most common meds on night shift

[rosepetls]

Hello,

I was wondering what the most common meds are on the night shift in nursing homes. I will be starting a new job & I'd like to review what the most common meds I will be passing on the night shift. Please help. I start in a couple of days. Thanks so much.

[presuppose]

I don't have nursing home experience, but I have worked with elderly patients over my years of bedside care.

I'd get familiar with any sleeping meds, neurontin, trazodone, statins, antihypertensives - lisinopril is often given at night.

A great idea is to keep on hand your favorite current drug handbook and take the time to refer to it before giving your medications. I once worked on a med-surg floor with patients that had long lists of meds for the 0900 pass. It would take me awhile, but I made sure I knew the med I was passing as well as sometimes calling pharmacy to have them check that the list of meds was compatible. In this particular hospital nothing was on computer, so the phone call was worth the time for pt safety.

[MedicalLPN, LPN]

I work in a hospital, but some of the common meds I give at night are xanax, ativan, seroquel, depakote, remeron, lopressor, lantus, lortab, percocet, ambien, senokot, colace, cipro, flagyl, lyrica, and neurontin.

[snowfreeze, BSN, RN]

You will probably give pain meds and in the morning thyroid replacement meds synthroid, morphine, dilaudid, toradol, darvocet, percocet, loracet. Some seizure patients require dilantin or phenbarbitol around the clock. Many sleep meds and antianxiety meds are given to nursing home patients which ones depends on the facility I would research all of them. Diabetics on tube feedings will need insulin coverage. Many antibiotics are every six or 12 hours Cipro, cefalaxin, vancomycin, unasyn and flagyl are a few I can think of.

Good luck in your new job!!!

[sharlynn]

Fosamax is sometimes given by the night shift (empty stomach)

[rosepetls]

Thanks so much for responding. I'm very nervous, I start tonight.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Don't forget your stomach meds....prilosec, protonix, prevacid..

[PsychNurseWannaBe, BSN, RN]

I didn't see it mentioned above (if it was sorry)...but also NTG.

[marjoriemac, LPN]

May be different names in the states, but common night meds in my facility are simvastatin, trazadone, paracetemol and other analgesia, zopiclone, nitrazepam. Mainly night sedation really.

[Kimberleighsue]

Ambien.

[S.N. Visit, BSN, RN]

Sonata

[twokidsmom,rn]

I am doing research on this subject. I work for a VA that gives the largest med pass 5am-7am that is before breakfast. We have many older vets and they have MANY meds, they do give alot of Colace and narcs. We have between 10-15 pts per med nurse. We are in a rush to give all of them within the 1hour before and 1hour after the 6am time. I am new to the VA and have talked to my nurse manager about this. THe explaination I get is that many of our pts are up in the AM and go out to smoke and go on trips to appts. But most appts are for 2-3 pts before 9am. Our unit usually has between 28-30 pts at a time. Any comments or suggestions.