Published
"A nurse told you they don't want it to be pharmacy's fault" isn't reliable. "They" who? Ask if that's a policy and to see it in writing. You won't. Then put in the "missing med" documentation. If it keeps happening, drop a dime to the hospital Risk Management officer. Believe me, they want to hear about it.
If "they" didn't want you to use that option then trust me...it wouldn't be available.
That nurse probably has misinformation that has cycled through one of the long streams of misinformation that floats around hospitals.
At my first job, it somehow became "policy" that we didn't give long acting insulin if a patient's blood sugar was below 100. It took months to get everyone back on the same page.
I agree with GrnTea: Why are you letting any old nurse tell you what to do? Was this nurse "who told you" your boss? If not, I would ask someone in authority (e.g. your boss or your unit educator) what you should do in such a situation. If the answer that person gives involves falsifying the medical record, tell them that you are uncomfortable lying about it and see what they say.
If you believe that falsifying the medical record is happening on a regular basis ... then you have an obligation to report that to the institution's Risk Manager.
Ya I did that the first time and she got mad. I agree it isn't right and don't know who I could talk to about another option. I guess they aren't wanting to make pharmacy look bad but why don't they care if it comes back to me? Confusing.
Who is she and why is she looking at your documentation? If the med wasn't there, it wasn't there.
Birdy2
129 Posts
So several times I've had a patient that needed a med, even important ones like BP and antidysrhythmics, and I couldn't give it because pharmacy hadn't sent it up yet. Well you know how on the emar you have to give a reason for why you gave it late? I was going to put not available. A nurse told me I wasn't supposed to put that because they don't want it to be pharmacys fault. So basically I'm supposed to take the blame for it and get in trouble if anything goes wrong? How is that fair and why in the world should I be forced to lie about something? She said I was supposed to put pt refused or something else. I don't like this rule and don't get it either