Which item should the nurse gather to complete the morning medication administration from the MAR?

• A. pill cutter
• B. cup of water
• C. medicine cup
• D. gloves

Answer: (B)

The main idea is ensuring the patient can safely ingest oral medications. For most morning pills, a drink of water is essential to swallow the medication and to help rinse the mouth after taking it. This supports safe administration and reduces the risk of choking or incomplete dose. The other items aren’t routinely required for all oral meds: a pill cutter is only needed if a tablet must be split and ordered to be split; a medicine cup is used to measure liquids when the med is actually in liquid form; gloves are not required for routine oral medication administration unless there’s a specific infection control or handling precaution. So, having a cup of water ready directly enables the administration of oral medications from the MAR.