Random questions

[glovedgoddess]

questions:

1) when can nurses make referrals without a doctors order? or in other words what kinds of referrals need a drs order? who does a nurse need to talk to, to make a referral? for ex, if pt is stating that finances is an issue, does the nurse call the social worker? or does nurse pass info onto ward clerk to make referral through computer?

2) what is the difference between a ward manager and a patient care coordiantor?

3) what kind of schooling do unit clerks have to have? what is their scope?

4) how does pharmacy work? is the pharmacy in a hospital open 24 hrs? what if you need a medication at 0200 and it isn't available on the ward?

thanks for all your help with these questions!:)

[Aeterna, BSN, RN]

I'm still getting the hang of all the ins and outs of my floor but I'll do my best to answer. Also, these are specific to the floor I work on and probably won't be the same for all.

1) On my floor, a doctor's order is needed for PT/OT, SLP, respiratory assessments (i.e. home O2 assessments), and the dietician for sure. I'm a little less clear about social work but I'm pretty sure it needs to be entered into the computer, as well. I love our social worker and she's always there when you need her, so I'm never sure if a formal referral ever gets made. I imagine she learns of the patients through rounds and determines if she's needed or not based on that. Our spiritual care team can be called in whenever.

2) To be honest, I don't know ^^; We only have a manager and charge nurses to coordinate things.

3) You mean a ward clerk? I've never heard of a unit clerk.

4) Hospital pharmacy is always open but where I work, the pharmacist is around only on daytime hours. For after-hours, it's just pharmacy techs, who will send us meds if we need them.

[hope1234]

3). If ur talkin bout ward clerk, I worked in ER, was hired w/o any training other than CNA, which was'nt required. I was trained on the job in telementry.