True/False: Giving patients medication from facility stock to administer at home is a violation of the nurse's scope of practice.

• A. False
• B. Not sure
• C. True
• D. It depends on the medication

Answer: (C)

Medication administration must follow proper prescribing and dispensing processes and stay within the nurse’s documented scope. Handing out meds from the facility’s stock for a patient to take at home bypasses an essential chain: there needs to be a clinician’s order, the medication should be dispensed by a pharmacy with patient-specific labeling and dosing instructions, and there must be appropriate documentation and patient education tied to that specific order. Without that, risks rise for dosing errors, adverse reactions, drug interactions, and liability. If a patient has a prescribed medication that is dispensed correctly and the nurse provides appropriate teaching and verification, that scenario aligns with safe practice, but the act described—giving from facility stock for home use—is not within standard nursing scope.