i recently read the article in the momentum about the use of medication aids.
my understanding is they will be introducing them in ohio in ltc facilities in the very near future.
i am very concerned that this could result in a decrease of job opportunities and of pay for lpn's who work in ltc.
has anyone ever worked in a facility where they have been used and what was the effect on the professional nursing staff?
i have heard that many years ago (back in the 80's when there was a severe nursing shortage) some hospitals around columbus use to have medication aids but stopped using them because of the liability.
Hi all. You have all the reason in the world to be concerned. I'm from ohio recently moved to oklahoma we have med aides here. It was a concern for me due to the fact I wasn't knowing my patients received there meds or not I had no idea what meds they were even on for that matter. The first night I orientated with another nurse one of the patients was bleeding profusely from a skin tear and it would not stop, well when I asked if the Resident was on coumadin she looked at me like I was crazy and said I don't know. Well upon my own I found Resident was on coumadin and i had her PT/INR drawn the next day and her results were off the charts both numbers well over 100. Guess having CMA's means nurses don't know nothing about the welfare of the Residents nor do they seemed concerned for it. Not to mention the number of CMAs that seem to have there own drug problem are passing meds to residents who don't know if they are even receiving the pain meds or other meds needed. I thought we were supposed to protect our patients having CMAs takes away alot of the protection we are supposed to give them. So to all nurses who receive a CMA to watch over pay close attention cause now you also have to babysit them to ensure your patients are getting their meds. Good luck
Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.
Please - let's not paint all CMA's with a wide brush as being incompetent and drug abusers. We've all know a nurse or two like that in our times. I ask us to keep the topic focused on the concerns associated wtih delegating nursing functions. This is being done because (1) costs less and (2) allegedly the nursing shortage doesn't allow TPTB to hire sufficient numbers of nurses. How can we change this perception? Thank you.
Yes, In Washington nurses with seniority are being fired and replaced with med aides. 17 years experience as an RN and I cannot find a job. Assisted living and nursing homes are doing it. The only nurse in assisted living is now the director of nursing. Many nurses out of a job here. Delegation is what they call it. They delegated us unemployed. The med aides are not qualified to pass meds. Just before losing my job a resident was nearly killed by the wrong dose of insulin given by a med aide. God help those people.
Marcee_29
21 Posts
Hi all. You have all the reason in the world to be concerned. I'm from ohio recently moved to oklahoma we have med aides here. It was a concern for me due to the fact I wasn't knowing my patients received there meds or not I had no idea what meds they were even on for that matter. The first night I orientated with another nurse one of the patients was bleeding profusely from a skin tear and it would not stop, well when I asked if the Resident was on coumadin she looked at me like I was crazy and said I don't know. Well upon my own I found Resident was on coumadin and i had her PT/INR drawn the next day and her results were off the charts both numbers well over 100. Guess having CMA's means nurses don't know nothing about the welfare of the Residents nor do they seemed concerned for it. Not to mention the number of CMAs that seem to have there own drug problem are passing meds to residents who don't know if they are even receiving the pain meds or other meds needed. I thought we were supposed to protect our patients having CMAs takes away alot of the protection we are supposed to give them. So to all nurses who receive a CMA to watch over pay close attention cause now you also have to babysit them to ensure your patients are getting their meds. Good luck