Another stupid question..Do you know the answer?

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another question the interviewer asked:

the physician writes an order for a resident and leaves. you as the nurse cannot figure out whether the order is written as q.o.d or q.i.d

the doctor cannot be contacted because he/she is at the y. (i have never had that happen unless he/she was going out of town they always answered the pager) anyway....

what do you do?

god help me! i could not think of the answer at a moments notice.:banghead::banghead::banghead:

anyone know the answer?

i promise i won't take so long to respond. i am home now and will post the answer tonight!

None of the docs I know would be caught DEAD at the Y! Nosirree, the trick is to belong to the most expensive club in town so that everyone present knows just how important you are when that pager goes off (and the doc can then broadcast his/her irritation loudly on his/her cell). :D

LMAO. I thought that when the interviewer said "the Y". THE Y? WTH is a doctor doing at the Y? :chuckle There isn't a Y within 100 miles!

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So you find out the correct dosage? You still need the doc to give the order for it. A lot of times I might need to call the pharm if a doc gives an order I'm not sure of, I get a suggested dose range then I still need to call the doc back to get the order.

I have to look back and see what the other post was about.

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that's what can be sad in nursing, the doc leaves you, as the nurse, to figure out the dosage. I've had docs give me phone orders for a drug and not give a dose. At that time I have looked up the geriatric dose and he/she always signs off on it. It can be scary and dangerous to do such a thing, but believe me, there are many facilities where this is the norm. Last week, one of our RN supervisors faxed the doc, (we always fax instead of phone)...the RN supervisor unintentionally wrote the doc's name on the line where you write the patients name and he signed off on a dose of ativan for himself! LMAO

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i dont see how calling the pharmacy or looking the drug up in a drug guide CLEARIFYS a order??? The only person or material that can clearify a order is....... THE DOCTOR WHO WROTE IT. Not a pharmacist (sp) or a drug guide. Has she never looked in a drug guide and saw how many doses one med can range from or how often it is taken???

Personally I agree to wait to get it clearifed.

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Specializes in M/S, SNU, Office, and Private Duty.

Thats why I like the office, if I have a question I walk the 20ft to the bullpen and ask the doctor what they mean!

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i dont see how calling the pharmacy or looking the drug up in a drug guide CLEARIFYS a order??? The only person or material that can clearify a order is....... THE DOCTOR WHO WROTE IT. Not a pharmacist (sp) or a drug guide. Has she never looked in a drug guide and saw how many doses one med can range from or how often it is taken???

Personally I agree to wait to get it clearifed.

Yes, I agree. That's why I was so upset at the interview. I thought the questions were totally off base and made no sense to me as a nurse. I have worked for 12 years as a registered nurse and have always been able to contact the doctor about a drug dosage or to clarify an order, unless you happen across a doctor that tells you to pick a dosage yourself! Yep, had it happen. Can be quite scary.

How can pharmacy know what the doctor wants? Many times a drug can be given either qod or qid, depends on your doctor and want they want. Not all drugs are written that way, but I don't feel comfortable looking up the drug in the drug book and know that I have the responsibility on me if something should happen to the resident/patient and I made the wrong call. :no:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
given the fact that the doctor wrote the order, but you can't tell if it's qod or qid , and you can't find him/her.... you, as the nurse are supposed to call the pharmacy or look in a drug book!

i told the interviewer that i have never failed to find the doc, and she said "no, in this case you can't find the doc, he/she is unavailable, so you call the pharmacy or look in the drug book"

that's incorrect and a good way to practice to lose your license.

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that's what can be sad in nursing, the doc leaves you, as the nurse, to figure out the dosage. I've had docs give me phone orders for a drug and not give a dose. At that time I have looked up the geriatric dose and he/she always signs off on it. It can be scary and dangerous to do such a thing, but believe me, there are many facilities where this is the norm. Last week, one of our RN supervisors faxed the doc, (we always fax instead of phone)...the RN supervisor unintentionally wrote the doc's name on the line where you write the patients name and he signed off on a dose of ativan for himself! LMAO

If this question is as stupid as the last one, then the answer is to pass on the information to the following shift.

:chuckle:chuckle:chuckle:yeah::up:

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Specializes in Gyn Onc, OB, L&D, HH/Hospice/Palliative.

Actually, in all practicality I think the pharmacist would be the one to clarify the order since they are actually filling and dispensing the rx. This is the case all the time in my facility. They track down/page the md and rewrite the rx if need be

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Specializes in OB.
given the fact that the doctor wrote the order, but you can't tell if it's qod or qid , and you can't find him/her.... you, as the nurse are supposed to call the pharmacy or look in a drug book!

i told the interviewer that i have never failed to find the doc, and she said "no, in this case you can't find the doc, he/she is unavailable, so you call the pharmacy or look in the drug book"

omg, give me a break!:banghead::banghead:

promise, no more questions. i have decided that the interviewer is certifiable. i should call the state hospital! lmao.:banghead::banghead: :no:

your interviewer is certifiable (or totally buffaloed by the docs). if the doctor is in town, he can be found if it is important enough)! just ask the doc who had the local police knock on his door one evening when he didn't answer his pages - sent by me. if truly out of contact, i'd be calling his partners or the chief of his dept. bet he wouldn't be dropping out of sight again! the other answer would be to call the house supervisor for assistance and let him or her handle the issue. (in other words, pass the buck:chuckle) no way would i take it on myself to decide what the appropriate dose/frequency should be.

i also called one doctor at midnight to clarify a totally illegible order when doing midnight chart checks, after having every available nurse and the house super try to read it. the amusing part is that in the a.m. he was unable to read his own scrawl! he did start printing his orders after that.... (i wouldn't advise this course unless you are flameproof)

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Specializes in CCU MICU Rapid Response.

Doesn't that put your booty on the line with prescriptive authority?? We as nurses dont have the right or responsibility to determine the dosage of anything. Silly Interviewer!! Ivanna

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That's incorrect and a good way to practice to lose your license.

Please tell the federal agency that takes care of our veterans that they are wrong! I have never in my life heard of such a thing. I can't even believe they would ask such question. It goes against everything that I was taught.:no:

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