Meds...Where to Start

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Hi All!

Just looking at this new Meds Guide I bought at Barnes and Steal-All-My-Money and, after leafing through it, thought to myself, "Oh-My-God, what have I gotten myself into?" :lol2:

Anyhoo, trying to get a jump on the fearsome Pharmacology class I know will be rearing its ugly head in the second semester, I was wondering, which medications would you recommend (as an LVN) that I should "Know By Heart" so-to-speak...

(There appears to be a trillion of them in this thing...:o)

Mike

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
BTW. Since I have yet to use up my Stupid-Question-of-the-Day, I'll use it now, before i nod off to sleep.

I recently visited the Med Savy forum. Do the meds we give as LPNs differ from those pushed by RNs?

For instance, LTC vs. acute. Should we (LPNs) ask for a Med Savy sub-forum of our own?

Okay, stupid question asked. Nite, nite.

Not a dumb question. We give mostly the same medications, but in most cases, cannot do IV push meds (I can only push normal saline and heparin in my state), and depending on the state, some cannot hang piggybacks. But, it is good to know them, anyway, because you may be monitoring a person who just had these medications administered by a physician or RN. Most that I am personally aware of are the crash cart medications. In that case, we can set them up, hand them to the nurse or doctor and let them administer.

Or, maybe we can ask if we can set up a med-savy section in the LPN section, or start a thread on it ourselves.

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Not a dumb question. We give mostly the same medications, but in most cases, cannot do IV push meds

Ah. This begs another question that I have been meaning to ask. What does it mean "IV push meds?" I see that terminology used frequently throughout the forum, but have no idea "what" it means exactly, nor "why" it differs so from any of the other ways to administer (IM/IV injections for instance.)

Why is this so "off-limits?"

some cannot hang piggybacks.

Same questions as above.

Thanks, Deva. :bowingpur

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Specializes in HH, Psych, MR/DD, geriatric, agency.

Geesh you ask alot of questions, Mike. Do your future instructors know what they're in for? LOL (jk... you ask very good questions)

IV push meds = meds that are in a syringe that are literally pushed through a port on an IV line. These are usually pain narcotics like morphine or dilaudid.

IVPB = IV PiggyBacks. These are 2+ IV bags running through the same IV line at once. I usually encounter normal saline running continuously (considered primary) with an antibiotic (considered secondary) added every 6 hours.

I think they are forbidden to LPNs (even those with IV cert in certain states) because of the potency of the IV push meds and IVPB. With IV push, you can't just "push" it through the line. You have to do a little bit at a time. I've seen RNs take as long as 5 minutes to push a med through an IV.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Ah. This begs another question that I have been meaning to ask. What does it mean "IV push meds?" I see that terminology used frequently throughout the forum, but have no idea "what" it means exactly, nor "why" it differs so from any of the other ways to administer (IM/IV injections for instance.)

Why is this so "off-limits?"

Same questions as above.

Thanks, Deva. :bowingpur

To word it simply, pushing an IV medication is a very potent form of administration and it goes straight to the vein, and there is no turning back. It is true, that it may take time for some medications to be administered via IV push, however, the response is basically immediate, and from that point, it should be done by a higher licensed person in order to intervene if necessary. Basically, it is absorbed faster. Oral medications are absorbed the slowest because they have to get through the digestive system. Sublinguial goes under the tongue, subcutaneous is injected in a 45 or 90 degree angle (depending on the weight of the person), interdermal goes just under the skin (this is usually how we administer PPD or allergy testing) at a 10 degree angle, then, there is the IM...in the muscle itself. This is not quite the right order, I know, but basically, anything administered orally would usually take the longest. Buccal (between the cheeks of the mouth) and sublingual is pretty quick (nitroglycerin) because these areas are very vascular, sub-q and IM are faster, and the IV and IV push is the quickest in terms of seeing therapeutic results.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Geesh you ask alot of questions, Mike. Do your future instructors know what they're in for? LOL (jk... you ask very good questions)

IV push meds = meds that are in a syringe that are literally pushed through a port on an IV line. These are usually pain narcotics like morphine or dilaudid.

IVPB = IV PiggyBacks. These are 2+ IV bags running through the same IV line at once. I usually encounter normal saline running continuously (considered primary) with an antibiotic (considered secondary) added every 6 hours.

I think they are forbidden to LPNs (even those with IV cert in certain states) because of the potency of the IV push meds and IVPB. With IV push, you can't just "push" it through the line. You have to do a little bit at a time. I've seen RNs take as long as 5 minutes to push a med through an IV.

I can hang IV piggybacks and can initiate an IV line (am certified), but, I can't administer certain drugs like magnesium sulfate (but they let me hang potassium...go figure). I hated to hang potassium because of the burning and the risk...it just made me jittery and I stayed by the patient until I saw that they were okay and that they had a heart monitor.

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Geesh

Geesh? Is that Latin, Feisty? :lol2:

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Geesh you ask alot of questions, Mike. Do your future instructors know what they're in for? LOL (jk... you ask very good questions)

IV push meds = meds that are in a syringe that are literally pushed through a port on an IV line. These are usually pain narcotics like morphine or dilaudid.

IVPB = IV PiggyBacks. These are 2+ IV bags running through the same IV line at once. I usually encounter normal saline running continuously (considered primary) with an antibiotic (considered secondary) added every 6 hours.

I think they are forbidden to LPNs (even those with IV cert in certain states) because of the potency of the IV push meds and IVPB. With IV push, you can't just "push" it through the line. You have to do a little bit at a time. I've seen RNs take as long as 5 minutes to push a med through an IV.

And LPNs would be utterly incapable of learning this skill because they:

a) Don't have the kind of patience that an RN has.

b) Studies show that they are not as intelligent as RNs.

c) Are incapable of multitasking.

d) Are unusually short statured people.

You will all please note that I have changed my avatar to a "kinder, gentler" avatar. :kiss

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