Nancy2009

oops!

i don’t think anyone on this thread is “trying to start a fire” either. neither, have i implied that nurses who pre-pour are bad nurses. in fact, most of these nurses are great nurses, except that i simply disagree with their choice of pre-pour practice. do i consider this a lazy practice? you bet! like i indicated in my previous posts on this thread, the nurses, i’ve seen pre-pouring, in many of the facilities i have worked, spend most of the shift sitting at the nurses station, having pre-poured the medications at the start of the shift. neither, do i despise a nurse that sleeps at work, if he/she wants to. quite frankly, if a nurse feels the need to nap in order to practice safe, so be it. the situations you described in your post are not unique. it should be anticipated by any experienced nurse. therefore, i see no justification in making pre-pour a practice.

really? what other nurses? well, i think it all depends on where you work and how you relate to other nurses and cna’s. it also depends on how the don of the facility runs the place. if you work on a floor with say 60 or more residents, the floor is usually covered by 2 staff nurses. nurses in places i have worked, tend to help each other out. situations that the op indicated, are not unique. it should be anticipated by any experienced nurse. the work load can be enormous at times, so you can get help, if you ask. i don’t know any licensed nurse that will turn down another colleague seeking help when it comes to pt care. tomorrow, i could also be returning the same favor. i’ve worked in many ltc facilities were they have supervisors, and places without nursing supervisors, but then, there would be a charge nurse, the charge nurse is usually assigned to a unit and will help out, as needed. i’ve also worked in places where nurses take turns to supervise as well as having their assigned units. generally, when seeking employment in any facility, i always consider these factors, knowing that the nurse-pt ratios could be high, in most cases, i’m told of what to expect at the interview. i then decide if this is the right fit. i generally will not accept any employment offer were i know i will not succeed as a nurse. unfortunately, there seems to be many of these types of facilities operating, were staff turnover is high, and lack adequate support for their staff, let alone talk about retention.

you opened a thread with a title "pre-pulling medications," and at the same time you have declared you are not, for or against. sadly, as i read through each of your posts you tend to be "for" such practices. this is the practice i consider "lazy." i stand by my statement. i don't care how you want to slice all the event(s) that could or could not happen on a given shift. you still "must" make med pass practice a safe one. i'm very familiar with all the events that you have described, that could happen on a given shift. i have worked full-time on 2nd & 3rd shifts. from your posts, it seems like you are describing the events for the 2nd shift. well, let me also add that i have had such days with some of the events you described including having to admit a new pt/transfer/and or discharge. like you said, prioritization is the key. i think you should get help from other nurses, if you find your work load overwhelming rather than trying to get everything done at the expense of pre-pouring your medications, if this is your practice. there's no doubt that pre-pouring medications is a dangerous practice! there's is no reason that justifies such a practice by any licensed nurse. i generally do not pre-pour, i have/had 35-40 pts, and i take out the meds as i'm ready to give the pt. it has become part of my practice; the other nurses who make pre-pour their practice, don't finish quicker than i do. in any case, where is pt safety in all of these talks about pre-pouring/pulling medications? as you will judge from the number of responses to this thread, nurses who are "against" such practices tend to be more, however, you have responded to some posts, such as mine, by opening the debate of "shift events vs pre-pulling medications." where is pt safety in any of these?

"words" as they say are open to many interpretations. i read the post over, and over again, quite honestly, i don't get any sense that the statement was speaking generally to "night shift nurses." if you read the last sentence, you could deduct from it that, the post was in reference to a "sorry nurse....." i work the night shift, and i can not agree with you more that it has its own share of work load. i'm familiar with all the responsibilities you described. however, these responsibilities are done by conscientious nurses only. i have worked with many nurses who choose to do the task they want to do. they design what needs to be done on their watch, ignoring other tasks that really, are part of the shift. sleeping? sure thing, these nurses sleep, and sleep for most part of the shift. as i read the post, i was amaze, amaze because it seems like the poster had worked at facilities, i had worked, and all she did was observed. as a night shift nurse, i didn't find the post directed to all night shift nurses, for that, i don't feel insulted or disrespected in any way. again, "words" are open to many interpretations.

Hi Sacstate! Just noticed your icons for both PM & Email. You can activate either icons by placing your mouse and clicking to select. The icons look like these: "Registered User ." You should find it in any of the threads that has your user name. The one with the pencil, is for PM and the one that looks like envelop is for Email. You asked, "What is PM." PM, in allnurses forum, means "Private Message." I have the same icons on mine posts as well. That's probably the easiest way for you to contact me, you can either PM or EMail me. You can ignore the other post, I sent earlier. The icons on the threads are pretty straightforward and of course much easier:)

hi sacstate, glad you think so too! i just sent you a pm. i'm also new to the forum as well. i think i figured how you could get to your pm box to read/send pm's. when you log in. if you have a message, it should flag to your top left screen (right below your user name). you will see a link. click on it and it should get you there. another way you can get to your pm, is by selecting "myaccount" on the top left tab, close to your user name. if you click on it, you will get a drop box, you can then make your selection from there. on this thread, there's a message from a staffer, tnbufferly, showing how you may send a pm. i also found that clicking on the 'send new message' link will get you to your pm box. i will put the link from staffer tnbutterfly, here for you to try. you may send a private message to a member by clicking the 'send new message' link in the private messaging section of your user control panel, or by clicking the 'send a private message' icon that appears in a member's posts when you click on their username. thanks:)

good luck, rynique:)

I took the EC practice exam for my gerontology test. Didn't think it was helpful. The real test was tougher. I managed to pass that course. Good Luck with your exams:)

No suggestions.... just want to say Good Luck

Such an Inspiring post! :ancong!: for PASSING:)

Congrats, GN. :yeah:

:ancong!: NEW NURSE:)

Not filling up the med cart! Not answering call lights!! Some nurses think call lights are for their CNA's only to answer--no, sorry nurses, we all provide care, its a team effort. Some CNA's deliberately ignore call lights too, but as nurses we should remember the accountability is on us.

sorry, i don't mean to bash, but i simply don't agree with your statement concerning "a nurse that doesn't pre-pull medications, i could see that nurse make a med error much easier than someone that does." sadly, i find some nurses pre-pouring and they mostly are sitting at the station for most part of the shift. i think it's a lazy practice. the facility could be cited, the pharmacy is against such practices. in fact, in one recent incident, a cna took a picture using her cell phone camera, of a nurse pre-pouring and handed it to the don. the don, of course, acted upon receiving it. besides that, why on earth will a competent license nurse not want to practice the 6 rights of med pass, i strongly believe med pass rights are there for guidance & for safety reasons. med-errors is very easy to make, whether you pre-pour or not. though, there's a higher risk if you make pre-pour your practice.