Medication Memorization

[Stacilator]

Hey All!

I have a question for current nursing students. In my program, we do "med sheets" for either medications we go over in detail in class, medications our clinical patients are taking, or specifically, medications we administer to our patients. I am currently about half way through my second semester.

My questions is: how much information about meds do you feel you are retaining? Even though we are allowed to re use sheets for different patients (i.e. if I have a patient with warfarin on one shift, I can just bring the same sheet for the next patient if they are also on warfarin) but I always do them over because I feel like I'm not retaining enough information about the meds.

Did you feel this way? Will it put me at a disadvantage after I graduate?

[smf0903]

I started doing med sheets on the computer and copying/pasting them last semester. I quit doing that (although it's way easier) because of a couple reasons: for one, each time I write them I retain more info about the meds. Two is that although I may have stuff written down, I want to tailor it to my patients. I make notes in the margins of possible interactions with other meds they're prescribed, meds that potentiate their other meds, or that may decrease the action of their other meds. This way I'm not only learning the med dosing, etc better, but I'm also learning more (I think) by notating these other factors with each patient. Sure it takes more time, but I think I'm getting way more out of my med sheets than if I make a master list and just copy/paste each clinical day :)

[Stacilator]

Thanks. I've definitely avoided doing the copy/paste thing, but I still don't seem as familiar as other nurses with ones I've hand written at least a dozen times at this point. Very frustrating, but I'll keep at it!

[Kuriin, BSN, RN]

I copy and paste down because it's fast and easy. Most of the meds that I have copied and paste down are ones that I see constantly and I know the side effects as well as the typical dosing, and any parameters that it may need, as well as the indication it is used for.

Do what you think will help you though.

[RunBabyRN]

I find it really just takes repetition. The more patients you have taking medication X, the more you'll be familiar with medication X. Some will stick more than others. You can quiz yourself on your own time (or during downtime in clinicals), but realistically, you won't know every side effect of every med and every med that interacts with every other med. Know your references that are available to you in the hospital, because I'm guessing you won't make med cards for everything all through school, and you'll need to know where to look these things up on the fly.