med carts/control freaks

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I know this is going to sound ridiculous but I could use a little feed back from you all.....I'm a full time day shift float in LTC-prior to starting the med pass I load up the med cart they way I want it with my pudding,assorted juices,water pitcher,steth,sphyg and thermometer etc...-when I'm through at the end of the day I clean it off,wipe it down,empty the trash and stock it....The problem is that some nurses on a particular unit are having a FIT because it is not arranged exactly like it was in the morning...We have 2 bins on the side that can be removed and we also have some plastic trays to hold cups.I really don't see the problem-sometimes I'll even push it back against the far wall in the med room instead of up against the wall to the left and that REALLY pushed the evening nurse's buttons( I did not bother to move it over after housekeeping cleaned the floor- what's the big deal?)'ll take the plastic trays and sit them on the counter because with 21 residents I don't see the need for 80 cups on top of the cart-especially since I usually knock alot of them off...God forbid I leave those trays on the counter at the end of the day! And the meds! Ours are dispensed in boxes-most units have the boxes arranged in the order that the med appears on the MAR which makes perfect sense to me-I'll put them in that order as I pour to help me check and double check as I go.....Apparently if I open a new box and we have another I have put it to the side of the drawer-this also pushes someone's buttons....I know how childish this sounds-believe me....I'm usually eating my lunch in the med room so I can get the heck out of there on time....As long as the cart,med room and nurse's station are clean what's the big darn deal? Can someone tell me? There is no MAP to the area-I really am not aware of any policy or protocol that tells me where to put the straws...You are all reasonable people-do you get into medcart wars at your facility? I feel that I am too busy WORKING to worry about stacking the cups to suit the evening nurse-and I'm feeling particularly passive aggressive....Like tomorrow maybe I'll just turn the freaking med cart UPSIDE DOWN.....I've worked acute care and had to share a med cart with 4 or 5 other nurses....Maybe I am a little more tolerant then some of these freaking miserable people I work with in LTC..argh..........So-what would you do? so what's the big deal? Who has lost their marbles?

Specializes in LTC/Peds/ICU/PACU/CDI.
i don't even mind if the cart isn't stocked because i just do it any way. what frosts my crack is when someone uses a liquid med and doesn't tighten the top back on so that when i pick it up it spills or when i shake it, it goes all over. you soon learn to check first. then there are the ones who spill a med like lactulose and we all know how syrupy and sticky that is and do a half a$$ed job at cleaning it up. what's worse is when they spill it on the keyboard to the computer and then the keys sssstttttiiiiicccccccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk when you try to type! it makes the med pass that much longer, as if they aren't long enough! :madface: the worst is when they're finished and put the cart back into the med room and never plug it back in so the battery to the computer can charge. there's nothing like rolling out a dead computerized med cart. i thought nursing was all about cleanliness and neatness. :rotfl: not on my unit. what was i thinking? :selfbonk:
especially the part about what frosts your crack...that's totally outrageous...lol :rotfl:!!! i hate it when people spill liquids, especially sticky ones like lactulose!

cheers,

moe

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You say there's no map for the med cart? Why don't you make one--YOUR way? I can't believe people don't have anything better to do than complain about a med cart. And shame, shame on you for not moving it back against the proper wall after housekeeping was done. I believe you should have been written up for that one! Sheesh, you could have killed someone!! :rotfl: Only kidding.

And just when I think I've heard it all!!

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
You say there's no map for the med cart? Why don't you make one--YOUR way? I can't believe people don't have anything better to do than complain about a med cart. And shame, shame on you for not moving it back against the proper wall after housekeeping was done. I believe you should have been written up for that one! Sheesh, you could have killed someone!! :rotfl: Only kidding.

And just when I think I've heard it all!!

No you haven't heard it all yet---I was called to the ADON's office for counseling over the matter yesterday...After I clocked out the day of the "unfortunate incident" this nurse really threw a fit in her supervisor's office-who then went to the DON the next day....Bottom line-I'M TO TAKE THE HIGH ROAD---I'm to "put the med cart and med room back exactly like she wants them so they don't have to listen to her".....I informed the ADON the since I was not sure what she had been told I would tell her the extent of my "re-arragning the med cart and med room" which was moving 2 little plastic Dollar store baskets from the top of the medcart to the counter and that frankly I am disappointed because I believed that with the recent changes in administration that this type of behavior would not be as acceptable as it once was-seems I am mistaken....:uhoh21: Anyone read "Who moved my Cheese? I almost feel sorry for this psyco witch nurse-I've known her for years and she is angry,bitter and un-happy in life....She's just one big black hole of misery..massive negative energy....I can't wait to work over there again.....I'll count those freaking med cups....
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Hello! My first post as a licensed nurse; I passed boards on October 31 (whew!) I have been working at a LTC/rehab center on the short-term stay unit since graduation, and rapidly developed a mania for my cart arrangement. The scripts are generally kept in good shape (if they are re-ordered, or if there is only one blister-pack open for each med, I'm generally happy with that). I have :( moments when my stock meds are empty or moved from the bin that I'm used to getting them from; please please please date when new bottles are opened...the real goat-getter, though, is the freakin' mylanta all over two drawers and the entire right-side exterior of my cart, down the trash can and all over the wheels, dried as hard as cement (replace mylanta with your choice of liquid med). After a weekend off, it took me 30 minutes first thing in the shift to get the cart even close to presentable enough to be seen on the unit; additional time was spent restocking my laxatives and supplements. I also had to carve Resource off all the crevices of my Silent Knight pill-crusher, thank you very much. I'm not a neat freak, not a psycho nurse, I love what I do, and am often considered to be one of the happiest gals on the 7-3...these things just :angryfire me up.

ps--great to be part of the nursing "thang"...

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

I think the cart should be set up to suit the one using it. Gee wiz.

renerian

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Specializes in LTC, ER.

i don't understand why a nurse should expect that the preceding shift should fix the med cart the exact way that they like it! when i worked ltc, i was happy if i got the cart and the trash had been emptied. i am a control freak about people touching my cart during the shift that i am working. i once caught a nrsg supervisor rearranging things on my cart the way that she thought they should be! that drove me crazy. in ltc, i felt that one of my start of shift rituals was to stock and arrange my cart the way i like it, i think everyone should just arrange their cart at the beginning of their shift.

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Specializes in Nursing Assistant/ Army Medic, LVN.

I'm not a Nurse yet, but we had the same type of thing when I worked as a machine operator.

Most operators (myself included) were VERY particular about how their 'stuff' was during their 12 hrs.

I would rearrange things the way I liked them when I got there, and the day shift guy would do the same.

We were both good at what we did, and made sure things were cleaned up at the end of the shift. Once in a while I would set things up "his way" before he got there, and sometimes he would do it for me.

No big deal.

Some people are just miserable, and want everyone else around them to be as miserable as they are. I feel bad for some of them.

Don't let yourself get sucked into this blob's misery!!:)

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Actually, my issue isn't with my fellow full-time workers on other shifts; my issue is with the per-diem/float staff who don't take care with our "stuff"...the three of us who share the cart on a regular basis have a nice compromise system going on...the fill-in staff should work with things as they are, not move them all around to suit themselves for their one eight hour shift out of 2 months...:rolleyes:

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Specializes in jack of all trades, master of none.

I am a self-proclaimed med cart freak. I always make sure it is fully stocked with the essentials. I also prefer my meds arranged in the order they are on the MAR. It just makes it easier to find the card as you go through the meds. What I REALLY love, is when the MAR is listed according to meds... QD, BID, TID, QID, HS. prn's...AND the meds coincide with that order. Now, if everyone would just hurry up & get on the same page as me, we would be sooooo organized & NEVER have any missing meds :)

Ohhh, & I ALWAYS re-stock for the nurse following me. It's just common courtesy.

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If I come in and find the med cart in a mess it has never taken me more than 5 minutes to clean it.

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Specializes in LTC, ER, ICU, Psych, Med-surg...etc....

. The state surveys came in one year right after the 4th of July. Yep....my cart had a beautiful American Flag affixed to one corner. The surveyor told me I should take it off because it wasn't "appropriate". I said "Not appropriate to be patriotic?" She told me if I could come up with a "valid" reason for the flag, she wouldn't cite me (I was too new a nurse to ask which reg. I was breaking)

This is a hoot....I know of NO regulation regarding stickers or flags on med carts! Sometimes you wonder what people are actually thinking!

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I've just finished the second week of orientation at a new job. The nurses here don't have a problem sharing med carts. Everyone uses pretty much the same set up, and the cart is always stocked and the trash is emptied for the next shift before the nurse goes home. My problem is with the nurses blatent disregard for the med keys. They leave them on top of the cart and the cart unlocked, or they drop them on a counter and walk away. They will leave the keys hanging in the med room door or leave the door propped open with a wastebasket and nobody is around. The nurses station is directly across from the elevator and the carts sit along the counter in front of the station. I really can't believe anyone does this anymore in this day and age. Anyway I am always closing the med room door, locking carts and pocketing keys. I haven't said anything much yet but the staff is beginning to get the message. After orientation I will be the charge nurse then I can be more aggressive.

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