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Discussion

how to count narcotics

Hello everyone. Just found this site. There is some interesting info here. I've enjoyed reading. I have a question. I have been a practicing nurse for 32 yrs. I was taught and always have counted narcotics with the oncoming nurse doing the actual counting, calling out the count and the off going nurse verifying the count from the narcotic sheet. Recently we have a couple of new people, one being a med aide, the other a fairly newer nurse than myself. They want me the off going nurse to call out the # of pills and they will look at the med and verify. Am I wrong, is there a wrong way, am I being set in my ways. I don't want to suggest a # and they just say yes.

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I have been taught they way you said off going know the number in advance. The oncoming count. Then you sign off of the meds they sign on. If they ask you to count then you could know ahead of time there is 18 lorazepam and tell them there is 18 when there may only be 15. Sounds like a very unsafe practice that could easily jam you up. I would advise against it.

Welcome to the site, enjoy your stay and best wishes to you! :lol2:

nurse73

Welcome to the All Nurses Forums.

:) I wish you the best in your nursing career. :)

A Pre-Nursing Student :)

Angels’

"Footsteps In The Sand"

Moving thread to General Nursing Discussion forum.

Hi Nurse73

Welcome to AllNurses.

I hope you like it here & learn a lot.

I have been an RN for 40 yrs. Always counted as you & yes this is the way it's supposed to be done.

We don't count now, with our pyxis. We do however, have to count the pyxis once a week & that is a big job!!

Mary Ann

  • Experts

There are a lot of ways to do narcotic count and as long as both parties are agreeing, everything is OK. I want to actually see the pills myself when I am coming on shift and counting. One of the reasons the off going nurse should be the reader is so you can sign off any doses you might have forgotten about. Hey! It happens. However, there are pros and cons to being the counter or the reader. If you're counting with someone who is determined to steal narcotics, they can fool you whether you are the reader or the counter. It's really a matter of trust between two people. I've had some nurses who would read off the number and then look over to see what I was counting physically. It's not a big deal to me whether I am the counter or the reader. The main thing is that the count is correct and that you both sign off on the count in case one of the parties did pull a fast one on the other. It is a matter of trust any way you look at it, isn't it?

Yes.

I really had to reread your post a couple of times to even figure out what the problem was.

Let me get this straight: usually, the oncoming nurse does the physical counting and announces "how many."

The offgoing nurse looks at the med sheet to verify, and agrees when the count is correct.

Check.

Your problem is: the newer folks want the offgoing nurse to check the sheet but READ THE COUNT out to the oncoming, and the oncoming can check the physical count against what is written on the sheet.

Personally, that makes more sense to me.

I think the problem is you have a certain way you have done things and you don't want to try anything new.......there's nothing "wrong" with that, I just think you should be a bit more flexible.

Plus, if someone is stealing narcs, they could always put down an incorrect count and the oncoming nurse wouldn't catch it in the "old way." I think that's a good method myself..........just my opinion. After you do it "their way" for a while you may prefer it.

Even with the Pyxis we have to count weekly. One nurse (doesn't matter which) calls out the number of meds in the bin, the other verifies the number is the same on the screen.

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