Medicine administration - Essay Example

Medicine Administration Parkinson’s disease is an illness which requires close medical care. At the beginning, the patient may continue with his or her treatment while at home without the assistance of a care giver. However, as the condition worsens, there is need to have a professional medical practitioner at hand to administer drugs and carry out other care giving activities for the patient (Factor and Weiner, 2008). Michael, a 16 year old boy, has to take care of his sick mother, whose Parkinson’s disease is at an advanced level.

Michael is only a teenager, and as much as he would want to do everything in his power to take care of his ailing mother, he is not in any position to offer her the kind of medical attention that she so needs. He needs to be in school, not at home taking care of a terminally ill patient. Michael lacks the skills needed to take care of a patient suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He is also too young to cope with the challenges that come with taking care of a person suffering from this disease (Tuite, 2009).

The work might be emotionally draining and Michael might not know how to handle this. He has not been trained to deal with medical conditions; therefore, he might not know how to handle his mother’s medication (Chemecky, Infortuna and Macklin, 2006). Sometimes, it is hard to administer drugs to persons suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and since Michael is not a trained medicine administrator, he might not know what to do in this situation. Michael should not be allowed to administer drugs to his mother by himself.

Since his mother’s condition is very serious, she needs advanced level medications which can only be administered by a professional, which Michael is not. According to the law, only simple drugs such as paracetamols can be administered at home. There are age restrictions for drug administration at home. For some medications, the age limit can be anywhere from 13 years (Tuite, 2009). However, this only applies to non-complicated illnesses where dosages are not rigid. In Michael’s case, the medication requirements for his sick mother are very complicated.

He has to strictly follow the stipulated timing and correct dosage, otherwise things might get complicated. That is why professional medicine administration is necessary for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Michael does not have to take care of his mother’s medical needs by himself. He can get help from a local health facility. There he can get advice and assistance on how to manage his mother’s situation. He can even get someone to help him with drug administration from a health center that specializes in diseases such as Parkinson’s (Chemecky, Infortuna and Macklin, 2006).

Michael, being a minor is in no position to give his mother the kind of medical attention she needs. Her Parkinson’s disease is at an advanced stage and she therefore needs to be looked after by a medical professional and not a high school student (Aschenbrenner and Venable, 2009). Due to his age, Michael may not have the emotional maturity to deal with the challenges that accompany Parkinson’s disease. This might affect his ability to administer drugs to his sick mother and if this happens, her condition might become worse than it already is.

Getting professional drug administration assistance is the best thing that Michael can do to help his mother. The UK medicines Act basically demands that medication is administered to the right person, through the right route, at the correct time, and in the right form (Royal Nursing College nd). The law regulates how drugs are administered and therefore binds those administrating drugs to have the rights to do so based on their qualifications and the nature of drugs in question. For example, prescription-only drugs may only be issued in line with the directions of a qualified medical practitioner.

As such prescription drugs cannot be administered by individuals who are not trained in nursing, medicine or pharmacy as prescribed by law. Furthermore, the law by its very nature prohibits drug misuse and abuse as commonly practiced by youths mainly for non-medical reasons. The law however gives the public the right to purchase and administer drugs that fall under the general sales list as long as they are used in line with manufacturers’ direction (Royal Nursing College nd). Reference List Aschenbrenner, D.S. and Venable, S.J. 2009.

Drug Therapy in Nursing. London: Wolters Kluwer Health Chemecky, C. Infortuna, H. and Macklin, D. 2006. Drug Calculations and Drug Administration. London: Elsevier Saunders Factor, S.A. and Weiner, W. 2008. Parkinson’s Disease: Diagnosis and Clinical Management. London: Demos Medical Publishing Royal Nursing College (nd) Professional accountability. http://shsfaculty.swan.ac.uk/GarethNoble/Pharmacology%20Material/Post-Reg%20ACP/Pharm%20Principles/Admin_of_meds_1.pdf [Accessed 25 July, 2011] Tuite, P.J. 2009.

Parkinson’s Disease: A Guide to Patient Care. New York: Springer Publishers