I have your meds, please take them:)

[makes needs known]

A good friend of mine at work got fired yesterday. She had been warned about leaving pills at a patients bedside and not making sure they took them. They warned her that they were watching her and it happened again. This pt always said 'yeah, thanks I'll take them when I get up in a while" well apparently he slept all night and brought it to someones attention. She assumed he would take them, but she forgot that he was a patient because he was sick, and maybe a little forgetful. I will miss this friend but I also worry that in this fast paced work atmosphere anyone can make a mistake. I always worry that I miss something.

[makes needs known]

'If you have not witnessed the patient taking his medicine, you have no idea what happened to it once you left the room. He could have taken it, dumped into his lunch tray, thrown it down the toilet, or given it to a visitor. Another employee could take the medicine; any number of things could happen to those meds. The patient will not necessarily be truthful when you question him about it later.'

I spoke with our DON about my ex-coworker, and she also pointed out that some patients might be saving their meds to take all at once, to commit suicide by overdose. This patient is a fairly young man with a permanent respiratory disease.