After the nurse acknowledges the patient supplied medication request, what is their next step?

The correct answer is to document the number of medications sent to pharmacy. This step is essential because accurate documentation is a critical part of the medication administration process. It ensures that there is a clear record of what medications have been requested and sent for pharmacy processing, which helps in maintaining patient safety and continuity of care.

Documenting the medications also allows for tracking and accountability within the healthcare system. It creates a reliable reference for healthcare providers, ensuring that there are no discrepancies in the medication records that could lead to errors in administration or potential misunderstandings.

While printing a medication list or filling out an order form could be important in different contexts, these actions would typically follow the documentation to ensure that all necessary steps are recorded accurately first. Returning medications to the patient is not typically the next step after acknowledging a medication request, as it does not align with standard protocols for processing medication requests through a pharmacy.