Med passing question from a student

[MsPebbles]

As students, we're taught that when passing PO meds to open them in front of the patient and administer each one individually after explaining what it is. I have witnessed an RN open all her meds away from the bedside and hand the cup of meds to the pt saying "here are your morning meds," and I was told by another RN that our way is only done while in school as it's too time-consuming. She also gives all meds simultaneously in a med cup. Is this the norm?

[chrisrn24]

I work in LTC, so no that is not that standard. We have bubble packs, pop the pills from the main cart and hand them in one cup. If patients are AOX3, I'll try to explain their meds. Most don't care though.

[june2009]

When I worked at the hospital I took the packaged meds in to the pts rm and opened them in front of the pt. In LTC there is no way. I take them all in one cup. If the resident is a& o I ask them if they know what they are getting and if need be, explain in simple terms. "This is your no pill". If state is in the building, I do it " the right way"

[annie.rn]

I bring my unopened meds to the patient's beside and read through the MAR before I even scan them. Very rarely do I have a patient that stops me and tells me to "just give the pills". After listing the meds, I ask if the patient has any questions about the ones that I just named. Sometimes a patient will pick up on a dosing error or even a medication that they no longer take but was still on their home med list. I find that this process works best for me and it doesn't take extra time to do. I actually find it to be a time saver because I can omit any meds before I scan then if the pt refuses a stool softener, for example. Many times a pt will ask "what is this little yellow pill" as I hand them the med cup. It is easier for me to decipher at the bedside than if I had opened up all the packages in the med room. To each their own I guess...

^This^

It will take longer but in my opinion well worth it!