Reasonable time frame for prn medication to be given?

[nicegirl2]

When a patient asks for a prn medication lomotil how long is reasonable time to wait for the med to be given, the nurse stated she would be there shortly, then stated she will get to her when she gets to her No emegencies going on.... Also said when she finishes her med passing.... 2 part question time frame and how she spoke to the family handling the situation. Ty. It was given an hour and half later pt. had abd pain and loose stools that entire time.

[BlinkyPinky]

Dang all this vitriol

And why can Non nurses post on here ⁉️

[nursel56]

I love how defensive nurses get when someone makes a comment about time management lol. Nurses work hard...harder than most people will ever understand but be honest....there are bad nurses out there who make people wait for no greater reason than they annoyed them. And if u really get honest...EVERY nurse has done this...made an annoying patient or family member wait just because you can.

I have never made an annoying family member wait just because I could.

Not that I'm a saint, it's just that most nurses understand that any retaliatory action on their part will further provoke already angry people and is likely to make his/her shift even more miserable than it already was.

They probably won't be overly charming in their demeanor at that time, but a deliberate action intended to inflict distress on annoying people I haven't seen.

That patient may have had loose stool for days....weeks....do you know how that feels?

The cramping? The fatigue? The being frightened that something bad is wrong with them? A patients fears and concerns and needs as well as their families should never be dismissed because they aren't an emergency in your eyes and if a patient or their family asking 3 times in an hour bugs or annoys you then maybe YOU shouldn't be a nurse!!

Luckily most people won't know they've annoyed the nurse unless the nurse tells them! Nurses usually do not cause patients to wait for a request because they have the time, but just don't feel like loose stools is an emergency right then. Emergencies aren't defined by the subjective opinion of family members or untrained persons.

Further, asking a nurse for a prn medication (ie interrupting the ongoing med pass) is demonstrated to increase medication errors significantly. Since you've been around healthcare your whole life, maybe these studies will interest you. I think it was the third interruption when the nurse said she'd get the prn "when I finish my med pass".

Side Tracks on the Safety Express. Interruptions Lead to Errors and Unfinished... Wait, What Was I Doing?

Work interruptions and their contribution to medication administration errors: an evidence review.

Perhaps she didn't convey the underlying reason for that statement, but it's likely if they stopped interrupting the flow after the first complaint, they would've received their prn sooner.

[cyc0sys]

mostly retired, have worked numerous areas

On behalf of myself, and your former patients, We'd like to thank you for retiring.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Further, asking a nurse for a prn medication (ie interrupting the ongoing med pass) is demonstrated to increase medication errors significantly. Since you've been around healthcare your whole life, maybe these studies will interest you. I think it was the third interruption when the nurse said she'd get the prn "when I finish my med pass".

Side Tracks on the Safety Express. Interruptions Lead to Errors and Unfinished... Wait, What Was I Doing?

Work interruptions and their contribution to medication administration errors: an evidence review.

Perhaps she didn't convey the underlying reason for that statement, but it's likely if they stopped interrupting the flow after the first complaint, they would've received their prn sooner.

I'm glad you posted this. Being interrupted during med pass was a pet peeve of mine. I never made a serious med error, but I read about them in incident reports.

An example--I am in the middle of scanning meds. One won't scan (interruption #1). I am trying to set aside what I have already scanned. After a minute I get the med to scan. I'm rechecking the meds I scanned and my phone rings (interruption #2): "Hi. This is Sally Smith's daughter. She is in room 4. My sister called me to tell me that it was too loud last night and mom didn't sleep. Oh, and the heater rattles. Plus I heard she had pears on her tray last night. She hates pears. Get apples tonight. Plus, did she move her bowels this morning? She usually goes by now..." By the time this soliloquy is done, I now have no idea what pills I have scanned or not, so I start the whole process over. In the middle of my 2nd attempt to scan my meds my phone rings (interruption #...oh, you get the idea). "This is Doppler. Send your patient down on a stretcher without pants." When I try and tell them that it will be 10 minutes or so before I'm done passing meds on this person "no, they are scheduled for now. Send them down, or I will have to write your floor up again."

Once I finally get the meds passed for my these patients I politely say to the secretary, "could you please call my phone first before you transfer someone so I can see who it is? For a lot of calls we can either take a message or you can transfer it to a tech." The secretary then reports me to the NM for being hostile towards her. (I know secretaries have a thankless job that I would never want, but come on...)

While trying to pass medications on my 3rd patient, my first patient chokes on her Cherrios and we have to call a RRT. Now, two hours (and a dozen interruption, plus 2 write ups) later, I now have completed my med pass.

You're call OP, but you might considering giving the nurse a break when she can't drop everything to bring that Lomotil in.

[peachtreednurse, RN]

No secret that interruptions during med pass is potentially hazardous: I was writing a change order in the MAR standing next to a very conscientious LPN as she was going through the process of scanning band and pouring meds which happened to include insulin.The position of the cart was at the foot of the two beds occupying the room. Just as she eyed the syringe, picked up the swab, the second of the two women awaiting meds made an unrelated comment; and before anyone could have guessed, received the injection meant for the 1st patient. No emergency, nothing as god-awful as the account of a shift from hell, but it makes us aware of the fallibility of that comes with being human.

*Med error protocol followed NO HARM TO PATIENT