Should medication aides exist?

Nurses Safety

Published

  1. Should medication aides exist?

    • 116
      Yes
    • 347
      No
    • 39
      Not Sure

502 members have participated

Specializes in Med Surg, LTC, Home Health.

Medication aides should not exist. Nurses must band together to fight against taking our skills and giving them to under-qualified persons. Sure we are overloaded with work, but they should hire more nurses to alleviate our burden. We should never accept an unsafe, undereducated "medication aide" to assist us. If they keep giving away our skills to uneducated people, soon we will be competing against them for jobs while they are willing to take half the pay. Then who do you think companies will hire?

Do you think medication aides should exist?

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Specializes in Cardiac.

No, absolutely not. I'll never, ever work with them.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Nope - should be licensed nurses.

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

No, agree should be licensed nurses.

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Sorry gotta disagree. Maybe not in hospitals but in ltc when I have had up to 36 pts I was glad to have a med aide.

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Specializes in Cardiac.
Sorry gotta disagree. Maybe not in hospitals but in ltc when I have had up to 36 pts I was glad to have a med aide.

You didn't need a med aide, you needed another nurse.

Just because you are busy doesn't mean the pts deserve less. We are their advocates and unlicensed people passing meds is not in their best interests.

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No, absolutely not. I'll never, ever work with them.

My view too. As long as there is one licensed nurse who wants to work but can't get a job, there should be no lesser qualified people doing the tasks of licensed nurses.

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Specializes in LTC, case mgmt, agency.

NO NO NO!!!!:eek: Med aides don't get trained to citically think!!! They just blindly pass the meds. :no: LPN's or RN's should be the only ones passing medications. Even in LTC facilities. LTC needs more nurses though. No nurse should have to take 36 patients, ever. Even if the patients are " stable ". There are just too many variables for me to trust a med-aide with my license.( no matter how long the med-aide has been there) It only takes one time, one error in judgement to do the damage.:banghead:

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I am in Texas, where medication aides are very common, especially in the nursing home setting. While they are helpful, I'd much rather be working with another nurse any single day of the week.

If a patient has a question for the med aide, they'll respond, "Ask the nurse!"

If a family member is questioning the med aide, they'll reply, "There's the nurse!"

If someone voices a complaint, the med aide directs all inquiries to the nurse.

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Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..

We have SVQ 3's who are supposed to be competent to pass medications.I have had several complaints about ,for instance, how they give nebulisers etc.They don't know the side effects or contra indications.I can see a time when we are out of a job because they will be a cheaper option!

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They should exist with limited medications within their scope.

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

i have a lot of experience sealing with med aides and for many years now have done many (and i mean many) clinicals with med aide students in texas. i do not have a problem with the concept of medication aides but i do have a major problem with the training and education they recieve. in texas 10 hours clinical is all that is required. that is just barley enough time to find the med cart and learn how to open it. i have made many students cry and hang their hats up the first day beause if you cant tell me the drugs your giving o what they are for then your not giving them until you know. this makes for a very long med pass. but i have all the time in the world, see why we dont get much expereince accumulated in 10 hours. these people are not trained properly.

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