The nurse is planning discharge teaching for a client with type 2 diabetes mellitus who has a new prescription for insulin glargine. Which action should the nurse plan to include in the discharge teaching?
Explanation & Rationale
Choice A reason: Explaining to the family how to inject medication for severe hypoglycemia is important, but it is not specific to insulin glargine. This long-acting insulin is not used for treating hypoglycemia; instead, it's used for maintaining stable blood glucose levels.Choice B reason: Teaching the client self-injection skills for daily subcutaneous administration is essential for insulin glargine, which needs to be injected daily to control blood glucose levels effectively. Ensuring that the client can safely and accurately administer their insulin is critical for effective diabetes management.Choice C reason: Demonstrating how to select a dose based on before meal blood sugar readings is more relevant to short-acting or rapid-acting insulins rather than long-acting insulins like glargine. Insulin glargine is typically dosed based on a consistent schedule rather than fluctuating blood glucose readings.Choice D reason: Providing information on increasing medication dosage if ketoacidosis occurs is not appropriate for insulin glargine. Ketoacidosis requires urgent medical treatment, often involving rapid-acting insulin, fluids, and electrolyte management. Increasing the dosage of long-acting insulin is not a suitable response to this acute condition.