Med Admin

[mmmiller]

Do any of you have non-nursing staff that give medications under go a medication administration training? If so, what does the training consist of?

We have an middle schooler who takes a daily medication (Adderal, two pills twice a day). He typically gets it from the middle school office assistant. This student also comes in for a Saturday tutoring session, and takes his medication on those days, but the normal office assistant is not there. He has been receiving the meds from his Saturday tutor, but the tutor is concerned about administering the medication and wants to take a medication administration course.

Our medication administration form that this student's parents have filled out and signed specifically says that the med will likely not be given by the school nurse.

Just wondering what you do at your school and if you have suggestions about how to proceed. Thanks!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

the only meds i can delegate out are epipens and glucagon. Both require me to train the staff willing to take the delegation (and to be honest, i don't push to find anyone for the glucagon, because i oppose that law the way it is right now.)

Certain states allow non medical personnel to give meds, but usually have a state approved med admin class they must take.

If your staff is willing to take the course, it is advisable to find them a course. That covers your butt.

[MinnieMomRN]

I only train for epi-pen. I do a presentation on allergies and anaphylaxis at the start of the school year. I do a competency check off following the presentation and then again as a refresher in the spring. I consider this training much like cpr --- everyone should know how to do it, because it saves lives.

Other than that, I don't delegate. The thing to remember, is that in delegation you accept full responsibility for the actions of the person to whom you delegated. I am very, very careful with that.

[Jolie, BSN]

Our state has a prescribed course for medication administration in schools by non-licensed personnel. The nurses within the district teach it in accordance with the state curriculum and we are responsible for verifying competency before allowing non licensed staff to give meds. The initial course (when taken as a group) lasts about 8 hours over 2 days, then we must observe each candidate in practice until we are comfortable with their competence.

In an "emergency" we can teach it 1:1.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

My state allows non-licensed people to administer meds once they have been trained by a licensed professional (aka me). We do not have a formal course, so I do the training informally one-on-one in my office and I observe them administering meds before I sign off on it.

[Arnu]

Taking it slightly off topic here, but Flare, why don't you like to delegate glucagon (not sure what state you are in or what the law reads at). But you can't over dose on glucagon, its just like an epi pen, its life saving. Of course you do need to mix it, which can be scary. Hopefully the 'pen' version will be out soon so they'll be a few clicks rather than fiddling with a vial and syringe.