be good enough. In addition to an understanding nature, an
effective home nurse is mature-mentally, socially, and psychologically.
A good home nurse possesses the following characteristics:

a. Sympathetic and understanding- Listens to how the patient feels and do something to lessen the pain.
b. Patient and reliable- Do not lose your temper when patient becomes unruly.
c. Neat and clean- Pays attention to body, hair, and clothing.
d. Sensitive to the needs of the patient- Be considerate to what he/she needs and feel.
e. Tactful- Refrains from saying anything or making remarks that will trouble or depress the patient.
f. Resourceful- Knows which of the available resources can be utilized to save on expenses.
g. Gentle- A well-modulated voice, a smile, a pleasant disposition can do wonders to make the patient at ease and
appreciative.
h. Systematic and Orderly- He/she must be able to adopt a system where accurate records of the patient’s weight, temperature,
pulse rate, blood pressure, medicines taken, foods eaten, frequency of elimination and other data which can help the doctor
assess the patient’s condition, are readily available.
Her duties and responsibilities cover a wide range of matters such as:
1. Answer doctor’s questions regarding status of patient and communicate these with other family members.
2. Keep written records accurately for doctor’s perusal.
3. Observe proper hygiene for herself and of the patient to reduce contamination.
4. Always observe safety precaution to prevent accidents.
5. Administer medicines properly.
Giving Medicine to Patients

1. Ensure that only the right medicine is administered. Read label of medicine at least twice before giving.
2. Give the right dosage, as prescribed.
3. Follow the time schedule in giving of medicine strictly.
4. Record the time, the amount, and the patient’s condition before and after the medicine was given immediately.
5. Have a ready glass of water, spoon, or whatever is needed for the administration if the medicine and a cloth or tissue paper
to wipe, in case of the patient vomits or coughs.
Ways of Giving Medicine

 Oral- Through the mouth. It may be in form of capsule, tablet, syrup, pill and/or powder. When giving tablets, capsules or
pills, check the label on the container. A glass of water on hand will help the patients swallow the medicine. In case the
patient finds it hard to swallow, crush it with a knife or metal spoon and mix it with a teaspoon of water, honey, or jam. A
capsule can be opened and the powder can be mixed with sugar or honey or stirred into a quantity of milk and water.
 For liquid medicine, use a tablespoon, a measuring cup or glass for the prescribed amount. Pour the liquid medicine, hold
the bottle and the medicine glass or spoon at eye level to avoid drips that may blot out the instruction on the label. Measure
the prescribed amount accurately. When giving suspensions, mix the powder with water in order to liquefy it. Again, don’t
forget to check the label for the right amount of water to be used. Hold the glass at eye level and accurately measure the
dose ordered. Follow the method of giving liquid medicine when administering said mixture. Most suspensions need
refrigeration and usually last for two weeks or 14 days. Dispose of unused or expired medicines.
 Rectal- Through the rectum. Suppositories and enemas are examples of this type.
 Injection- Introduction of liquid medicine into the body by means of syringe, which is normally given by a doctor or nurse.
The four types of injections are:
a. Intracutaneous or between layers of the skin;
b. Subcutaneous or under the skin;
c. Intramuscular or into the muscle and;
d. Intravenous or into the vein
 Inhalation- Drugs are vaporized and inhaled by the patient. Difficulty in breathing is relieved through this, particularly if
the patient is suffering from asthma or bronchitis
 Drops- Drugs are administered by direct application to affected areas such as eyes, ear, or nose by means of droppers.
When applying eyedrops, eardrops or nasal drops, be sure your hands are thoroughly clean and the position of the patient
must be considered so as to be sure that the medicine has reached its destination.
Remember these:
Eyedrops must not fall on the patient’s eyeball but on the lower lid. After dropping, tell the patient to close his eyes to
allow the medicine to spread evenly on the entire surface of the eye. Dissuade patient from squeezing his eyes or rubbing his eyelids
once the drops have been applied.
Eardrops. Warm the drops by letting the container stand in a bowl of warm
water. To protect the patient’s clothing, put a small towel around the upper part of the
body. Ask the patient to either lie sideward or sit with his head tilted sideward, also
showing the affected ear. Rest the tip of the dropper just slightly above the ear and then
gently squeeze out the needed number of drops. Ask the patient to keep his head in the
same position for a few minutes to allow the drops to spread out inside his ear.
Nasal drops. Ask the patient to lie or sit down with his head tilted back. Put the
tip of the dropper just inside the patient’s nostrils. Then, gently release the prescribed
number of drops. Once the drops have been applied, instruct your patient to sniff and
keep still for a few minutes or until the medicine has penetrated his nose.
Giving Medicines to Children

It is more difficult to give medicine to children. Maybe because of its
unpleasant taste. So, medicine is mixed with milk, fruit or juice or any of the child’s
favorite drinks. It may also be combined with jam or honey. But the child should know
that the medicine is mixed with his favorite drink or he might not like to drink milk or
juice anymore. It might also mean losing your child’s trust and confidence such that he will not want to take any kind of drinks in
the future thinking that it is something unpleasant to take.
Kinds of Medicine
1. Over-counter-drugs. These can be bought in drugstores or pharmacies, even without a doctor’s prescription. This is because
these medicines do not contain addictive substances and are, therefore, not regulated by law.
2. Regulated or prescribed. These can be bought only with a doctor’s prescription. The law controls its storage and use it
contain substances which can be abused and make the patient dependent or addicted to them. Examples of these drugs are
strong painkillers notably opium, morphine, heroin, sleeping tablets like barbiturates, and stimulants like amphetamines.
Storing Medicines
1. Drugs for internal use must be separated from those intended for external application.
2. Do not transfer medicines from their original bottles to other containers.
3. Never mix different kinds of pills and tablets in the same container.
4. Keep medicine in a cool place. some may need to be refrigerated.
5. Do not use medicines whose bottles or containers have labels which can’t be read.
6. All medicines must be kept away from children. Medicine cabinets or cupboard should be well out of a child’s reach and
above his eye level.
7. Household products like ammonia, brake fluid, soda, over or glass cleaner, paint, etc. must be kept under lock and key.
Expiration of Medicines
1. This must be indicated in the label.
2. Look for changes in color, particularly liquid or solid medicines.
3. Change in appearance. Transparent to opaque as in liquid, or presence of sediments that were previously not there.
Disposal of Medicines
1. Medicines no longer needed must be discarded by flushing them down the toilet or washing them down the drain.
2. Throw disposable syringe and needle by wrapping them first in a piece of paper before putting them in a trashcan. This will
prevent the garbage collector from being injured, or a drug addict from finding and using it.
Prescription is a written instruction of the doctor in the preparation and use

of a medicine. It has four parts namely:
a. Superscription, which consists of the patient’s name, his address and age,
and the date of prescription
b. Inscription, which includes the ingredients and their required amounts or
quantities;
c. Subscription, the direction to the pharmacist as to how the preparation could
be done; and
d. Signature which consists of two parts:
1. The instruction on how, when, and in what amounts of medication
should be taken by the patient
2. The patient and the physician’s signature and license number.
Take note of these codes in prescribing the time intervals in the
administration of medicine. Thse are as follows:
1. OD- once a day
2. BID- twice a day
3. TID- thrice a day
4. RID- four times a day
5. q4- every four hours
6. q6- q8- every 6 hours and 8 hrs.; respectively
7. a. c. – before meals
8. p.c. – after meals
9. hs. – hours of sleep or nighttime
A dose refers to the curative amount of a medicine to be taken at one time.
Examples:
1 (one) capsule 2x a day
2 (two) capsules once a day
.5 or ½ ml 3x a day
Generics
With the approval of the Generic Law, the Department of Health (DOH) has launched a nationwide campaign for its
effective implementation. The objective is for an acceptance of the Generic Law which states that medicine of different brand
names but with common active ingredients are the same, so parents are encouraged to choose medicines of reasonable cost but with
the same ingredients instead of selecting on the basis of brand names.
ACTIVITIES
FT1. Answer fully.

1. Define home nursing.
2. Who can become a home nurse?
3. What benefits are derived from home nursing?
4. List down your own concept regarding a good home nurse.
5. Explain the duties of a home nurse.
6. What is the difference from generic medicines from the branded ones? Which one will you probably buy? Justify your answer.
7. Why is it important to put labels among medicines ‘container?
8. What is the different between the over-the-counter drugs from regulated or prescribed ones?
FT2. Provide a concrete example of having the following characteristics as a good home nurse:
1. Tactful- ________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Gentle- ________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Neat- __________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Systematic- _____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Sensitive- ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Performance Check:
Paste or print an example of prescription. Moreover, label each part of the prescription.

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TLE 10 1st Q

MODULE The Home Nurse, Her Duties

A good home nurse possesses the following characteristics:

Giving Medicine to Patients

Ways of Giving Medicine

Giving Medicines to Children

Prescription is a written instruction of the doctor in the preparation and use

FT1. Answer fully.

2. Who can become a home nurse?

3. What benefits are derived from home nursing?

4. List down your own concept regarding a good home nurse.

5. Explain the duties of a home nurse.

7. Why is it important to put labels among medicines ‘container?

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