what would you have done??

[ajaxgirl]

I am working LTC in a nsg home environment. I have only been there a few months (I did OR nsg before) and I did 1 yr of LTC back in 1997.

I work on a casual basis depending on my availability.

We had a respite pt, her second night in our facility. She asked for her cough syrup. It was the middle of the night. I checked her orders and NO order in the MAR for cough syrup and no standing orders since she is a respite and not with our house doc. She said she brought in her cough syrup from home. I check the med cart and it WAS in there (no order though but the bottle was a prescription from her doc) and it was a NARCOTIC (Tussionex with hydrocodone). She had 2 coughing spells but nothing horrible. The bottle was unopened and was prescribed in March.

Would you have given it without an order?

Is a prescription label enough as an order?

[LauraF, RN, ASN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I definitly would not have given it. Even more so if it were sealed as if not given. What if that patient had some type of allergic reaction after administration. There you are sitting with a sick patient and no order. I would also bring it to the DON's attention that this med was accepted by someone without an order. JMHO