med cart change over

AdamantiteEnigma · Oct 1, 2014

Typically, I'll take verbal report before doing cart changeover.

MedChica · Oct 2, 2014

We do report and count the meds.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2014

As far as accepting responsibility for the med cart, I simply received report from the offgoing nurse and counted whatever narcotics were in the locked drawer to ensure a correct count before taking the cart over.

I wonder what the OP means exactly by 'med cart changeover.'

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2014

If you're talking about one nurse going off duty and another coming on...in my facility..we do narc count and then report, or report then narc count depending on which ever way you want to do it. I work the same unit all the time as does the 7-3 nurse, so she always asks me...report or count first. I tend to do count first and take the keys put them in my pocket and then do report.

dgriggs · Oct 12, 2014

I actually meant at the end of the month when new blister packs arrive. What do you guys do?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2014

I actually meant at the end of the month when new blister packs arrive. What do you guys do?

We never did those types of cart changeovers at most nursing homes where I've worked. Blister packs were delivered to us on demand several times per day, seven days per week whenever we ran out of a particular resident's meds. We didn't suddenly change out everything at the beginning of the month.

AdamantiteEnigma · Oct 12, 2014

We never did those types of cart changeovers at most nursing homes where I've worked. Blister packs were delivered to us on demand several times per day, seven days per week whenever we ran out of a particular resident's meds. We didn't suddenly change out everything at the beginning of the month.

Still works this way as far as I can tell with any LTC/LTAC I've been sent to in recent history. General rule has been that you own your deliveries. Which can become an inconvenient thing right at shift change.

Some places have computerized systems that allow you to scan in meds. Others are just sticking with doing it by hand. But this happens several times in the course of a shift in these parts.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2014

Like the others, we order meds as we need them (thru the computer, point, click, order, send). Twice per day (day/evening) we get a delivery from the pharmacy. When the meds come in, the super looks them over, signs for them and then delivers them to the unit that ordered it. She/he then gives them to the nurse who has the cart and that nurse just opens the cart and places the meds in the appropriate place.