[Melinda Sue]

Please help! The Facility where I work is going to initiate UAPs administering meds. I want to know if a nurse can refuse to be responsible for this. The facility is calling them Med Techs but my understanding is that Med Techs go to school to learn about meds and the administration of meds. UAPs on the other hand do not. Am I being too conservative to go along with this practice? This situation has caused a turmoil at work.
Thanks for any advice.

Melinda Sue

[efy2178]

I don't know of a state where a UAP can legally administer medications. This is not a task that can or should be delegated. If somehow the institution is reading between the lines of a board decision I can at least assure you that a licensed nurse is responsible for any and all outcomes.
It is important you check with your state board of nursing. If it is not absolutely clear what the law says ask for a declaratory ruling. Your BON can tell you how to do that. If what they are doing is, in fact, illegal then you have a legal and ethical responsibility to report them to the BON or state agency.
You may very well suffer repercussions from this so get your resume in order. And if you haven't already done so, join your nurses association. You need a lot of support right now.
Be strong and take care.
EFY2178

[Melinda Sue]

efy2178,
Thanks for your reply. My DON has informed us that UAPs are able to medicate residents in our facility as long as the nurse signs her signature after the UAP. I emailed my BON re: this situation and never received a reply!
I plan to protect my license.

Thanks again,
Melinda Sue

[mattsmom81]

Originally posted by Melinda Sue
efy2178,
Thanks for your reply. My DON has informed us that UAPs are able to medicate residents in our facility as long as the nurse signs her signature after the UAP. I emailed my BON re: this situation and never received a reply!
I plan to protect my license.

Thanks again,
Melinda Sue

Wow! I knew that med aides pass routine meds in some LTC centers in my area. I did NOT know the nurse had to cosign or was responsible....let us know what your BON says about this.

I wouldn't sign my name to someone elses' drugs, either...wonder if this is required everywhere???.

If the facility wants to take on this responsibility, fine, but they shouldn't ask the nurse to.

[Katnip]

Mattsmom, I agree with you. No way on Earth would I sign that someone else gave a med unless I was there to see it drawn up/taken out then administered properly. After that I might as well have done it myself.

Melinda, don't email, send a letter to the BON and keep a copy of it. Or call and document the date, time, and who you spoke with. There's now reason at all for you to be risking your license over this. Also isn't there some sort of regulatory agency that oversees LTCs? I wish I could think of it right now.

[SnowymtnRN]

ITA! Without proper training, there's NO WAY that i'd allow that. We had med techs in the LTC facility i worked at before, but we had to sign off on narcotics only. So we always counted with them, and made them accountable that way. Personally, i wouldn't do it. i'd call the BON and get some backup there.

[purplemania]

I would not sign my name even if another nurse gave the meds

[SmilingBluEyes]

what purplemania said, I would NEVER cosign the administration of meds by other people unless WITNESSED and then only that of an OTHER LICENSED NURSE, not UAP...NO WAY. very dangerous. RUN the other way now.

[unknown99]

Melinda Sue,
PLEASE never agree to this!!! You should never sign your name to a med that someone else gave. If something goes wrong, it's your butt, not theirs!! I worked at a nursing home where this happened. The nurse got called to another patient's room, and told the tech to get the pills that were out and give them to the client. (She should not have done that!!!) Well, the tech gave 100mg Oxycontin meant for a 459 lb patient, to another lady. Needless to say, this lady died.
If your facility insists on doing so, well, there are other jobs who will not put your license in jeopardy.

[imenid37]

Wow I love when some facility tries to jeopordize their pt's safety and their nurses' licenses w/ some bright $ saving idea. Tell the DON she can co-sign all the meds, since she agrees w/ the idea. Will they charge the pt's less $ to stay at the facility since their meds are being given by non-nurses? Maybe the information can be shared w/ the pts' families. IMHO when a facility implements such a policy, the pts families should be informed in writing, since this could have a signifigant impact on their loved ones' safety. Aren't med errors a signifigant problem identified by our federal government? What a way to address this...Let's have some untrained folks dole them out!! What a way to sabotage some of the new pt. safety guidelines. ERRRRRR!!!