Help a dsp out

[kaysgonehome420]

Here's a little background before I get into my question. I have been med passed 2 different times and each time I have overdosed someone with medication both times. This current job I have now is also wanting me to get med passed. Now I have told my company this more than once and I told them that once I was comfortable with the idea of giving meds I would let them know. Well this morning they tried to force me to go to med class at 9 am (in all fairness I thought they'd respect my boundaries) so my question is if you're eligible does that mean you absolutely have to pass meds as a dsp? Can you loose your job over that?

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I think you should have a talk with your supervisor. Ask them if, after attending this class, you will be expected to pass meds. Let them know that this is still a "no" for you. If they want to let you go over it, are you willing to walk away? I personally respect your decision, but your employer may not.

[Emergent, RN]

You don't sound like the greatest employee. I'm not sure what med passed is, but it sounds like you're having a hard time passing the test or something. Your writing isn't very clear. Also, it sounds like you are highly inconvenienced by having to be somewhere at 9:00 a.m. . If I were your employer I wouldn't be too impressed.

[ladedah1, BSN, RN]

I'm not going to lie... I was utterly confused until I finally went back to the top and read the OP's listed specialty.

Until today, the only DSP that I was ever aware of was Day Shift Problem... so I seriously read this whole post thinking this was something to do with nurses helping each other out around shift change!  

I must be losing my mind!  🤣

[JKL33]

Quote

I have been med passed 2 different times and each time I have overdosed someone with medication both times.

Does this mean assigned to pass medications?

And now your current employer wants you to go to class that leads to some sort of certification or orientation to passing meds so that you can become approved to perform that duty at your current job?

Quote

so my question is if you're eligible does that mean you absolutely have to pass meds as a dsp? Can you loose your job over that?

Your question is worded as if you are asking whether there is some law that you must do this if you are eligible to do this. Guessing the general answer to that, specifically, is no--there likely is not a law that says if you are eligible to pass meds in XYZ state then you *must* be out there passing meds. Rather, this is a combination of what your state allows you to do and what your employer desires people in your role to do for them. For example, RNs are allowed to start IVs, but some RNs may work in places where there are no patients who need IVs/the type of work doesn't deal with IVs. And some RNs may work in a place, such as a hospital, where there are a team of people who perform all IV starts, so that many of the other RNs are not required to start IVs as part of their role.

So: Being eligible, legally, to do something doesn't mean that your employer will require you personally to do that thing. But if it is legal and the employer does expect you to do it as an essential part of your role then there's a very good chance you can be terminated if you refuse to do it and refuse to try to become competent so that you can perform that duty.

You could ask for support, you could attend the education and work to become more comfortable with this, or you could look for a position where people in your role are not expected to pass medications.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

For those that don't know, DSP stands for direct support professional, and the term is used for unlicensed people who work in group homes that normally house people with intellectual disability.

Being "med passed" means that you have completed the requirements to be allowed to pass meds. Usually this requires attending and passing a class that's run by a registered nurse. I have worked in this role.

I personally would not med pass a person who didn't want to pass meds. Feeling confident in your ability is a basic requirement. There should be incentives to do this work, rather than coercion. You should make more money when you are allowed to pass meds. I encourage you to communicate with your boss about this before quitting. Where I live, it is hard to find people willing to work as  DSPs, and I would not let someone go because they weren't comfortable passing meds. I would simply put them in a home with another DSP who was med passed. I would offer to you that you could take the class at any time you decided you were ready. As long as you are willing to learn and perform the other tasks, such as bathing, feeding, cleaning up, and the other DSPs report that you contribute to the workload, I think you should be fine. I would much rather have someone be scared to pass meds than to do it with poor documentation or poor attention and create a situation where we have a lot of errors. 
 

[kaysgonehome420]

Thank you everyone your advice was helpful indeed! Just so some of you know though I do great at my job. I'm not inconvenienced to be somewhere at 9 in the morning I was trying to specify what was happening.

[kaysgonehome420]

Emergent said:

You don't sound like the greatest employee. I'm not sure what med passed is, but it sounds like you're having a hard time passing the test or something. Your writing isn't very clear. Also, it sounds like you are highly inconvenienced by having to be somewhere at 9:00 a.m. . If I were your employer I wouldn't be too impressed.

Just so you're aware I didn't ask what you thought of me as an employee. I asked if I could loose my job because I don't want to accidentally kill somebody with medication. (My mother is a nurse, I know how dangerous medication can be if given to much and I've already hurt 2 different people because I was med passing while being nervous.) Being awake at 9 am is not a convenience for me at all. I was being specific. So how about you simply talk to a person with respect. 

ladedah1 said:

I'm not going to lie... I was utterly confused until I finally went back to the top and read the OP's listed specialty.

Until today, the only DSP that I was ever aware of was Day Shift Problem... so I seriously read this whole post thinking this was something to do with nurses helping each other out around shift change!  

I must be losing my mind!  🤣

Sorry, I should've been a little more specific 😂

[londonflo]

FolksBtrippin said:

I would simply put them in a home with another DSP who was med passed.

"put them in a home" . 

 

FolksBtrippin said:

I personally would not med pass a person who didn't want to pass meds.

What  were the expectations of your job when you accepted it?

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

londonflo said:

"put them in a home" . 

The OP works in a group home. A DSP is a group home worker. 

londonflo said:

 

What  were the expectations of your job when you accepted it?

 

[londonflo]

What were the expectations of the job?  Is this part of the competencies of the job? If the DSP  (group home) worker does not administer the medications. Who does?

[londonflo]

FolksBtrippin said:

I would simply put them in a home with another DSP who was med passed.

And frankly, I object to moving someone who grew accustomed to a place to live because of a employee issue, Better to move the employee.