Final answer:
The statement regarding nursing knowledge and behaviors to minimize side effects is true. Nurses are crucial in pharmacovigilance, ensuring patient safety by monitoring drug administration, and educating patients on adverse effects. The principle of nonmaleficence guides healthcare professionals to minimize harm.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that nursing knowledge and behaviors such as taking a thorough medical history, assessing the patient and diagnostic data, preventing medication errors, monitoring pharmacotherapy, knowing the drugs, being prepared for the unusual, questioning unusual orders, and teaching patients about adverse effects can help prevent or minimize side effects is true. Effective pharmacovigilance is essential for ongoing patient safety, and nurses play a critical role in identifying risk factors, ensuring the proper administration of medications, and educating patients. The goal is to achieve an optimal therapeutic effect while minimizing harm, following the principle of nonmaleficence. Factors affecting the side effects of a drug include dosage, route of administration, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, and individual patient characteristics, including pharmacogenomics. Nurses must also be aware of superinfections that can occur with broad-spectrum drugs and the importance of selecting the appropriate spectrum of activity in pharmacotherapy.