Medication Aides in Ohio

Here in VA med techs are restricted to assisted living facilities only but the job market LPNs is still good in LTC, ALF, corrections, psych, home health, and even hospitals. I don't agree with the use of med techs but they are gaining in popularity because they're cheaper. At the ALF I work at PRN the facilitiy has had a pretty big problem with the med techs making med errors. I'm a CNA and a CNA advocate but they should NOT be administering medications period simply because I know that I wouldn't want my family member recieving insulin from a person with 2-4 weeks of training with giving meds. Just my 2 cents.

are you implying that the only thing lpns are good for is passing medications? i better tell my mom! she was an lpn in ohio for years and worked in icu/ccu. i thought she did a lot more than just give medications!

20 years from now after there are no major lawsuits and it is shown that medication aides are doing this job quite safely, all this falderal is going to be forgotten.

absolutely not! however in ohio (i don't know how lpns are utilized in california), lpn positions are predominately in ltc facilities. lpn positions in hospitals are few and do not pay as well. the pilot program, if successful, will allow certified med aides to pass medications, do treatments, etc... basically 80% of an lpn's job description in ltc facilities.

ltc facilities will be able to phase out lpns if they choose to. instead of having one lpn for per unit each shift, that will go down to one lpn per shift for all units... if there's not an rn in the building.

i am not comfortable with non-licensed personnel passing medications of any type. i have spoken on yim with a few rns and lpns/lvns since my op who are not comfortable with it as well and refuse to work in facilities where cmas are utilized. there are so many patient safety issues and legal issues in regards to a nurse's license. for instance, a patient is accidentally overdosed by a cma. since they are not licensed (certified is not the same as licensed) and under the direction of an lpn/rn, would that nurse be responsible as well? maybe in 20 years, they'll decide cmas were not such a good idea after all.

Your med aides cant give Coumadin...interesting.

I am an LVN in Texas and employed at a large long-term care facility that uses medication aides. I have not noticed any sudden drops in our pay rates. Actually, medication aides sometimes make the job of the LVN a little bit easier since passing meds takes up a huge bulk of our time.

Our medication aides are only permitted to pass oral meds. The are not allowed to give injections, coumadin, and other drugs.

this was apparently a concern to many others as well when the law was being proposed. the ohio nursing law clearly indicates that a medication aide is responsible for her own actions and the issue of responsibility for the potential mistakes of medication aides was taken into account when the law was written:

section 4723.38 (a) of the ohio law clearly states: "a registered nurse, or licensed practical nurse acting at the direction of a registered nurse, who delegates medication administration to a medication aide who holds a current, valid medication aide certificate issued under this chapter is not liable in damages to any person or government entity in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly arises from an action or omission of the medication aide in performing the medication administration, if the delegating nurse delegates the medication administration in accordance with this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter." part b states: "(b) a person employed by a nursing home or residential care facility that uses medication aides pursuant to section 4723.63 or 4723.64 of the revised code who reports in good faith a medication error at the nursing home or residential care facility is not subject to disciplinary action by the board of nursing or any other government entity regulating that person's professional practice and is not liable in damages to any person or government entity in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly results from reporting the medication error."

i agree with your assessment, but what patient protections are in place? the reason a person goes to nursing school is to become licensed and accoutable, it sounds to me that these medication aides will not be held accoutable at all. the can make errors and patients will not be able to sue. sounds like patient safety is at issue here.

Okay ----I am from Ohio to, I do not think we should have med techs either.but what are we to do??Yes they are cheaper, but in Ohio they can not give insulin,prn's or narc's . Correct, they can do topical tx only.

When I was in nursing school they were talking about phasing out LPN's now 21 years later we are still here.

I suggest you contact the board of nursing and get the info on what med techs can and can not do. As for my AL they do not want med techs.They want exp nurses.

best of luck to you

20 years ago it was LPNs I was working with who were wailing because they were being told by the hospital I worked in that they had 18 months to take a medication class and get certified to pass meds. We thought our LPNs were going to go out on strike! It was a new law in Ohio at that time that LPNs could now pass meds if they took the course and got certified. So, when over the past 20 years did LPNs change their mind and accept that it was OK for them to pass meds?

Are you saying that 20 years ago, Licensed Practical Nurses had to take a medication class? Please let me know...I am just a bit surprized that this would happen to a licensed nurse. If you have time, please clarify...thanks! :0)

I spent 11 Years as a Med Aide in the State of Kansas, which is a 75 hour course. We are Liable for our own actions, not our nurse. My Med Aide to Patient Ratio was 67 to 1. I passed ALL Meds, did Finger sticks (nurse did injections) TXs, dealt with the Aides so the Nurse was not bugged, Assisted with Meals, Answered Call Lights, Took Care of the Pharmacy when they came in, made sure everything was stocked and ordered. And in 11 years I had ONE Med Error. Passed meds in front of State Several Times with out ever an incident!

I now Regret Moving to Ohio. You mention that you passed meds and the nurses treat you like you are beneath them, because your not a nurse you cannot possibly have the mental capability to pass meds. I Went to College, and Every Moment that was spent in school, was learning Meds.

And Kansas Nurses are still Paid very well.... While med aides make maybe $1 more then the CNAs.