mindymanders

This is a small geripsych hospital. I was told one nurse pours the meds then a different nurse administers the meds on each of the 12 hour shifts. The DON with whom I interviewed is a former state inspector and this fact made me wonder if this procedure has become acceptable. I witnessed the nurse writing the patients name on the med cups then placing the cup on a table in the nurses station. She pulled up insulins but did not label the syringes. The nurse assigned to the patient will then collect the meds and administer the meds without verification. Common nursing sense tells me this cannot be the correct way to do things! I oriented on day shift last week and am orienting on night shift tonight (which is my shift of choice). If I see that this is the procedure on night shift I will not accept the position.

I oriented in a facility where an LPN pours all the medications then the RNs are expected to pass the medications. I'm uncomfortable with this; not that she is an LPN but that I would be expected to pass medications someone else poured. I don't think I will accept the position because of this situation. Is this common practice? Am I way off base?

I'm a brand new Director of Cllinical Services:) One of our nurses doing a chart check discovered that a recently fired nurse did not have her nursing visit notes in her charts. All gone! Disappeared! What recourse do we have? She has already collected her final paycheck. Is there a charge we can file to "force" her to give us the proper documentation?