Give meds or not?

Specialties Camp

Published

1 - If campers come with medication that is not in its original container or is mislabeled AND there's no doctor's order or doctor on staff, what would you do? Would you give the medications after clarifying with parents and google and the student has had it before?

2 - If you refuse to give the student the medications and the student and parent insist on child taking the medications because you cannot clarify what it is, do you just document that you refuse but child insists and child takes it?

Thank you very much for your kindness.

Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B

4 Articles; 857 Posts

Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

1 - If campers come with medication that is not in its original container or is mislabeled AND there's no doctor's order or doctor on staff, what would you do? Would you give the medications after clarifying with parents and google and the student has had it before?

I would start with the parents, verify the name,dose, route, and frequency. If it all seemed ok I would document that the medication received was verified as such by parents and instructions are per the parent. If the order seems strange (like an unusual dose or med) I would ask to contact the prescribing physician, and get it clarified.

2 - If you refuse to give the student the medications and the student and parent insist on child taking the medications because you cannot clarify what it is, do you just document that you refuse but child insists and child takes it?

Immediately notify the administration of the issue, and if you feel very strongly about it hold the med dispite parent and child wishes, assuming administration has your back. By virtue of being at camp they have agreed to the rules and regulations of the organization and if administration can not resolve the issue the child may need to be sent home. It gets more complicated if administration won't back you, in that case you either quit or notify your physician and document carefully.

I would be interested in hearing exactly what is going on here. Your questions are obviously related to a particular situation, it would be nice to know the particulars.

CloudySue

710 Posts

Specializes in Pediatric Private Duty; Camp Nursing.

I'm interested too. Since its September, and camp is 9 months away, I'm inclined to think this is in regards to something left over from this past summer, and someone's got a lot of 'splainin' to do.

Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B

4 Articles; 857 Posts

Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

I think op is a school nurse as well in some capacity. As I was typing all that out though there were exceptions. One boys dad made envelopes for everyday of camp with his ADD med. no name of med, dose or frequency...just his name. We clarified it an wrote the information on the box, but once the pill was pulled there was no way to tell for sure what the pill was. Another girl had a zip loc full of OTC suplaments we gave her every day, packed by mom not labeled. The boss signed off on them so it was declared ok, not ideal and something to be addressed by the director so it would occur next year, but for this year good enough for camp.

abcnurse77

29 Posts

Thank you very much for your kindness, explanation and clarifications. No, I'm contemplating taking on a camp nurse job. I just imagine all the situations that may happen, thanks to my overimagination and a worry wart nature I possess. Thanks so much though!

bsyrn, ASN, RN

810 Posts

Specializes in Peds, School Nurse, clinical instructor.

1 - If campers come with medication that is not in its original container or is mislabeled AND there's no doctor's order or doctor on staff, what would you do? Would you give the medications after clarifying with parents and google and the student has had it before?

No I would absolutely not give the medication. It needs to be in the original container and we need a written order from the practitioner. This does happen frequently, if it is a med for something critical like seizures, we send the medication and child home with the parent until we get the correct package and order. If it was something like a chewable multivitamin that they just give the child, we let the parent decide if they want them to go without for the camp period.

2 - If you refuse to give the student the medications and the student and parent insist on child taking the medications because you cannot clarify what it is, do you just document that you refuse but child insists and child takes it?

nope...see above

abcnurse77

29 Posts

Thank you very much for the information!

pc2801

112 Posts

We had a camper bring her acne abx in an old cosmetic powder jar. We held the it in health center while contacting mom to inform her med would be returned at end of camp. Two weeks into camp, camper insisted she needed the med for her (flawless) complextion, so we again contacted mom who had MD fax a script for the medication which was then identified using an online search. Only then did I dispense the medication to the camper.

Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B

4 Articles; 857 Posts

Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

We have a few parents who skirt the pharmacy by placing pills in ziploc bags. When we write the MAR these are simply listed as the "blue pill, and gray pill" packaged by parents Q AM.

I use my phone, to type, I work at night, and I'm a bad speller. Pick any reason you want for my misspellings

Naity

21 Posts

is there a policy or a guide on how to go a bout it? it may come in handy ....

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