How long should it take to pass meds to 44 to 45 residents

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My question is how long should it take to pass meds to 44 to 45 residents was passing meds to 50 residents before. I seem to always be behind due to falls and incidents at the facility. When other nurses say they get done way quicker than me. I work 3-11 and seem to finish a half hour after my shift but then no time for charting, and when I do I end up leaving way past 12am. Plus have to count narcotics with other nurse at end of my shift. 3-11 SHIFT AND 11-7 SHIFT NURSE ONLY COUNTS THE NARCOTICS. That tends to take a while also and I feel I am rushing through my med pass and feel overwhelmed and stressed. Is 5 min per resident too much time or how long for each individual. Then treatments ect. At night I go through 3 large med carts. When things arise such as very ill patients on hospice and alarms going off. I have to constantly stop. When passing meds cant find the nurse assitance cause they in rooms laying residents down to bed. So I have to stop what I am doing and take care of problems. Example.. sitting back a resident down in chair who is a fall risk and dealing with residents with behavioral problems and that in one unit. I pass meds to first floor and second floor and another unit thats dementia and Alzheimer patients. I pass meds from 4pm to 630pm then 30 min lunch. At 7pm I start the night med pass to 44 residents as of now. I tend to be the slowest to get done and not sure why and its becoming very frustrating to me. I am constantly getting calls from nurse assistants and have o stop and check on situation.

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Specializes in LTC.

Darlin...I can't read your post for the big block purple letters so I can't help ya...edit it please? TIs hard on the eyes like that.

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ok hope u can read it now thanks

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I have 30 residents. It takes me usually 2 hours to pass their meds. Most of the meds need to be crushed, and I have to feed it to them, and then hold the water or juice cup. So, it takes a while. If everyone is alert and awake, I can do the meds in an hour and 45.

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Not that I would recommend this, but I noticed that some nurses will just make a list of CNA alerts to tend to at the end of their med pass. They don't interrupt the med pass unless it is something very serious. You will get faster as time goes on, just from paying attention to what you are doing and not allowing things to distract you. You might want to take the time to arrange the med cart if it is a mess. That act alone will help. One nurse I knew would set up her meds at the start of the shift and place the little med cups with resident names on them in the top drawer. Of course, this is not to be done, and she always was hoping the boss wouldn't come around and check the cart.

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Specializes in Medical/Telemetry. Now ICU.

Oh my gosh. Are you at a nursing home? That is insane. :(

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Specializes in LTC.

I wrote a long reply and then deleted it. My reply is this, GET A NEW JOB! I had a position like that ONCE, there are better jobs out there you just have to look. That is way too many patients for one nurse. It is a med error waiting to happen!!

If I was going to just answer your question I would say that by law I believe you still have to pass meds within 1 hour before to one hour after the time the physician has assigned the med to be given. NOT near enough time to pass meds to that many people.

Lastly, Do yourself a favor and never compare yourself to another nurse. We are not all equal in how we do our jobs. If you are concerned that you are slow then make a focused effort to get faster. Don't rush your med pass ever but walk faster from cart to room, make sure you have EVERYTHING you need on your person so that you are not running back to the cart for gloves and then again for an alcohol wipe etc. If you are familiar with the assignment then have all your stock on your cart that you need for liquid supplements, running back and forth to the med room is a killer. Make sure you have plenty of chem strips for your glucometer. If you are answering the phone then make sure you take a cordless with you. When someone gets done too fast on a med pass I tend to wonder what it was that they did not do.....

I hope you get it figured out.

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Ive been doing it like this for 3 years now and I do perpare myself with things I need and I don't set up meds cause that truly not allowed, But I love the residents and care for them deeply so its hard for me to just quit. There isn't a lot of Lpn jobs anymore in my area. So i am kinda stuck right now. I try my best and really thats all i can do. I am starting today going to make a log and time stamp to each residents room and see what I can do to speed it up cause I am really **** out of luck if new admits come in. I will be at work til 1am .. working a 3-11 shift. Anymore advise you have would be gr eatly appreciated.

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Oh my gosh. Are you at a nursing home? That is insane. :(

Im at a nursing home.

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Specializes in Peds Homecare.

:banghead:Whether 100 nurses on here have passed meds to many more residents, I say put in your two week notice, after you find a new job. That amount of people to pass meds to is totally unacceptable, and any nurse who says they can do it way faster is cutting corners. I would never have accepted a position with a 45-1 ratio. you are not a robot, you are a person. That is just an accident waiting to happen!:redlight:

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Pass meds responsibly to 44 to 45 residents? Not possible. I imagine a lot of those nurses that seem to be so on top of things are doing what I see a lot of nurses doing -- pass all meds, no matter when they are scheduled, at the same time. So, i.e. a resident at breakfast gets 0700 meds with 0800, 1000, and 1400 meds all in one fell swoop; 2nd shift residents get all PM and HS meds at dinner.

It is unconscionable that this happens but unforunately that is the way these nurses do it. And they don't tell anyone but people know. A nurse who wants to do a good job simply cannot survive in that environment, it is not set up for good nursing.

I say get out.

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Specializes in LTC.

My answer to your question.. as much time as you need to safely pass them.

Why doesn't 7-3 count narcotics too?

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