Letting CNA pass your meds, bad idea?

[walla189]

I fill the cups and check for all interactions and whatnot, but anyone have any negative experiences or can think of any possible neg exp with this?

Thanks

[mart18642]

No,no,no!!!!!!!!!!!bad idea...........do not delegate tasks that only license professional are trained for!

2 c

[DusktilDawn]

I think CNA can give oral meds but not injection meds. Well caregiver can give oral meds also so why CNA cannot?

They have all the practice which I think they can give oral meds.. CNA are not stupid to give the meds to the wrong patient. As if you're saying that student nurses cannot give oral meds to the patient because they don't have their license even their CI with them..

Oh well just my opinion. Thanks!

Yet again, the issue isn't about whether or not a nurse thinks CNAs are stupid. If it falls outside their training and scope of practice, CNAs should not be doing it.

Student nurses are training to be nurses and their CI is responsible for them, CNAs are not in training and the NURSE is responsible.

The difference between a care giver in the home providing meds to a loved one, and a care giver in an institutional setting is that in an institutional setting, that facility is responsible and accountable to provide that resident a safe environment.

[hhnurse35]

We formally write up nurses that do this at the facility where I work. VERY, VERY BAD IDEA!

[mart18642]

Yet again, the issue isn't about whether or not a nurse thinks CNAs are stupid. If it falls outside their training and scope of practice, CNAs should not be doing it.

Student nurses are training to be nurses and their CI is responsible for them, CNAs are not in training and the NURSE is responsible.

The difference between a care giver in the home providing meds to a loved one, and a care giver in an institutional setting is that in an institutional setting, that facility is responsible and accountable to provide that resident a safe environment.

Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!:studyowl:

[tsue]

Ponder this.....Delegating medication administration to anyone without a License Or Registration is indicates that critical thinking is not needed once the drug is in the hands of the unlicensed personnel. Do we really need anyone doing any of the 5-6-7 Rights of medication administration unless they have passed the NCLEX of their preparation? I question the rationale of a medication tech. giving medications that the supervising nurse is responsible for . With the prevalence of medication errors haunting the country,why aren't we requiring that all medications be given by licnesed personnel?

[honeyz]

depends where you work, i would think in an icu setting would NOT be appropriate. if CNA or med tech's are allowed to pass medication, they should be held accountable for their actions :monkeydance:

[huntryss]

I am a former nurse aide, now first year nursing student, who worked in a facility that allowed aides to pass meds in the assisted living part of the facility. A nurse aide on nights administered the wrong med to the wrong resident. The resident died, the aide got fired BUT the nurse lost her license. Even though this nurse was not in that part of the facility she was held accountable for the aides mistake. The aide now works at another faciity...the nurse works at Burger King. Do I want to pass meds as an aide....no freaking way. Do I think the majority of my coworkers are responsible enough to pass meds? Again, no. There is a reason we, as student nurses, have it drummed into our head over and over that you do not give meds that you have not prepared yourself or that have left your possession. People die from these mistakes. Three or four weeks training is not enough time to know what is right and wrong or to be able to assess the patient properly. I am learning, as a nurse, the right way of doing it but I have so much more to learn. I am so uncomfortable in the idea of nurse aides having this kind of responsibility. A lot of them will jump at the chance because it means less physical work and more pay. I think there will be a lot of problems, legal and moral, from this act.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

What practice do CNA's have in order to give meds. Then on the bigger note who is responsible if they injure a resident...it's you. Most of the time as a student you cannot give meds without double checking with CI or floor nurse anyway so this argument is invalid. I thought this argument was over......

I think CNA can give oral meds but not injection meds. Well caregiver can give oral meds also so why CNA cannot?

They have all the practice which I think they can give oral meds.. CNA are not stupid to give the meds to the wrong patient. As if you're saying that student nurses cannot give oral meds to the patient because they don't have their license even their CI with them..

Oh well just my opinion. Thanks!

[Nurse`Chief~Chickie]

I thought this argument was over......

Actually, what I think this argument needs is......more cowbell! LOL

:lol_hitti

[PANurseRN1]

I think CNA can give oral meds but not injection meds. Well caregiver can give oral meds also so why CNA cannot?

They have all the practice which I think they can give oral meds.. CNA are not stupid to give the meds to the wrong patient. As if you're saying that student nurses cannot give oral meds to the patient because they don't have their license even their CI with them..

Oh well just my opinion. Thanks!

Because the caregiver in the home isn't doing it under a nurse's license. As far as students, they usually have their instructors/preceptors with them and by the time they're doing it independently have far more education and practice time than a CMA/CNA. And if they screw up, the nurse precepting them/instructor is the one who pays.

[PANurseRN1]

depends where you work, i would think in an icu setting would NOT be appropriate. if CNA or med tech's are allowed to pass medication, they should be held accountable for their actions :monkeydance:

That's just it...they have nothing to lose; they have no accountability. They won't shoulder the blame...it's the supervising nurse who gets shafted.

[NYTramaRN, RN]

Wow great response, to save some face, I'm a student doing this for a essay so don't string me up just yet...

:wakeneo: : Thank goodness it's only a hypothetical question. You are in charge of the pt care period. Never, ever, pass on that which you have a responsibility for to others, not just because it's against the law, but because it endangers the pt, and it weakens your situational awareness of those under your care...was it given...did she/he forget...etc,etc.

Paul