mixing up medications????

[acarlrn]

I work the night shift at my hospital. Pharmacy is there until 11 pm . Often we get admissions after this hour. There have been numerous times when supervision has been unable to get us mixed medications such as antibiotics,ect. Usually we have the correct med but it is not mixed. there was a situation where the charge nurse mixed the med and then asked the staff nurse to give it. I feel uncomfortable with this situation. I feel that if a medication has to be mixed then I should mix it according to my current IV drug book. Please give me some feedback, thanks:confused:

[CATHYW]

acarlrn, I am in complete agreement with you. If ir requires mixing, and you are authorized to mix it, then you should do so, before it is administered. The only exception would be if the other nurse doing the mixing is standing right beside you, and you can observe her procedure. We occasionally had to do that in codes, trauma codes, or while giving TPA, and there weren't enough hands. It is a matter of knowing and trusting the people you work with, in a situation like that. Always make it a point to mix your own, though. That is the safest way, and keeps you from getting lazy and careless when giving meds.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

If you give it you should mix it.

If you give a med they mixed wrong it will still be YOU that "caused" the damage to the patient so for your own peace of mind stand your ground.

[neuroRN, RN]

I think that if you are to give it that you should mix it. It all goes back to the basics, and if someone else mixes it who knows what you are REALLY giving. :)

[indynurse]

If I mix a med for another nurse and she is not with me as I mix it, I verify the order and hang it myself and chart that I gave it.

[preciousnurse]

I agree with indynurse, I would not expect someone to give a medication that I had mixed without them being there, and vise versa.

[Youda]

If supervision is able to get into the pharmacy, then why not just give the staff nurse the supplies so he/she can mix it and give it. It's hard to say no to a supervisor, but legally, the nurse who gives it is responsible. I think you are right to feel uncomfortable with this. I wouldn't give something that someone else mixed.

[RNonsense]

Pharmacy mixes all IV drugs at our hospital too...they close at midnite here and if we need a med after hours we have "drug boxes" that are pre-mixed and labelled by pharmacy for us to use. Failing that, I'd rather mix my own...