Question regarding nurses wasting narcs with city paramedics in the ER????????

Trauma Columnist · Dec 18, 2005

Yes, we do. The way we do it is that, say we have a cardiac patient that received 4mg morphine pre-hospital. The RN and paramedic than waste the 6mg morphine left over and we both sign the pre-hospital paramedic paperwork. This ensures adequate documentation and its easy too.

suzanne4, RN · Dec 18, 2005

Always did the same as well.

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2005

Yes, we do. The way we do it is that, say we have a cardiac patient that received 4mg morphine pre-hospital. The RN and paramedic than waste the 6mg morphine left over and we both sign the pre-hospital paramedic paperwork. This ensures adequate documentation and its easy too.

Ditto, never had a problem.

Aneroo, LPN · Dec 20, 2005

We do the same.

However, I'm not fond of the practice. Someone could easily pull up some NS in a syringe and say it was morphine (the medics here have a bad habit of pulling up the full amount of med in the syringe).

I also have problems with nurses who just throw a half-empty thing of a narc into the sharps containter to waste. I draw mine up and squirt it out- if someone wants the drug bad enough, I have no doubt they would reach into a sharps container. :uhoh21:

austin heart, BSN, RN · Dec 20, 2005

We do the same. However, I'm not fond of the practice. Someone could easily pull up some NS in a syringe and say it was morphine (the medics here have a bad habit of pulling up the full amount of med in the syringe).

This is the reason that the nurses in my ED, including myself, refuse to do it (we are small, 9 beds). Most of theses medics I don't know from Adam and there are a few that I do know that I don't really trust. Now there is a big hub bub going on because the city paramedics are complaining about us because we will not waste with them.

I don't understand why they can not waste with their partner.

If there is a medic that happens to read this.......Can two medics or a medic and an EMT waste narcs together or does there have to be a nurse?

SFCardiacRN · Dec 20, 2005

I'm not fond of wasting either. All I am really witnessing is a syringe with liquid being disposed of. If I ever have to give a deposition, that is exactly what I'll say. I do take comfort in the fact that NO ONE can hide a narcotic addiction for very long. If I see the warning signs, I'll tell them to find someone else.

Trauma Columnist · Dec 20, 2005

My take on this is that you truly have no idea what you are wasting even with an RN unless you are with them 24/7. So...I don't see the issue. I will say that about 9 years ago, I wasted several times with an RN who was abusing narcotics - injecting the waste into himself and then I was wasting normal saline. However, like another poster said, they eventually get caught.

MarcusKspn · Dec 20, 2005

I worked as an EMT with a Paramedic. I wasted with my partner. I knew we could waste with the Nurse or a Doc also, but had no rules against wasting with EMT.

ERNurse752, RN · Dec 21, 2005

I'll witness the waste with a city medic/any other outside medic. Like someone else said above, it's not like any nurse or hospital medic couldn't have put NS or H2O in the syringe just the the same.

gregemt · Dec 24, 2005

I currently work as an EMT, I always witness when my partner wastes excess narcotics. This is the standard for my department. I have never seen a nurse be used as a witness, but I'm sure it can be done.

vampiregirl, BSN, RN · Dec 24, 2005

The EMS protocols in our county require it be a nurse to witness any narcotic waste.