aznqtpie

Well, the weekend has come and gone. I have spoken to the DON and I told her what I was expected to do that Saturday and I strongly expressed to her how uncomfortable I felt doing it. (I am not supernurse and I never claim to be.) She stated understanding and actually spoke with the on shift supervisor and told her that she NEVER should've asked me to do that. Not sure what happened after that but I am glad that the DON understood where I was coming from. I don't know why the DON didn't come in with the spare set of keys that I now know that she had. Makes it crappy because its the pts that suffer without a proper med pass. I can only hope they all got their meds somehow that day. I just wasn't willing to put my license on the line for it. Reading the post on the "flipside", I wouldn't be wasting my time calling everyone who might have the keys since I feel the keys should've been found or a spare set present before I got there since the incident happened on the 3-11 shift the day before. And I suppose I could've taken the keys from the other nurse and run back and forth 35+ times from the med room / pt room to do my run. But I don't think I would've been able to get all the meds out on time to each person. We have wanderers and such that makes it hard to hunt down in less than a few mins. So no I would not have been willing to do that. But thank you ladies for your words of encouragement. I still have a job. But I'm not sure how long I plan to stay there since certain practices I don't agree with are permissable by some higher ups. I have gone back to work since this and its amazing how word travels. I'm not one for gossip so I ignore it. :)

Only nurses have the keys to the med room. On the unit I was on, there are 4 halls, 2 nurses. So even though the other nurse had the keys to the med room, she would have to had come to open the med room everytime I needed a PRN or anything rather in that case. And Im sure she would've been happy with that. (sacrasm) The whole key ring was lost. Med room keys, treatment cart keys, central supply...all those keys were on that ring. And to clear any confusion, when I refer to 'pre-pouring" I am saying I was expected to pop the meds OUT of the blister packs and pre-pour the liquids into the med cups and line them up, labeled with names on them for me to pass duing the shift.

I work in a SNF (skilled nuring facility) in Ca and is in charge of passing meds to 35+ patients at a time. I went into work today and am told that the keys to the cart I am assigned to are missing and that they have been looking for them all night long. The night shift had called Pharmacy to come and unlock the cart but they couldn't leave the key because it was the master key. So the cart (including the narcotic box) was remained opened but locked in the med room all this time. I suppose I was expected to pass my meds with a towel drooped over the narcotic box all day long? I was ready to refuse the cart due to the inability to open/lock both the cart and narcotic box when my supervisor asks me to accept the cart anyway and told me that I can just pre-pour everyone's meds in advance and leave the cart in the med room. I have NEVER felt comfortable with this practice with one patient, let alone 35+. I told her I would not accept the cart and that my license was too important to lose if I had made a med error due to accepting it. She got sassy with me and asked me what the big deal was. I told her I am responsible for this cart and everything in it after I accept it, and with it open at all times, especially the narcotic box, it will increase errors/theft and I was not willing to do that. She asked me if I wanted to talk to the DON about it before I make any decisons and I told that I would gladly talk to my DON. A few minutes later, the supervisor calls me on the hall and tells me that if I don't want to accept the cart, that I can clock out and go home. Which is what I did. Am I wrong for doing what I did? Is pre-pouring meds for that many (any) patients even legal? Was there any other solution that would've allowed me to perform my shift safely with the cart unlocked at all times? I don't beleive I walked out on anyone because I had not counted narcotics or received report from the nurse on the previous shift. I am scheduled tomorrow and have a knot in my stomach now wondering if I still even had a job.

I have never experienced being used or referred to as a 'glorified tech'. And if I was, I would probably not think much of it and of that person. I haved worked in most states in the south (currently working on getting licensed in CA now) and have to say that we are all nurses. And we all know where we stand when it comes that.

Can someone just give me a link to the website where I - as an LVN - can get the application to endorse? The "CA BRN" site apparently is for REGISTERED nurses. Thank you.

Well I sure look forward to all the things I have to go through to get a license when I move to CA next week. I sure wish CA was a compact state - that would make things a whole lot easier. How much is it for the license? And where can I get my fingerprints done? Do they issue a temporary license until your permanent one arrives? How much does a new LPN start off in CA? And about my school transcripts, I am assuming the board would want "official" ones? I'm sorry if these questions were already covered. I read the thread for the most part and didn't find the answers. Thanks in advance.