Morphine

If the pt has IV access, no way am I sticking him with an extra unnecessary needle to give him his meds.

Not sure where you are, but people can even be on a continuous morphine infusion, plus PCA (patient-controlled analgesia--pt has a button connected to the pump that he pushes to give himself a dose from the pump) or prn's administered by the RN. Although morphine is used for this relatively rarely compared to Dilaudid or fentanyl, but it's the same principle--IV narcotic continuously infusing plus the PCA or RN-administered extra doses.

I know this wasn't in the OP's order, but IM is also a choice…given that way fairly frequently in ED when there is no other indication for establishing IV access.

Giving it IV doesn't necessarily mean it was being pushed.

True! No more posting when I've been awake for almost 24 hours--

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

No more posting when I've been awake for almost 24 hours--

At the risk of infringing on someone else's name on here…"been there, done that," and never a good idea

Did the instructor think you wanted to administer it, as in yourself? Because some schools have a strict policy against IVP medications, or specifically IV narcotics.

Otherwise I have no idea why she would freak out.