Medications

[Jollyapple5]

How do you organize medications in your clinic? What system do you have in place to prevent errors?

[OldDude]

Zillions of ways to organize medication; but...a trick I learned from another school nurse is after I give a scheduled medication for the day, I turn the bottle upside down so I will know what has and has not been given just by looking in the cabinet.

[kenzie123]

I have a cabinet that I keep locked when I am not in the room, I sort the meds alphabetically by last name. To prevent error I look at the name on the bottle look at my order and ask the child there name I give that child there med and the right dose when it is needed then I document the time what med and the child's name for my records. follow the 6 rights for medication Right med, right patient, right dose, right route, right time, right documentation

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

They each get their own little 3x10 basket (2 per pkg at dollar store) and as well as always checking the label I label the basket as well and keep them in alphabetical order. That said, I don't have all that many meds.

[coughdrop.2.go, BSN, RN]

We have brown envelopes (tiny ones or the full size) with the student's name and picture on the outside and the medication bottle/container on the inside. They are organized on the shelf by what time they come in (usually 1st or 2nd lunch). My diabetics must bring a lunch container or other large box to put their supplies in. Emergency medications are kept on it's own shelf. If medication needs to be in the fridge I have a locked tackle box.

[AdobeRN]

Scheduled daily meds are locked in a cabinet - bottles are just lined up in the order I give them thru the day. OTC meds are labeled with student name on container and placed in a basket inside a cabinet on one shelf, next shelf down is all of my inhalers - in baggies labeled with student name, next shelf down is neb stuff, and bottom shelf is EpiPens.