Precautions and Medication Administration

[microtutor]

Ok, I know we're supposed to gown, mask and glove using appropriate equiptment like the N95 for airborne precautions...AND I know we're supposed to do the three checks of medication administration - including the third and final check at the patient's bedside. So, can someone explain to me what to do if the patient is on precautions and I need to give them medication? I shouldn't bring the MAR into the room of a patient on precautions > standard, should I? How do I perform the third check under these circumstances?

Please help!

Many thanks :thankya:

[I<3PedsRN]

I always bring the MAR with me when I'm in isolation. I just make sure it doesn't touch the pt or the pts things. I hold it in my hand while I check the name band and ask for 2 identifiers.. Then lay it on my clipboard or the nurse server while I give meds. hope this helps!

[Aerielle]

Is there a window on the door of the patient room? You can put your MAR in a plastic sleeve, and tape it facing the inside of the room.

If your patient room does not have a window, you can do this: Most patient charts at hospitals have stickers with the patient info on it (name/Date of birth/admission number) You can take a piece of paper, put that sticker on the paper, then copy the MAR, and then get someone to double check it to make sure you haven't made an error copying. (Although this process is more error prone and time consuming!)

[sandyfeet]

The easiest way to do it would be to find out how your hospital does it, because while there are many ways to solve this problem, some are considered HIPAA violations to some hospitals. For example, one solution is to make a copy of the MAR and hide it somewhere in the room where a family member could not come across it, and be sure to throw it away by the end of your shift. But besides the fact that you might forget to throw it away at the end of your shift (increasing the chance that someone could find it), you also have to be careful that nothing has been DC'd or added throughout the day.

What I have done in clinical is lay the MAR on the isolation cart right next to the doorway. Then I can walk in and check the patient's armband, and easily compare it to the MAR. If you have someone else with you who can call out information, this can go really quickly.

I am interested in hearing other people's techniques too! This happens all the time.