Med Admin

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.