A Researcher Is Studying the Way That ICU Nurses Prioritize

question 12

Multiple Choice

A researcher is studying the way that ICU nurses prioritize the charting responsibilities for their 12-hour shift. The researcher happens to discover that nurses are administering medications as close to the ordered times as possible but consistently charting the times at which medications are ordered, not the time they are actually administered, even though that may be 2 or 3 hours later. What could the researcher do with this information?

• A)The researcher could make the nurse manager aware of the finding, after the study data have all been collected, because this is essentially a medication charting error.
• B)Nothing. This is not a focus of the study, and the information must be suppressed.
• C)The researcher should take time to educate individual nurses, so that they understand that what they are doing is not honest.
• D)The researcher should include the findings in the article, stating that this is a time-saving strategy, since the computer allows charting of meds when ordered (instead of when administered) as a block, saving time.
• E)The researcher should report this information under Serendipitous Discoveries, in the article that results from the study.

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Definitions:

Predictive Validity

The extent to which a score on a scale or test predicts future performance on a related task or outcome.

Standardization

The process of making something conform to a standard in order to ensure consistency and quality.

Reliability

The consistency and stability with which a test or method measures something.

Relatively Consistent

Characterized by being comparatively stable or unchanging over time or in comparison to something else.