The 17-month-old infant is terminally ill with cancer and is in constant pain. The nurse recognizes ...

The 17-month-old infant is terminally ill with cancer and is in constant pain. The nurse recognizes that the best way to control pain in this child would be for the physician to order:
 
  1. Patient-controlled analgesia with the parents controlling the button that administers the dosage.
  2. Intravenously administered opioids on a scheduled basis.
  3. Intravenously administered opioids on a prn basis.
  4. Parenteral administration controls pain more effectively than oral medication as oral absorption may be modified by stomach activities. In addition, providing analgesics on a scheduled basis is preferred over prn.