Was this such an unreasonable request?

[verene]

Yesterday at work I had a call from an RN from another clinic call to say that MD wanted to make changes to one of our resident's insulin dose. Perfectly fine. I asked her to fax me a written copy of the order (per our facility policy we MUST have a written order for all med changes) and she pretty much told me off and asked why I couldn't take a verbal order. I told her it was facility policy, and for liability reasons we have to have a written copy. She again refused to fax the order and said when she changed the Rx with the pharmacy she'd make them clarify the information for us.

She made it sound like we were a substandard facility for not taking a verbal order, and that I was asking for way too much work on her end. Is it really that weird to ask for a written order for med changes? I thought it was pretty standard and don't understand why I got chewed out.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

BuckyBadgerRN, exactly in the PAST. Welcome to the world of CPOE lol

I know it's different at the nursing homes perhaps. My comment was in surprise that people still take down verbals or phone orders in non-emergent situations. Thought it was standard practice to get rid of all that but I may be wrong.

I still take phone orders because of the nature of my job (ambulance). Not in the hospital setting. Last few places I've worked within the last few yrs have done away with verbal/phone orders or anything written down. That's why my comment.

yup, very different! There is no blanket statement that covers every aspect of nursing in all situations.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Well, as a CNA, in my neck of the woods what you did would not be looked on as legit. IMO you should have immediately told her who you were and your title and asked her to call back if your couldn't find a licensed staff to help her.

You're a CNA trying to accept the responsibility of licensed staff. I think perhaps your inability to correctly identify yourself to the RN to correct the situation is curious.

Why didn't you just tell the RN you were a CNA and go get licensed staff. If licensed staff was not available and your were all alone in the facility, you should have asked the RN to call back instead of getting in a back and forth.

Dangerous things happen when people start to meld duties.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

Op, I'm curious, what kind of order was it? A medication-related one?