A patient has difficulty taking liquid medications from a cup.How should the nurse administer the medications?

A) Request that the physician change the order to the IV route.
B) Administer the medication by the IM route.
C) Use a needleless syringe to place the medication in the side of the mouth.
D) Add the dose to a small amount of food or beverage to facilitate swallowing.

When a patient has difficulty taking liquid medications from a cup,the nurse should use a syringe without a needle to place the medication in the side of the patient's mouth.After placing the syringe between the gum and cheek,the nurse should push the plunger to administer the medication slowly.It is not necessary to ask the prescriber to change the order to the IV route; it is preferable to use the least invasive route.The nurse cannot administer a drug by another route without a prescription to do so.Dosing might not necessarily be the same in the oral versus the IM route; thus,a prescription is needed to change the route.Some drugs are not compatible with various food or liquid substances and should be taken on an empty stomach.Consult a pharmacist,prescriber,or drug formulary.