Labeling syringes?

Nursing Students Student Assist

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when drawing up medications do you label the syringe with the doctors order or whats on the medication bottle??

It may be different in different Regions, but for me, we label what is in the syringe. Patient name, name of medication, dose of medication, and date and time it was hung.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
when drawing up medications do you label the syringe with the doctors order or whats on the medication bottle??

What Is in the bottle doesn't matter, the order doesn't matter what DOES matter is what exactly is in the syringe! This practice is falling in popularity with unit dose syringes. what are you having to label syringes?

In school they are teaching us to label our syringes with what is in the bottle for example Lasix 40mg/2ml if we draw up 2mls after doing the math... I just couldn't remember if it was the doctors order or the actual medication label.

Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Really? I have never labelled a syringe.Of course it doesn't leave my sight once I draw it up.

Specializes in none.

What is in the bottle and the strength such as Lasix 20 mgm/1cc.

interesting, we don't label the syringe, but usually we fill the syringe at bed side.

We label it with contents and dose. It's mainly, my instructor says, as a reminder to ones self and to identify it if it was dropped, you passed out, or any other such accident.

Specializes in PICU, Sedation/Radiology, PACU.

I do both. Example:

Morphine 4mg/mL

Contains 2mg

Volume 0.5mL

Name, Date, Time, Initials

This is helpful because when we run out drips from syringes the nurses need to know how much volume started out in the syringe and the concentration of the medication in case there is a change in the drip rates, etc.

In an emergency, we sometimes give a smaller dose of the medication then we have in the syringe, so knowing both the starting volume of the med and the concentration lets the nurse/doctor know exactly how much is left and how much the patient received.

Specializes in ER, progressive care.

I tend to draw up my meds in the patient's room, that way I don't accidentally throw away the med vial because we have to scan it. Don't want my employer to think I'm diverting narcotics! :eek: If I have to draw up more than one med, I label them with the med name and the dose.

Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Flight.

Funny how a lot of you say u never label syringes.

We were told that it's a major jchao (sp) violation if you don't so in clinical we have to.

So is this true??

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