Med Error

[limey]

While on shift a couple of eve ago, I noticed a med error in narc book made by another nurse from the eve before. I did not report it to my superior as it was 2100 hours and he was gone. The narc was not scheduled to give until that time or I would have noticed it before. I am not scheduled on this hall everyday. I was on another unit the next eve and off today. Back to work tomorrow but scheduled on a different hall. My question is: Is it too late to mention this to my superior if it has not been taken care of yet or do I first approach the nurse who signed the med out incorrectly? It was a narc that where only one was scheduled to be given at that time but two were signed out at the same time.

[Grovelpnstudent]

that seems to be more than a med error that looks like (or sounds like) your saying they may have diverted the meds, definitely mention it to your manager as a something you noticed, not as a tattling bit. I pass meds as a cna and can tell you that anything missing should be reported Good luck

[DedHedRN]

I pass meds as a cna and can tell you that anything missing should be reported Good luck

You pass meds as a CNA??????? :eek::eek:

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

A couple nights ago and no one has approached you or involved you...I would just go on working. You could invite trouble since you didn't report it right away supervisor there or not you can still make an incident report. Questions will arise as to why you didn't do what you were suppose to do. See what I mean; hardly worth the trouble unless you've gone around telling everyone and then that's another story..

[luvmyhubbybunches]

I agree with tyvin. I would probably just leave it alone at this point. In future if you notice something like that, there should be someone in a supervising position that you should report to immediately. No narc count? If you didn't report, I would think someone should have noticed error by now. We would have were I work and then everyone would be handed their cup!

[makes needs known]

Let it go.

[Kyrshamarks, BSN, RN]

Another possibility....the one med got wasted somehow and the nurse had to get a replacement med.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

You pass meds as a CNA??????? :eek::eek:

I'm assuming and I could be wrong that this CNA has a medtech certification. I pray I'm right....

[Five&Two Will Do]

I'm assuming and I could be wrong that this CNA has a medtech certification. I pray I'm right....

I agree with you 100% I still think that Boards of Nursing should rethink the idea of Medtech. There has got to be a certain level of critical thinking involved with medication administration, not to mention that ultimately it is an RN responsible for monitoring the practice of med techs in nursing homes. I do not believe that I would like to have the burden of ensuring medtechs did their jobs properly. That may sound like a condescending statement, but it comes from a Nurse that was a CNA for 5 years part of the time in a nursing home.

[Bbo.W]

I'm assuming and I could be wrong that this CNA has a medtech certification. I pray I'm right....

Med Techs are CNAs with additional certification. Med Techs actually have lower rates of med errors because passing medicine is the primary focus during the shift; they are less likely to be interrupted during the pass than nurses, who also handle emergencies, calls to the Dr., families, documentation, etc. They can be a good addition to the healthcare team if properly trained, certified, and managed. Med techs are certified through the BON.

[Grovelpnstudent]

I'm assuming and I could be wrong that this CNA has a medtech certification. I pray I'm right....

Yes I am Med certified

[Grovelpnstudent]

Med Techs are CNAs with additional certification. Med Techs actually have lower rates of med errors because passing medicine is the primary focus during the shift; they are less likely to be interrupted during the pass than nurses, who also handle emergencies, calls to the Dr., families, documentation, etc. They can be a good addition to the healthcare team if properly trained, certified, and managed. Med techs are certified through the BON.

Thank you!!! and yes two years Med certified and so far only (please never again) 1 med error, similar looking pill bottles, same name last, and the J and T looked the same luckily it wasn't anything too serious given out and they fixed the labels as i wasn't the only person to have the same error.