Okuzeka
Nursing vocabulary · Medication Administration

Five rights

Meaning in nursing, with examples

phraseCore term

In nursing, five rights means: A checklist nurses use before giving any medicine: the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right route and the right time.

In Turkish: ilaç uygulamada beş doğru, beş doğru ilkesi

How it is used

Taught from the first year of nursing school and asked about in interviews and exams: 'the five rights of medication administration'. Many hospitals add more rights, such as the right documentation, the right reason and the right response, so you may also hear 'the seven rights' or more.

Example sentences

  1. Before every dose, go through the five rights out loud.

  2. Checking the wristband is part of the five rights: the right patient.

Common collocations

  • the five rights of medication administration
  • check the five rights
  • follow the five rights
  • administerTo give a medicine or treatment to a patient, by any route, according to a prescription or protocol.
  • doseThe amount of a medicine given at one time, such as 500 mg, or the total amount given over a period.
  • routeThe way a medicine enters the body, for example by mouth (oral), into a vein (IV), into a muscle (IM) or under the skin (subcutaneous).
  • medication chartThe form or electronic record where a patient's medicines are prescribed and where nurses sign for each dose they give or do not give.

More terms: Medication Administration

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.