MACE Role and Permitted Duties 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A medication aide is asked to crush a tablet that is labeled 'extended-release.' What is the correct action?
- Crush it and mix with applesauce
- Refuse and notify the nurse (Correct answer)
- Cut it in half instead
- Dissolve it in water before giving
Correct answer: Refuse and notify the nurse
Extended-release tablets must never be crushed as this destroys the release mechanism and can cause dangerous overdose; a nurse must be notified.
Question 2: Which of the following tasks is within the medication aide's scope of practice?
- Diagnosing a resident's infection based on symptoms
- Adjusting an insulin dose based on a sliding scale under nurse direction (Correct answer)
- Ordering a new prescription from the pharmacy
- Changing a wound dressing independently
Correct answer: Adjusting an insulin dose based on a sliding scale under nurse direction
Administering insulin per a nurse-directed sliding scale protocol is a permitted medication aide task in many states.
Question 3: A resident refuses their morning medication. What should the medication aide do first?
- Document the refusal and move on
- Crush the medication and hide it in food
- Notify the charge nurse immediately (Correct answer)
- Call the resident's family for permission
Correct answer: Notify the charge nurse immediately
Medication refusals must be reported to the supervising nurse promptly so clinical decisions can be made.
Question 4: Which action by a medication aide violates professional boundaries?
- Recording a medication in the MAR after giving it
- Reporting a side effect to the charge nurse
- Recommending a resident request a different medication from the doctor (Correct answer)
- Checking the five rights before administration
Correct answer: Recommending a resident request a different medication from the doctor
Recommending specific medications to residents or influencing prescribing decisions is outside the medication aide's scope of practice.
Question 5: State regulations for medication aides primarily serve to:
- Increase the workload of registered nurses
- Protect residents by defining safe boundaries of practice (Correct answer)
- Allow aides to practice independently of nurses
- Standardize salaries across care facilities
Correct answer: Protect residents by defining safe boundaries of practice
Scope-of-practice regulations exist to protect resident safety by clearly defining what medication aides may and may not do.
Question 6: A medication aide notices a medication cup with a resident's name has been sitting unused for 30 minutes. What should the aide do?
- Give the medication immediately without questioning
- Discard the medication and document it
- Notify the nurse to determine next steps (Correct answer)
- Return the medication to the stock bottle
Correct answer: Notify the nurse to determine next steps
An aide should notify the nurse when medications have not been administered on schedule so the nurse can assess the resident and determine appropriate action.
Question 7: Under which circumstance may a medication aide legally prepare injectable medications?
- When a nurse instructs them to do so verbally
- Never, as injections are universally outside medication aide scope (Correct answer)
- When the resident requests it
- Only in emergency situations
Correct answer: Never, as injections are universally outside medication aide scope
Preparing and administering injections is outside the scope of practice for medication aides in virtually all states.
MACE Role and Permitted Duties 2
A medication aide is asked to crush a tablet that is labeled 'extended-release.' What is the correct action?