Medication Aides in Ohio

nursesaideBen · Nov 9, 2006

Here in VA med techs are restricted to assisted living facilities only but the job market LPNs is still good in LTC, ALF, corrections, psych, home health, and even hospitals. I don't agree with the use of med techs but they are gaining in popularity because they're cheaper. At the ALF I work at PRN the facilitiy has had a pretty big problem with the med techs making med errors. I'm a CNA and a CNA advocate but they should NOT be administering medications period simply because I know that I wouldn't want my family member recieving insulin from a person with 2-4 weeks of training with giving meds. Just my 2 cents.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2006

I am an LVN in Texas and employed at a large long-term care facility that uses medication aides. I have not noticed any sudden drops in our pay rates. Actually, medication aides sometimes make the job of the LVN a little bit easier since passing meds takes up a huge bulk of our time.

Our medication aides are only permitted to pass oral meds. The are not allowed to give injections, coumadin, and other drugs.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2006

20 years ago it was lpns i was working with who were wailing because they were being told by the hospital i worked in that they had 18 months to take a medication class and get certified to pass meds. we thought our lpns were going to go out on strike! it was a new law in ohio at that time that lpns could now pass meds if they took the course and got certified. so, when over the past 20 years did lpns change their mind and accept that it was ok for them to pass meds?

are you implying that the only thing lpns are good for is passing medications? i better tell my mom! she was an lpn in ohio for years and worked in icu/ccu. i thought she did a lot more than just give medications!

20 years from now after there are no major lawsuits and it is shown that medication aides are doing this job quite safely, all this falderal is going to be forgotten.

feisty_lpn, LPN · Nov 10, 2006

are you implying that the only thing lpns are good for is passing medications? i better tell my mom! she was an lpn in ohio for years and worked in icu/ccu. i thought she did a lot more than just give medications!
20 years from now after there are no major lawsuits and it is shown that medication aides are doing this job quite safely, all this falderal is going to be forgotten.

absolutely not! however in ohio (i don't know how lpns are utilized in california), lpn positions are predominately in ltc facilities. lpn positions in hospitals are few and do not pay as well. the pilot program, if successful, will allow certified med aides to pass medications, do treatments, etc... basically 80% of an lpn's job description in ltc facilities.

ltc facilities will be able to phase out lpns if they choose to. instead of having one lpn for per unit each shift, that will go down to one lpn per shift for all units... if there's not an rn in the building.

i am not comfortable with non-licensed personnel passing medications of any type. i have spoken on yim with a few rns and lpns/lvns since my op who are not comfortable with it as well and refuse to work in facilities where cmas are utilized. there are so many patient safety issues and legal issues in regards to a nurse's license. for instance, a patient is accidentally overdosed by a cma. since they are not licensed (certified is not the same as licensed) and under the direction of an lpn/rn, would that nurse be responsible as well? maybe in 20 years, they'll decide cmas were not such a good idea after all.

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2006

Your med aides cant give Coumadin...interesting.

I am an LVN in Texas and employed at a large long-term care facility that uses medication aides. I have not noticed any sudden drops in our pay rates. Actually, medication aides sometimes make the job of the LVN a little bit easier since passing meds takes up a huge bulk of our time.
Our medication aides are only permitted to pass oral meds. The are not allowed to give injections, coumadin, and other drugs.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2006

there are so many patient safety issues and legal issues in regards to a nurse's license. for instance, a patient is accidentally overdosed by a cma. since they are not licensed (certified is not the same as licensed) and under the direction of an lpn/rn, would that nurse be responsible as well?

this was apparently a concern to many others as well when the law was being proposed. the ohio nursing law clearly indicates that a medication aide is responsible for her own actions and the issue of responsibility for the potential mistakes of medication aides was taken into account when the law was written:

section 4723.38 (a) of the ohio law clearly states: "a registered nurse, or licensed practical nurse acting at the direction of a registered nurse, who delegates medication administration to a medication aide who holds a current, valid medication aide certificate issued under this chapter is not liable in damages to any person or government entity in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from an action or omission of the medication aide in performing the medication administration, if the delegating nurse delegates the medication administration in accordance with this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter." part b states: "(b) a person employed by a nursing home or residential care facility that uses medication aides pursuant to section 4723.63 or 4723.64 of the revised code who reports in good faith a medication error at the nursing home or residential care facility is not subject to disciplinary action by the board of nursing or any other government entity regulating that person's professional practice and is not liable in damages to any person or government entity in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly results from reporting the medication error."

to me, that says that if a medication aide takes their own initiative to give a prn pain medication without checking with you first, and an incident results because of it, she hangs all on her own.

you know, being a charge nurse in ltc carries great responsibility. it is a supervision position. those who don't want to take the reins of power and be in charge, be a leader, shouldn't be taking nursing home jobs anyway. what is so unfortunate is that nursing school doesn't prepare anyone, lpns or rns, for the kind of situations ltc charge nurses have to face on a daily basis. it's generally learned by the "sink or swim" method. if you want to make the bigger bucks, you have to take the heat of being in a position of leadership. sorry if that isn't what you thought nursing was going to be about.

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Nov 10, 2006

this was apparently a concern to many others as well when the law was being proposed. the ohio nursing law clearly indicates that a medication aide is responsible for her own actions and the issue of responsibility for the potential mistakes of medication aides was taken into account when the law was written:
section 4723.38 (a) of the ohio law clearly states: "a registered nurse, or licensed practical nurse acting at the direction of a registered nurse, who delegates medication administration to a medication aide who holds a current, valid medication aide certificate issued under this chapter is not liable in damages to any person or government entity in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from an action or omission of the medication aide in performing the medication administration, if the delegating nurse delegates the medication administration in accordance with this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter." part b states: "(b) a person employed by a nursing home or residential care facility that uses medication aides pursuant to section 4723.63 or 4723.64 of the revised code who reports in good faith a medication error at the nursing home or residential care facility is not subject to disciplinary action by the board of nursing or any other government entity regulating that person's professional practice and is not liable in damages to any person or government entity in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly results from reporting the medication error."
i agree with your assessment, but what patient protections are in place? the reason a person goes to nursing school is to become licensed and accoutable, it sounds to me that these medication aides will not be held accoutable at all. the can make errors and patients will not be able to sue. sounds like patient safety is at issue here.

foxxcat · Nov 11, 2006

Okay ----I am from Ohio to, I do not think we should have med techs either.but what are we to do??Yes they are cheaper, but in Ohio they can not give insulin,prn's or narc's . Correct, they can do topical tx only.

When I was in nursing school they were talking about phasing out LPN's now 21 years later we are still here.

I suggest you contact the board of nursing and get the info on what med techs can and can not do. As for my AL they do not want med techs.They want exp nurses.

best of luck to you

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Nov 11, 2006

i agree with your assessment, but what patient protections are in place? the reason a person goes to nursing school is to become licensed and accountable, it sounds to me that these medication aides will not be held accountable at all. the can make errors and patients will not be able to sue. sounds like patient safety is at issue here.

please go to the ohio board of nursing website and read the law. there is also a whole page of links with information with regard to this project. you can find information on medication aides already written into the nursing law of ohio which is where i found the sections i quoted above. similar protections are in place just as they are for licensed nurses. why in the blazes would the state allow medication aides to administer medications and then not hold them accountable for their actions? what state legislator in their right mind would have voted in that kind of law? how would they answer to their constituency? why would organizations like the ohio nurses association have allowed a law like this to pass without a huge outcry and public service campaign against it?

pagandeva2000, LPN · Nov 11, 2006

20 years ago it was LPNs I was working with who were wailing because they were being told by the hospital I worked in that they had 18 months to take a medication class and get certified to pass meds. We thought our LPNs were going to go out on strike! It was a new law in Ohio at that time that LPNs could now pass meds if they took the course and got certified. So, when over the past 20 years did LPNs change their mind and accept that it was OK for them to pass meds?
Are you saying that 20 years ago, Licensed Practical Nurses had to take a medication class? Please let me know...I am just a bit surprized that this would happen to a licensed nurse. If you have time, please clarify...thanks! :0)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Nov 11, 2006

LPNs in Ohio (and a number of other states) did not always have the right to give medications of any kind. The laws giving LPNs in Ohio the authority and right to give medications was passed sometime in the early 1980s. At the time I was working in an acute hospital in northern Ohio who informed all their LPNs that they had 18 months to take the medication course they would need in order to test and become certified to give medications in Ohio. The hospital was paying for the course. What I have been referring to in my posts on this and one of the other threads is how the LPNs were up in arms at being made to do this. They felt it was unsafe and they were miffed that they were getting a measly 50 cent an hour raise once they got their medication certification. Now, 20 years or so later, I can't find an LPN who wouldn't be angry if he/she was denied the job of giving medications! Also, in Ohio medication administration is now part of the LPN training programs.