serving alcohol to patients

Nurses Safety

Published

I just started my first job as a nurse at a nursing home dementia unit. The other nurses who have oriented me to the unit give 3 shots of whiskey to a patient after dinner. He also gets HTN meds, namenda, airesept and tylenol before dinner. The family supplies the alcohol for him and he is addement about having it after he eats or he gets very agitated. My question is I start on my own on monday and Im not sure this is a legal practice. Im concerned about my license.

Another quick question, they give all meds 4-8 meds at the same time, around 5-6. Is this normal practice? I was taught in nursing school to only give if its an hour before or after, the other nurses say theres not enough time to do 2 med passes. Which is true, however the supervisors think they are doing 2 med passes.

Any advice?? thanks!!:idea:

I, too, have administered ETOH when I worked inpatient.

And you can bet, when it's my turn to be the patient, I will have an MD order for "Chilean Merlot 5oz. PO QHS".

Thanks everyone for the replies, I have no orders for alcohol so I will request one, however the dr doesnt come in til tuesday and he will want his whiskey on monday night. Ill ask supervisors to be sure.

I hold ambien and all others that will make them sleep until 10 which only a couple of people take. But all other meds I give at same time. Doesnt the state inspectors expect a certain time frame though? I have 32 patients its been really difficult to handle so far for a new nurse.

Specializes in LTC.

Long as your 21 and there's a doc's order...Bottom's up!

Specializes in ICU.

When I was in school, the nursing home I did my gero rotation at was full of wealthy people. They had "happy hour" every day from 3-5 with boxed wine, with a two glass maximum. I thought it was cute. :)

Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

i fully support giving alcohol with a scrip to pts who are either accustomed to a drink or who are alcoholic, but still drinking. the dt's aren't pleasant or fun for pt. or nurse.

story #1

we had a very dear friend we loved as though she had been family. edna was a metallurgical (sp.?) engineer, which was unusual for a woman who graduated from college in the mid-1930's. she never married and referred to herself as "an unclaimed treasure" and never ever as an old maid.

she was very very active in our church, involved with her nieces and nephews, on many committees,

never seemed to stop or slow down. she talked to me as one friend to another when i was at that awkward early teen stage. edna would have a (as in one) drink once in awhile. occasionally. rarely.

not often.

she checked in to have a lumpectomy and was expected to stay one night. she reacted to the anesthesia and on the fourth night there, had the dt's. since she was a hospital volunteer and on the hospital board, everyone thought they knew her. edna drink?? what? edna?! no way! it was initially dx as some type of allergic reaction.:uhoh3::confused: her surgeon is a neighbor of ours and knew we had a key to edna's house. i had a casserole belonging to edna, and on the pretext of returning it, my husband found 2 whole cases of half gallon bottles of scotch on the floor of the laundry.:eek: she died two nights later.

story #2

after edna's death, i swore i'd never let that happen to anyone i cared about again, if i could help it.

my 90 year old widowed aunt, who was very private, was being admitted for a hernia repair. to anyone who observed her in a restaurant, she had one drink and quit. at home, however, it was another matter entirely. she honestly thought she had "a nightcap some evenings" plus "my beverage at 4 pm." the problem was that she continually "freshened up" her drink -- which meant she added ice and a healthy

glug of booze to her glass, over and over and... she only weighed about 85# and was teeny tiny.

i knew she would answer with "i have an occasional drink before dinner." when the doctor asked, because that was how she saw her drinking. problem with that was that she "freshened" her way through two cases of half gallon bottles every month.:rolleyes:

after much thought, i waylaid our neighbor, her surgeon, dogwalking one evening. i told him that i had something to tell him and that he couldn't ask any questions at all. i shared what i knew and went on our

respective ways. he shared with her internist the next day.

when she had her surgery, it meant she was served her usual refreshment. it kept a sweet wonderful

lol from suffering the dt's oh... she figured out who ratted her out. she refused to speak to me for about six months. it was a l-o-n-g six months, but if it prevented the dt's, it was worth it.

Specializes in SICU, MICU, BURN ICU, Trauma, CTICU, CCU.

I'd get an order for it, but really, if you were to NOT give him that whiskey for a couple days, you'd have an old man is withdrawals which could be a big problem.

We have beer and hard liquor in our unit's fridge for patients. If they are an alcoholic, do not want to detox, and its not going to cause insane adverse reactions - we give it to them to prevent the detox from happening which can, in turn, cause MANY other issues, prolonged hospital stays, seizures, etc...

Can't help people who don't want it.

Specializes in ICU Surgical Trauma.

Not sure about 3 shots of whiskey but occasionally doctors can order a resident a glass of wine or beer HS.

Specializes in LTC, Disease Management, smoking Cessati.

When I was working LTC, we had MD orders for alcohol for some residents, wine in particular to help "increase appetite". I have no problem with it.. LTC settings are these peoples homes most likely for the rest of their days, so make them comfortable. As long as the MD orders it why not??

well in this case it wasnt ordered, no order in mar/tar

Specializes in Hospice.

one nursing home i went to as a cna had 'happy hour' every friday . Lol my first day on the job they had me feed a screwdriver that had thickner in it to a lady ....lol i guess that used to be common practice.

in the acute care facility i worked at we had to have a drs order but it was just a matter of requesting on. and we also kept it locked up in the med room

Wonderful story, Sharpeimom!

For those of you who are under twenty-one and are wondering how old you have to be to serve alcohol- in most states the age is eighteen. It does vary by state. However, as a nurse following doctor's orders I would assume that the rules are different.

I will definitely want an order for a nice glass of Riesling at bedtime PRN. I would take that over pain meds any day. ;)

+ Add a Comment