Absolute No-No's

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi: I hope to get a lot of input from this question. As experienced nurses, what are some things especially related to medication administration, but anything else, that you would classify in red for a nurse to never, ever do? Also, what have been the consequences of nurses doing these things? Thanks, in advance!!!

Specializes in ER.

No judgements either, not between colleagues.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Did the job hop, now in MS. Not Bad!!!!!.

That "we" that I wrote means WE, as in you AND me. Goes along w/ handwashing and being carriers of infection (gosh wish I could remember the fancy name; or is it Vector?)

What is w/ people on this forum lately? Too many arguments all the way around!!

I didn't mean to attack anyone. I HAVE heard these same stories.

Such as cleaning out gloves and reusing them after blowing them up to check for holes, or the glass IV bottles that were drained and re-used

There are more tales of yeseteryear, but my mom sitting next to me now just cannot recall this late.

Stop attacking y'all! This is supposed to be a forum for healthy debate and trading knowledge.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

always clearly document the medication, dosage, and time you give a med. waiting to document is a big no, no! this doesn't just benefit the next nurse that get the chart, but also helps the hospital determine how much meds to order, what to bill for and the list goes on....failure to document a few drugs may result in failed audits and financial loss for the hospital. lots of hospitals go by criteria (interqual) to establish medical necessity. one dosage not documented may determine medical necessity for admit or continued hospitalization.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Oh that reminds me of my own experience. Just because the doc didn't list my allergy on the "admit from ER orders", BELIEVE me (and my medic-alert bracelet-paid $40 for that thing-) that I am allergic to _________. I had a very BAD adverse reaction to a certain drug previously and here you are trying to give it to me again.....thank goodness for my assertive hubby.
Amen.

I have a latex allergy. It IS listed on my charts and orders when I'm admitted. I tell everyone who cares for me I have a latex allergy. And yet I still encounter nurses who will try to tell me it won't hurt me if they use latex while caring for me. I stayed awake for over 24 hours straight after my last 2 surgeries, and stopped multiple nurses as they came at me with latex gloves and tournequets, etc. I had to request (multiple times) a sign be placed regarding the allergy and that non-latex gloves be stocked in the room. The docs and CNAs and other staff never questioned me and used the appropriate equipment. Only the nurses were hell-bent on using latex products for my care...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Licensed Practical Nurse.
Always make sure the patient takes all the meds before you leave the room. I've gone in to rooms and seen meds sitting on the patients bedside table that were from the previous shift. I've seen nurses get fired for this.

I work in LTC and I've seen a lot of nurses get written up for this same problem, some of the residents take the medicine and hold it in their mouths, there is this one little lady that takes like 10 min to take her pills, and even after that I'm still not sure she's got them down, i usually pass by her room again just to make sure she didnt put them in her cup or in the bed!:uhoh3:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

oh yes latex....... i once broke out so bad on my hands i actually thought i had kaposi's sarcoma. i had these big bleebs full of blood all over the backs of my hands. i was off for christmas day and the day after

employee health wouldn't accept that and made me have a titre. off the charts!!! then the told me i'd have to buy my own gloves. attorney took care of that.

but what helped more than all this is i ate some guacomole and about anaphylaxed.

related to latex sources. then they believed me when i almost needed tubing.

so to reiterate believe your patient if he says he's allergic even if the doc forgot to include it .

[[color=sandybrown]i have latex, betadine, certain narcotic, and avocados on that $40 bracelet.]

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

I once stopped a new grad RIGHT before she was about to give Levophed- she was going to give it IV push, instead of hanging a drip! YIKES! If you haven't given a med before, LOOK IT UP!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Did the job hop, now in MS. Not Bad!!!!!.
oh yes latex....... i once broke out so bad on my hands i actually thought i had kaposi's sarcoma. i had these big bleebs full of blood all over the backs of my hands. i was off for christmas day and the day after

employee health wouldn't accept that and made me have a titre. off the charts!!! then the told me i'd have to buy my own gloves. attorney took care of that.

but what helped more than all this is i ate some guacomole and about anaphylaxed.

related to latex sources. then they believed me when i almost needed tubing.

so to reiterate believe your patient if he says he's allergic even if the doc forgot to include it .

[[color=sandybrown]i have latex, betadine, certain narcotic, and avocados on that $40 bracelet.]

makes me feel so bad for the sweet lil lady who turned terminal once dx'd w/ mets on my onc unit, and tended to go to alert and confused. really confused! staff griped and made fun of her during report for saying in add'n to her many allergies that now cherry jello and eggs were being added to her allergies.

why is this to be made fun of?

when i asked why this was funny, as the new grad, i was put in my place by stern words and/or cold shoulder snubs.

does there have to be a near death experience before a pt is believed?

so sad,

chloe

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peds Urology,primary care, hem/onc.

Always double check the compatiblities of your IV fluids and IV meds, especially if you have IVF's with bicarb in them. Bicarb mixed with most things will make them preciptate out. We had patients needing new port a caths and broviacs because their lines precipitated so much they could not recover the line.

Phenergan is a vesicant, always be careful when giving it IV.

Check your connections on your IVF tubing, especially if they are getting chemo. I once had a patient whose chemo (going at solid rate for 24 hours) infused into his bed for about 12 hours b/c no one checked the connection on the extension tubing.

Double check your PCA settings, especially the cartridge that is inserted. We had a mistake one time b/c the pharmacy set up the wrong concentration of the medication. The settings were correct, but for a different concentration of medicine. The nurses checking off on it checked the settings but forgot to check the cartridge.

If you deaccess a portacath, be careful putting it in the sharps container, we had a couple of nurses get a needlesticks this way.

If ya didn't chart it, you didn't do it- period.

If a dose of a med does not seem right, even after you check it, get another pair of eyes to look at it. Even as an APN, if I am writing a script for a drug I have never written for before, I always get my colleagues to quickly check my dosing and they do the same.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Having a CNA pass out meds when it's outside their scope of practice.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

My original post did not add anything constructive to the thread and was off-topic. My apologies.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.
I remember in nursing school.. and I joke about this from time to time....lol

Well some how, some way, she confused CATH CARE with PERI CARE and was cleaning the externals of this poor, poor woman with alcohol swabs..

So for my absolute no no, NEVER perform peri care with alcohol swabs!!!!

Holy moly!!! That must've been excruciating for the patient. Ouch!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment