Override is needed!

[Emergent, RN]

I see people saying that it is a big danger to have an override feature on the med dispensing machines. I wholeheartedly disagree.

In an emergency, the override feature is crucial. I have worked places where a critical med requires a second RN to override, but nevertheless the override is available.

Let's say someone suddenly starts having a grand mal seizure, and the doctor gives a phone order that has to be carried out right away. 

Nurses aren't just trained monkeys, we are supposed to be educated practitioners who are able to read labels and know what medications we are giving. If we are only to rely on perfect systems, then why have trained personnel at all? The nurse is supposed to be knowledgeable enough to know the five rights of medication administration, and respond to an emergency appropriately.

The problem with some of the safety systems that we have implemented in healthcare is that often they delay the delivery of care. They turn the workplace into a distracting obstacle course. A person logs into the med dispensing machine and gets many warnings that are flashing before their eyes, causing them to just skip past them without even reading. Look alike sound alike warnings, possible conflicts with medications that the patient takes at a whole different time. The human brain will tend to tune out things like that. It's just like alarm fatigue, if the alarms cry wolf enough times, the nurse will end up tuning it out, because that's how the human brain works.

Med override systems are there for a reason, to save lives in an emergency. It is up to the educated nurse to be the final guardian for safe administration of medications.

[Nurse Alexa, MSN, RN]

Medications which are needed for all medical emergencies should be able to override. That also includes pain medications for intubation and procedures

 

Fentanyl

Propofol

Precedex

Haldol

Ativan

Versed

Levo

Neo

Vaso

Dob

Dop

D50

Epi

Adenosine

Lido

Amio

Cardene

Cardizem