Info needed: Scope of Practice for Florida Med Techs

[Krisintheweb]

Hi I am a Florida LPN working in an ALF that uses med techs. I work the 3-11 shift and after 5pm I am the only nurse in the building. The 11pm-7A shift has no nurses only a med tech and 2 or 3 CNA's. Our Florida ALF has under 75 residents and includes a locked down unit. The med techs work very hard and do the same work that I do. They pull meds from the cart, count and sign out narcotics, and cosign for me if I waste a narc.

First question: What I am wondering is does anyone regulate the scope of practice for med techs in Florida? I have found 2 laws but our ALF does not comply with either one.

Florida statute 393.506 link: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0300-0399/0393/Sections/0393.506.html

Florida statute 429.256 link: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0429/Sections/0429.256.html

Because I am the only licensed nurse in the building between 5pm and 11pm and there is no 11pm to 7am nurse I am getting scared about my liablility. I am only an LPN. We have no written job descriptions, no policies in our handbook. I was never trained on what the scope of practice is for supervising med techs. The ALF that I work for is a very expensive and a very high class place. It is owned by doctors and I have a hard time believing that the administration would just thumb it's nose at the law. But then I also wonder, if the med techs are legally allowed to do everything that I do, then why in the world would they be paying me twice as much to be there? Why not just staff the place with $9.00/hr med techs and cna's? Also on nights that I leave an no med techs are on my boss has instructed me to just leave medication doses on top of the cart for the cna's to give and leave the keys to the cart in an unlocked desk drawer available to all staff (and even residents if they walked in). I have refused to do this. I told my boss no way, find a replacement or give me a written policy telling me to do this.

Second question: Are we allowed to count narcotics off with med techs if there is no other nurse?

And a comment: Med Techs work hard in my facility. They have to do all of my work and also the CNA work. If you are a Med Tech and you are doing all of that work and making less money, then please, go to school become a nurse and get paid for what you do.