I'm a new nurse working at a psychiatric facility. One day, an agitated patient refused to get his blood pressure taken. He had 2 blood pressure medications scheduled at 8 pm. I tried 3 times altogether to take his blood pressure, and the charge nurse saw all this happen. I told him that I was putting Refuse in the MAR, and he agreed.The next day when I came back to work, the nurse that took over my patient overnight had a discussion with me. She told me that because this patient had 2 blood pressure medication due, it was extremely necessary for me to take his blood pressure. I told her that I tried several time, but the patient refused his blood pressure to be taken, and I did not want to give him the blood pressure medication because I was worried that I would put him in to a hypotensive state. She told me that in this situation, I should have given a PRN Haldol or Ativan, and when he is more relaxed, then I should have taken his blood pressure.I did not give this patient a PRN because even though he was refusing for me to take his blood pressure, he was not agitated to the point where he was a threat to himself or others. He just wanted to be left alone. Keep in mind that this is a high functioning psychiatric geriatric unit.So my question is this: should I have given him a PRN Ativan or Haldol so I could take his blood pressure? Like I said, I'm a new nurse. I just want to learn. Please tell me what you usually do in this situation in your Psych unit.
