Omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nurses LPN/LVN

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Hi everyone. I have posted a couple of times but here is a new one. I got my first job as anew grad LPN a couple of weeks ago. I was given about 4 days orientation and then put on my own. They scheduled me 8 days straight and I was on 1 hall every night except last night. Now my DON calls me at home and says they found some meds in cups in the drwers with names on them and I didn't do it. This was the first night that this one nurse that has been there forever followed me and all of a sudden there are all these questions and they are going to do a formal investigation. There has been no problems or concerns until last night. She has a few years there and I am the newbie. I am so scared that they will try to scar my license and ruin my name. I do not know how to handle this. I want to just quit because if they aren't willing to listen than I feel i will always be a target and my license will alwaays be in jeopardy because of what someone says. The position I took as well has a great deal of turnover which I was told after i started(I wonder why). Any words of wisdom please I am kinda freakin out. i worked to hard to let something like this happen. PLEASE HELP

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Just curious as a student here but.....do you not stand there and wait to see if your patient takes their pills? Is this in a LTC environment? As a student in the LTC clinical I noticed that none of the nurses stood by to watch the residents take their meds. I was forever finding cups of meds at bedsides or in residents laps or on floors. But then....some residents have 15 meds and some take foreeeeeeeeeever to take them. Then what is the nurse to do? Is there time to watch each resident take every single med? I sometimes wonder how we are supposed to follow all the rules. Maybe your patient was hording them? Hope things work out for you...I would be freaked out too.

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No they said the meds were in the cart. The pts alot of them have crushed meds so you can watch them take them. The ones that take them whole I do stand there and watch them take them. I figured the time you have for each resident on med pass is 6 min so you will have time.

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Hello,

Like Dratz has mentioned, you do watch them take them correct. And again if they have many it does take a long time. Do you crush the cup or rip it after giving the med, if not this could help you along next time. I had a pt who would not swallow the meds just kept on chewing his pot pill. I looked on the floor to find several he had chewed and spit out. I had to get and show the Rn and the doctor swithed meds.

Also this sounds fishy to me. If one pt hid his meds that is one thing but numerous pt's I would question this.

I wonder what the more experienced will say.

Dabuggy

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Oh I thought you meant in the patient's bedside drawers. Sorry my bad. I wonder why such a huge turnover in staff? Sure sounds strange that meds would be found back in the drawers eh? Makes me wonder as a student how on earth a person can prove they gave out all the meds?? This is a tough one .....hope someone can help you out.

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My bad also, I thought it was the pt's drawers too.

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Well, can they actually "pin" this on anyone..seeing as there was obviously a space of time from whenever someone left them there and they were found? Or were they found on your med cart after you left a shift by the next nurse to have the cart?

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.

I need more information. Are you saying that the med cart had cups with the names of residents on them? Is it possible that another nurse was taking out the resident's meds and then putting them in cups beforehand in preparation to administer them and then for some reason forgot to give them?

I don't see how they can pin it on you anyone could have done it.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

After this situation is settled, I would certainly leave that place like a bad habit. I hate that this happened to you so early in the game. Somehow, if someone was being malicious, this will work in your favor.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Postpartum.

Nurses in LTCF's routinely Pre-Pour their med for their shifts med pass d/t the volumn of meds that are expected at each med pass. In my state, med pass rule is one before or/ one hour from the prescribed time. You have 30 patients, 60 min/hr (residents in their rooms/hall/dining room/physical therapy/bathroom/crushed/thicken liq,etc...) that leaves little time so some nurses pre-pour

(Not legal AT ALL but I see it done ALL THE TIME).

Can they pin this one YOU? NOPE, their is NO WAY unless they do handwriting analysis on those med cups to see which nurse actually wrote the names on them, AND THEN, they would have to have proof that the same nurse who wrote the name on the med cup Actually pre-poured those meds and then did not pass the meds.

Because the pre-poured meds were in the cart that you passed on to the next shift STILL does not PROVE anything. Those meds could have been their all throughout your shift and you might not have noticed, shoot, those meds could have been left all through last week and no one noticed/bothered to find out why those meds were still in the cart.Their is to much room for speculation here, nothing concrete. This is what I suggest. For now on when you take report/count your narcs with either the oncoming/outgoing shift, go through the drawers while the shift is still there. Eyeballing your drawers with a witness takes but a few seconds but will save you both from any doubts. And remember, pre-pouring may seem like a easy out, but in the long run, it could cost you your license. Word to the wise, Don't do it!

I think you will walk away from this experience a whole lot wiser but I DON'T think you will lose your license. Keep your chin up and Welcome to the World of Nursing!! Don't let this experience stop you in the beginning of what can be a rewarding life changing experience. Don't deprive your patients of you!

God bless,

Avelinne

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

It is easy for nurses to get caught out there early in their careers. You can be minding your business, as you have been thus far, and disaster can happen. I am on orientation and was preparing medications for a client. I was assigned to work with an RN who walked with me as I was administering medications. I had one client who had to get three drugs; one was lopressor, another was a thiazide diuretic (the third I don't remember). I was about to give it to the woman and she told me that she already took her medication. I asked her where did she get it from, and she opened her drawer showing me several bottles of meds. She didn't remember which ones she took, so, I told her and the nurse escorting me that I was not able to administer anything to her because it may be double dosing. The nurse that was with me (an RN) said to me, 'She told you that she didn't take her pressure pills, so, you can give that to her'. I said "Under NO circumstances would I give this woman anything. I am not sure of what she took, and neither is she". Anyway, the RN told me she would write a note and take care of it. Next thing I know, she comes, takes the MAR away from me and she tells me that she administered the medication. I made sure that she signed the MAR and I told her that that was not a wise thing to do, because she may have already received a dose from her pile of medications. The RN told me that she would call the doctor. Later, I found out that she did not take the medications from the bedside. THat is were I screwed up, because, while I did NOT administer the meds, I should have taken it upon myself to confiscate the medications. Thankfully, the patient was discharged the next day, so, there was no trouble; but, from now on, I know that rather than to trust someone else (even in a higher title), I have to do it for myself. It is a shame that shocking things like this have to happen, but it makes us learn. I pray that nothing comes out of your situation, and you leave a bit wounded, but wiser. Not saying that you were unwise, but it seems that we have to have eyes in the back of our heads at all times.

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Too often i have found pill cups with names on them and even some with medication on a med cart. Usually it doesnt have an owner as all the previous shifts will deny it. Dont take the blame for anyone!!!

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