Would you let someone else to administer your meds?

[Anagray]

Would/Do u let another person ( Aid, PCA, TCA) to administer your meds, adjust O2, etc?

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

Howdy yall

from deep in the heart of texas

Nope

keep it in the short grass yall

teeituptom

[live4today, RN]

HOW MANY DIFFERENT WAYS CAN A NURSE SAY "NO"?

NO! HELL NO!!! ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT, INEQUIVACALLY NO! NADA! OVER MY DEAD BODY, MAYBE - NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ARE YOU CRAZY?

LET'S SEE...DID I MISS ANY? :chuckle

[ohbet]

Would any one let a nurse aid give a patient lactulose that was ordered?

[OBNURSEHEATHER]

Originally posted by ohbet

Would any one let a nurse aid give a patient lactulose that was ordered?

Did you not read the previous 26 posts?

Heather

[NICU_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Slightly off subject, but are any of you concerned at how easy most systems make it to 'pinch' or steal narcotics? Especially the vial/ampule kind or leftover narcotic drips? (I.E., Versed, Morphine, Ativan, Fentanyl drips, etc.) I am new and super-paranoid about meds, including narcotics, and have been shocked to see how easy it would be to take something without getting caught. We regularly throw leftover drips away, and those could easily be snatched up by omeone else, not to mention drawing up IV narcotics (I won't give anyone ideas, but I'm sure you know what I'm saying here...). The whole thing just makes me nervous- and here we are, responsible for signing off on other peoples wastes and excesses. How do you all feel about this?

[RNIAM, BSN, RN]

never sign a waste unless you saw it. sorry but all the nurses i worked with understood my simple rule. If I didn't see I wasn't signing for it.

[nightingale, RN]

Ditto:

Quote:

never sign a waste unless you saw it. sorry but all the nurses i worked with understood my simple rule. If I didn't see I wasn't signing for it.

My license, reputation, and livlihood depend on being honest.

B.

[zudy]

No way, not this mean old nurse. I can get into trouble without going out and looking for it!!

[RhondaRNConsult]

Not a chance

[SandyLV]

As a nursing student, we give meds to other nurses' patients. However we have to assess the patient first (AP w/Dig...etc..) and have to have all info about drugs we are giving and when we give them, it is our fault if anything happens, NOT the RN's (which would be very unfair anyway). Our clinical instructor is always checking and asking questions and making sure we know what we are doing.

Anyway, I believe this is a totally different subject from the original question. But just in case and to add to Moonshadeau's comments....)

[dawngloves, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by KristiWhite2377

Slightly off subject, but are any of you concerned at how easy most systems make it to 'pinch' or steal narcotics? How do you all feel about this?

I am so paranoid about this. I make it a point to make sure a RN sees me dump a narc, Some will be like "Yeah, yeah. Waste it. " And I'm telling them, "Watch me!"

[RNPD]

When wasting leftover or partially used doses of narcotics, you must actually see the drug wasted in a manner in which it can not be retrieved. For fluids, pour it down the drain and run the water. If it is in a vial, draw it up with a syringe and squirt it down the drain. If it is leftover in a syringe, again squirt it down the drain. A leftover drip bag should be cut and emptied down the drain. Tablets or pieces of same should be dropped in the sink, pushed thru the drainholes, and flushed with water.

For used med patches (duragesic etc) flush down the toilet. NEVER in the garbage or even a sharps container. And guess what-desperate people STEAL from used sharps containers! Theyy are too desperate to wory about being stuck. So never drop a partially full vial of a controlled substance in a sharps container. It is not only asking for trouble, but is not considered a legal & legitimate means of narcotics disposal.

As others have said NEVER under any circumstances even your bestest friend from childhood, sign that you witnessed a waste unless you witnessed it irretrievably wasted.

I attended a one hour seminar by a former DEA agent and if you want to find a sure way to lose your license-mess with narcotics. And innocent carelessness tops the list! I was a real eyeopener to find that what so many of us do on a daily basis could actually close down a hospital in fines. We become so complacent when we deal with narcs-but we need to remember how desperate people take desperate measures and to safe guard our licences.

As far as letting another administer my meds-NO with slight exceptions. Working per diem, I don't always have time to develop a rapport with certain patients-especially the confused or developmentaly disabled. These people have already established a relationship with the full time CNA, however. So I have on rare occasions prepared meds, and then WHILE STANDING THERE, allowed the CNA to hand them to the patient while I watched, if I could not convince the patient to take the meds any other way. I don't believe in charting "refused" when a patient is not competent to refuse, so i will do everything in my power to convince the patient that the meds are needed and why. If that fails and they willingly take them from the CNA's hand while I watch, I have allowed it, and watched until everything was swallowed. I'm not advising this however, as i have no idea if it's legal (I doubt it!)-I'm just confessing! Of course, if all else fails, I have to chart refused and let the doc know-I don't mean to imply I would FORCE meds on anyone!