What should be done after administering medication enterally?

After administering medication enterally, it is important to flush the tube with an additional amount of water. This action serves several critical purposes. Firstly, flushing helps to ensure that all of the medication has been delivered into the gastrointestinal tract and that none is left remaining in the tube, which could lead to under-medication. Secondly, it helps to clear the feeding tube of any residual medication, minimizing the risk of clogging and facilitating easier future medication administration or feeding. Additionally, flushing with water promotes hydration, which can also aid in preventing irritation to the gastrointestinal tract.

In the context of the other choices, immediate documentation is important and should ideally be completed after the procedure but is not done immediately after medication administration. Likewise, ensuring patient hydration is vital, but it is a broader aspect of care rather than a specific immediate step after medication administration. Verifying that the patient understands the effects of the medication is certainly part of patient education but is not the immediate step that follows administration. Hence, flushing the tube with water is the most appropriate action after administering enteral medication.