Is this normal?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So earlier I had a random memory pop in my head from about 5 or 6 years ago when my Aunt had her second to last child. She had an uneventful delivery, no complications or anything. The baby was fine when he came out and she was fine after just tired. I remembered when my mother and I went to go see my aunt in the hospital she was telling us about having the epidural and how it was the best thing in the world, then she mentioned. that the nurse left her a bottle of pills (tylenol or advil can't remember which one) and a piece of paper with a chart on it to write down every time she took some and how much! Now my aunt is a nurse and was at the time when she had the baby, but I just thought it was weird that they would just giver a bottle of pills and tell her to chart every time she took one! And I know that those are OTC drugs you can by close to anywhere but they where hospital provided and everything....I just thought it was weird what do you guys think?

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.
Why don't we trust A+O people to take meds in the hospital (can't leave meds at the bedside, must watch them swallow), but we send them home and expect them to do it?

Because at home you can put things up out of reach of little ones. In hospital there is no such safe place at bedside, and people bring siblings in the see baby brother, or roommates, etc. Also, things can get stolen, if roomie's boyfriend thinks you have something special in that bag, it might just walk out in his pocket, and you get charged for it all.

If I sign you took the med, I am signing (standard nursing practice) that I saw you take it. If I chart you reported meds from a bedside pack at certain times, it means that YOU reported it, not that I gave it. Splitting hairs? yes. But lawsuits are like that.

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Specializes in Electrophysiology, Medical-Surgical ICU.
I find that VERY strange lol I thought you had to watch the patients take the medicine... not leave them with a pill bottle that is hospital provided, even if it's Tylenol, etc.

I thought the same thing that's why I thought it was weird :-/

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Specializes in LDRP.

what if the mom has postpartum depression and ods on the tylenol? :uhoh21: just a thought.. also children that are visiting could take them as another poster said..

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Residents in nursing homes are 'allowed' to take their own medications, as long as they have been deemed competent to do so. Part of being competent to manage their own medications is that they agree to keep the medications in a locked drawer.

If some elderly residents on a number of medications can do this, why on earth would a healthy woman who has just had a baby not be capable of it?

I find it really strange that most nurses will say that women who have just given birth must take complete care of their baby 'so that we know you can do it and because when you go home there won't be a nurse to help you' and at the same time many are reluctant to allow women to manage her own mild painkillers or stool softeners, or think that it's somehow unsafe. It just doesn't make sense to me!

As for the medication chart, the nurse wouldn't be signing that he or she has administered the medications, he or she would be reporting what the patient told them, or documenting that the patient self administered their medications.

Of course there will always be patients who are not capable of taking their own medications for one reason or another but surely that's not a reason to make a blanket rule that no-one in the hospital should ever be allowed to self administer.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

When I had my son 9 years ago, the self dose medication pack required a physician's order (my OB was big on it, especially since not only was it a large teaching hospital but the L&D unit was bursting at the seams that hot summer, so she felt it was better for all to use the self-medication pack, if appropriate for the patient)

For C/S the pack included 8 200mg ibuprofen (you could take 2 every 6 hours), Colace, Gas-X, Philips MOM, and something else. (No tylenol for most, as many were transitioned from spinal/epidural to Percocet) It came in a zipper bag, we were to mark when we took the medication on a little chart. Both shifts would review the card and chart as per protocol. The night shift nurse would order replacement medications as needed and as consistent with MD order/protocols. My doctor also had an order to leave ginger ale at bedside as most patients found it worked better for nausea than some the antiemetics.

For normal delivery, I think the list included proctofoam, ibuprofen, Gas-X, colace, MOM, and something else.

ETA--the only "full" bottle was the proctofoam for the SVD pt's. Everything else was in unit dose packages, even the MOM.

I was not a nurse nor was I in nursing school.

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Why don't we trust A+O people to take meds in the hospital (can't leave meds at the bedside, must watch them swallow), but we send them home and expect them to do it?

That would be nice :) I think part of it has to do with timing/interactions per pharmacy, that patients at home aren't always strict about. Also, some visitors may be an issue w/diverting - and the patient may not speak up. jmo Speaking to med-surg- not OB :)

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Residents in nursing homes are 'allowed' to take their own medications, as long as they have been deemed competent to do so. Part of being competent to manage their own medications is that they agree to keep the medications in a locked drawer.

If some elderly residents on a number of medications can do this, why on earth would a healthy woman who has just had a baby not be capable of it?

I find it really strange that most nurses will say that women who have just given birth must take complete care of their baby 'so that we know you can do it and because when you go home there won't be a nurse to help you' and at the same time many are reluctant to allow women to manage her own mild painkillers or stool softeners, or think that it's somehow unsafe. It just doesn't make sense to me!

As for the medication chart, the nurse wouldn't be signing that he or she has administered the medications, he or she would be reporting what the patient told them, or documenting that the patient self administered their medications.

Of course there will always be patients who are not capable of taking their own medications for one reason or another but surely that's not a reason to make a blanket rule that no-one in the hospital should ever be allowed to self administer.

Women who have been sliced open for a C Section are also expected to do complete self- and newborn care. And they do it on pain meds that are woefully inadequate, IMHO. Shameful. And, no, not everyone has family or friends to help at the hospital.

I do think that an excellent point is raised. Why allow/expect new mothers to self-medicate or some LTC residents to do so, as some of these also have visits from young children?

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My hubby is in the military and I had one of my children in Germany in a non-military hospital. I was admitted for pre-term labor at 6 months and the nurse came in every morning and set my medications for the day by my bedside and told me which ones to take at what time and left. The only meds they actually administered was my IV medication. I found it "odd" since I was use to the way it was done in the states, but it kind of made sense because I was going home on many of the meds and would have to take them at home myself. These pills were not just "OTC". I had no pain meds so it may have been different for those, though.

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Specializes in ICU, M/S,Nurse Supervisor, CNS.

I thought that was odd practice when I first heard of it several years ago, but later learned it was common practice at the hospitals in my area. That was several years ago, though, and many hospitals have since changed that practice. I see nothing wrong with it if the patient is competent and reliable to administer their own meds.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

They didn't do this when I was post partum with my son almost 2 yr ago. They did this when we were in clinicals at another hospital. It was only like tylenol, and colace and motrin.

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Specializes in Respiratory, Cardiac, ED, Maternity, Ped.

I am a labor and delivery nurse and we do this where I work. We have a self medication Motrin protocol. We have to complete an assessment that shows the patient understands she can take 600mg of Motrin every 4 hours as needed for cramping or pain. The nurse signs it and the patient. The patient also signs that she will not take more than this. She has a chart at bedside, she records when she takes it and her pain level 0-10 and one hour later her pain level. She also signs off that she will notify her nurse if the Notrin is not adequate pain relief and she will record when she takes it and her pain level. I have seen this at other hospitals as well. Many patients like this, gives them some autonomy. The bottle of Motrin stays in a locked drawer in the patients closet in her room and she is provided with the key. Works well with some women, with others it is better written PRN or ATC so we are offering it to them because I find sometimes they are not taking it often and are having bad cramps.

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Specializes in OB, ER.
what if the mom has postpartum depression and ods on the tylenol? :uhoh21: just a thought.. also children that are visiting could take them as another poster said..

If she wanted to she could take the ones out of her purse, have hubby bring a bottle, buy some in the gift shop.....if she wanted to she would despite.

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