Originally Posted by cmo421
Never take the role of giving meds lightly. Too often after passing meds for years,nurses become complasent. Mistakes are most often made when we think things are routine. Distractions play a huge part in errors. Stop what u r doing and switch gears until u can completely concentrate on the MAR and meds. We multitask so often,put this is one area that requires 100% attention. Consequences often depend on the error and pt condition,etc,,,, They vary and are too munerous to mention. Avoid the consequences by valuing the importance of med giving. ( we all have made mistakes, most of us are just lucky that no one died or became gravely ill because of it)
Christine
Couldn't agree more.
This week I had a HH pt. of mine sent to hosp. for a GI bleed. One of her daily meds is dilantin. ONCE A DAY.
While in the hospital for the first 2 days, she was given the dialantin q 6 hrs. She questioned this, and the nurse kept telling her this was what was on the MAR and what was ordered. This went on and on..pt. was pretty sick due to GI bleed and wasn't up to arguing. But she did question each time, then began getting anxious over it. Finally she refused to take it and the nurse stormed out of the room in a huff.
Pt. called her daughter, daughter contacted hospital, insisting on verifying the order.
As it turned out, when the ED wrote down what meds the pt. was taking,the dosage was mis-typed. Med list sent to medsurge floor with the typo error.
Never minimize a pt's questions or concerns about a med.
Especially if they are insistent.. that should be a red flag.
This pt's dilantin levels are now through the roof. By the time her dd contacted the hospital, pt. was already twitching with spasms to all extremities.
LISTEN to your patients.. they deserve that much. They may be right, they may be wrong.. but be on the SAFE side and check it out. Don't just assume that "it's on your MAR, so it must be correct."
Originally Posted by Ruby Vee
And last but not least, NEVER EVER LIE! Your patients are amazing creatures and can survive all sorts of med errors. But only if you own up to it as soon as you discover your mistake and set about doing all that is humanly possible to correct it. If you lie and try to cover things up, a near-fatal drug error can become fatal.
See the above.
When this patient's dd called the nurse's station, she was told they verified the dosage on the patient's bottles brought in from the home with her, so they
knew it was being correctly given.
The only thing was that no med bottles were ever brought to the hospital with the patient. The dd had brought only her current and updated med LIST.. patient never carries any meds with her, no bottles were in her posession. Bottles were at home on her kitchen table.
Here was a lie to 'cover up".. to attempt to make out like they knew they were right and pt. was wrong... instead of LISTENING, QUESTIONING, DOUBLECHECKING.
Originally Posted by pagandeva2000
This is a wonderful thread...priceless....
It certainly is... great learning tool !
Originally Posted by weezledawg
As I pop them out of packages IN FRONT OF THE PATIENT I tell them what they are (name them) and what they are for. Asking them right afterward, "Does that sound right?" "Do you take these at home?" Sometimes they freak out because they look different than the ones they get at home and that's when we talk dosages etc. If they are really iffy, I go check the order in the chart and come right back. That works really good.
Good advice. But as said above, the MAR could still be wrong. If the patient is anxious/upset over dosage and has been taking these meds for awhile at home and he/she questions the dosage... don't just blow him/her off or rely on the MAR. Go ask some questions.. call the MD.. whatever it takes.
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I completely agree.
