Medication safety

smf0903 · Mar 28, 2017

It comes with time and experience. You'll become more familiar with that meds frequently given in your area.

I am always slower at med passes when I float to another unit because I am not as familiar with their antibiotics and other meds. The meds on MY floor, however, I know rather well by now (unless a weird one comes along, as they do!) If I'm unfamiliar then I look it up. It just takes about 30 seconds to look up pertinent info on a med (I bring my own drug guide to work so I am very familiar with it, where precautions, interactions, and contraindications are at. I know exactly where to look for compatability.

You'll get quicker at it, just like with everything else! Good luck! :up:

Purple_roses · Mar 28, 2017

I'm with you on being a new grad. I have no personal advice to offer, but I do have advice from instructors and nurses that I shadowed.

-If you're drawing up a med from a vial, tape the vial to the syringe before you put it in your pocket. This ensures that you don't forget what med was in your syringe and prevents you from giving the med to the wrong patient.

-I learned this next tip from an ICU nurse that I shadowed. If you come in to your shift and see that your patient has several IV meds running, take time (first thing if you can) to untangle all of those lines. Then put medication labels next to the Y ports. She said that this helps a lot in emergencies when you don't have time to sort through the maze of IV lines. The labeling assists you in ensuring your flushes are compatible with the IV line you're putting it in.

Hope this helps you! I'm nervous too.