I need help getting organized.

DG5 · Dec 28, 2010

For the elderly, there is no easy way, especially with polypharmacy and those that needs their meds crushed etc. It is better to be safe than feel pressurised with time. Can you speak to your superviser - it seems like it is a workload issue.

ANNIENURSEANGEL · Dec 28, 2010

you will get faster with time. dont worry so much about speed. make sure you are passing the right med. to the right patient. keep all this in mind. the one time you try to go fast, is when a mistake will happen. how often do you work there? Relax, and dont worry so much about being fast. you will do just fine.

ocean waves · Dec 28, 2010

Hello. I hear ya about the challenge of passing tons of meds within a specific time period! Though I totally agree with the writers who say "better to be safe than feel pressured by time", however there are also realities of time specific med orders (for example diabetic blood checks and meds, scheduled pain meds before physical therapy, etc.) Hard stuff! Since you say you have only been working at this facility for three months,as another writer said maybe it would be helpful to talk with your supervisor about ways to safely "stream line" your adminstration of medications. Best wishes!

jnick31 · Dec 28, 2010

Just to put a little perspective on it. If you take 5 hours to pass meds that's one patient about every 10 min. If you have to track down blood pressures, sugars, your 3 med checks, any quick morning assesment, and so on... I think that is doing pretty well. esp. for only working there 3 months. and you said it takes you that long "sometimes which means most of the time you are probably done by 10-11. That would be one patient about every 6-8 min. Granted I'm just a nursing student right now, but if I could get all my morning data on a patient and have their meds passed in 6-10 min? I'd be feeling pretty good about myself.

Expectations · Jan 3, 2011

:up:Unfortunately this is the current trend in LTC. It is not going to change to fast. Listen to the others who have posted. It took me 6 months to pare my am med passes to 2 hours. Hang in there. You can ask your supervisor for help in this area, but chances are s/he may not be helpful. Ask the person who orientated you, or one of your collegues you feel good about approaching. The most important thing and it has been stated here is to make sure, MAKE SURE, you get the right med to the right person and the right time, remember your 6 rights. Again, hang in there. You can do it. :up:

DG5 · Jan 3, 2011

After you get to know your residents and their routines it becomes a whole lot easier. Some residents wait by the dining room before breakfast, some are in the lounge and some are always in their room. There are a few priorities first, like taking the blood sugars. Can night shift help by taking some of the early morning B/P's? How heavy are the medcarts? How are the meds packaged? We had a whole revision of the way we did meds when I was in LTC and they got lighter medcarts, and pharmacy changed the way the meds were packaged. Also, our MARS were changed to make it easier to identify residents. All these things take collaboration between nursing, pharmacy and management. I used to work at a lot of different sites and I soon could see which sites had their act together and which ones were disorganised all the time. If you want to stretch yourself, try working casual at other sites and you soon will see how streamlined your site could be.