Drug Cards- AAARGH!!!

[perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN]

Okay, I just HAVE to vent for a moment!!! WHY do we have to turn in a drug card of EVERY SINGLE DRUG our patients are on with side effects, interactions, etc when it is ALL in our drug reference??? It makes sense to look them all up and know what they are for and what to look for in drug reactions and interactions but WHAT IS THE POINT of copying all this info straight out of the drug handbook to turn in? (of course I will cite it) I know nursing school is a learning experience and I am all for learning these drugs, but I just don't see how this is going to help me to spend hours copying all this info!!

Readers of this post will please realize that the poster was QUITE FRUSTRATED with her nursing department and with school in general when she wrote this! :imbar

[kwagner_51]

The purpose of writing all that info is so the nursing instructors know you did look it up. Case in point. We are allowed to use the pre printed drug cards, BUT we have to highlight the important info. I did cards on my guys meds for the last time thin semester, and she didn't even look at them. She pulled the cards off the top of the page, where I had them paper clipped and handed them back to me, GRRRRRRRR!!

That is the sole purpose of doing drug cards. I use Davis Drug Guide w/ CD and I use the heck outta that CD. Unfortunately, the CD only has 300 of the most common drugs on it.

So now you know. Don't you just feel so much better??

[chris_at_lucas_RN, RN]

I never actually had to make drug cards, but I did have to verbally produce info about the drugs my patients were being given, tell the instructor everything she wanted to know about each (and she wanted to know it all) before I gave the drug to the patient.

I used to make either an Excel spreadsheet or a Word table, and put all the info there. Then I could cut and paste from week to week and patient to patient. Sort of defeated the purpose of repeatedly writing it out, but it worked for me.

I found that I learned a lot more than I realized--even though we were allowed to look at our notes (or drug cards or whatever), the further I got, the less I had to look.

(Last night we were watching some show, Cold Case, I think, and the victim had yellowed vision. I said, that's digoxin. And would you believe it, it was! My DH was soooo impressed!)

Anyway, it's designed for us to learn. The more we are exposed, the more we know. By the time we don't have to do them anymore, e.g., we are GN's, we will know enough to be (I hope!) safe.

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

a few reasons: you actually need to learn some of the info, not just know how to research it. The more practice you get in looking it up, the easier it will be.

[lovinghands]

I remember complaining about the same thing when I began nursing school. As I got farther along in school, I was mighty grateful I wrote out those meds because I pretty much knew the common meds inside out. Hang in there, it gets better!

[TinyNurse, RN]

I highly agree with "lovinghands"!

best of luck !!

xo Jen