crisy003

I believe it was Hydrocodone APAP 5/325 tabs po 2 tabs q6hr PRN for moderate pain. So each pill was 5/325 and he would get 10/650 total. However, if he quested to only have one instead of two, I guess I just see that as doing what the resident had requested since he had the right to refuse taking two tabs. I had charted and reported off that he requested one instead of the ordered 2 tabs.

I'm in RN school and work part-time at night at a nursing home. Last week I had a new resident who had requested to have ONE norco. His order was for two. Since he requested one though, that is what I gave him. I put it on the mar that he had one per his request, I put it in my taped report, signed off one narcotic in the narc book. I did was I was supposed to. However, the day nurse threw a fit that I didn't punch out two pills and dispose of the other and basically said I should have made the guy take two. Well, you need TWO nurses to dispose of a narcotic at my workplace, so when I work at night and I'm the only nurse for all 45 residents, I can't exactly dispose of narcotics. I asked another nurse with more experience and she told me that flushing the extra pill was not their policy and it is wasteful. Anyway, I evidently got a med error for this because his order was for two tabs q6 hours PRN. I thought I did everything right when he requested only one, gave him one, punched out one pill, and charted that he request only one, but the day nurse felt otherwise. I'm frustrated by this because I don't think it was something that should be considered an error. My DON told me so long as I chart it was his request, it's ok to give LESS of a med, but not more. Which is what I did. She said she wasn't going to put the med error in the med error log, but rather in the man's history and she added a note that it was per his request. I'm concerned that I have a med error in my history now. Does this go on some kind of record? If it wasn't put in the log did I even get a med error? Was this even a situation that was considered a med error? I could use some insight.