rules of injections

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been doing it a long time and will not bend--learned you draw what you shoot and only shoot what you have drawn! have pressure to shoot what others draw up--still refusing!!!!

Where do I find this guideline to show to "powers in charge"????? Have looked all over tx board website it's my license at stake(they don't have one) or my job HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
It is a bad practice and will only stop when people speak up.

Or when somebody dies....

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I agree that there are things we learned in nursing school that we do differently in the real world, but this is one area that i REFUSE to bend on. I will NOT give any med that I didn't draw up myself and i would certainly never ask someone else to give an injection that I drew up.

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Specializes in Pediatric neurosurgery/general pediatric.

We have to give lovenox injections occasionally at our hospital that is drawn up by pharmacy. In the past I have given it, although reluctantly, I think I am going to file an occurance report about it and explain why I think it is dangerous.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
We have to give lovenox injections occasionally at our hospital that is drawn up by pharmacy. In the past I have given it, although reluctantly, I think I am going to file an occurance report about it and explain why I think it is dangerous.

When the pharmacy draws it up, that is acceptable. They are dispensing the med which they are licensed to do. Not so for nurses.

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Specializes in Dialysis.

I don't even like giving meds mixed by pharmacy. I had one instance a couple wks ago... primary nurse asked me to give Vanco on Dialysis, it came up fr pharm with a vanco label & the bar code to scan but the vial attached was zithromax!!!!! Even the opposite side of the bag said zithromax!!!! When an error this blatant happens, I hate to think of what may be in those hand labled syringes. E-mar would not have prevented this error as the med would have scanned as Vanco. Scary!

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No way jose! no way would I ever give something another nurse drew up. Nor would I expect another nurse to give something I drew up. The way I teach this to the nurses that I supervise is to remind them that I am in recovery. What if I relapsed and was high and drew up something wrong. It would be their butt, not mine.

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Specializes in Pediatric neurosurgery/general pediatric.
When the pharmacy draws it up, that is acceptable. They are dispensing the med which they are licensed to do. Not so for nurses.

I have to agree with Newfie. Pharmacy makes so many errors as it is. Who would be liable if I gave a mislabeled drug from pharmacy. Anyone know?

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A lot of times in the hospital setting LPN's will draw up meds for IV push, then give it to the RN to give. Most RN's will give them because they don't have time to draw up so many meds all day when they have their own patients to tend to.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Geriatrics.
I don't even like giving meds mixed by pharmacy. I had one instance a couple wks ago... primary nurse asked me to give Vanco on Dialysis, it came up fr pharm with a vanco label & the bar code to scan but the vial attached was zithromax!!!!! Even the opposite side of the bag said zithromax!!!! When an error this blatant happens, I hate to think of what may be in those hand labled syringes. E-mar would not have prevented this error as the med would have scanned as Vanco. Scary!

Most places I've worked pharmacy mixes all the meds. How is it avoidable? That's what they do.... You still have to be vigilant of course, since they DO make mistakes but I don't see how you can avoid giving meds mixed by pharmacy.

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I have to agree with Newfie. Pharmacy makes so many errors as it is. Who would be liable if I gave a mislabeled drug from pharmacy. Anyone know?

The nurse who gives it. Scarey- but true. Why do you think the characteristics of insulin are pounded it our heads?

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OK guys....I think you are going a little to far with not giving meds the pharmacy drew up. As far as the example of the pharmacy sending up the wrong med..of course this happens!! The pharmacist are people like the rest of us!!! I think that was great that you caught the error, it is our job to double check, this is why they drill it in our heads. Where do you "draw" the line on what you "draw" up (no pun intended :) How can you be sure that bags of d545 c 20 k...really have 2o of k?? Would you only feel safe if you put it in the bag?? If so...what if the manufacturer of k made an error and labeled it incorrectly?? Are you going to manufacturer your own k to put in all of you IV?? Of course not, but you get my point. Lets be realistic about this...we are all human beings so of course mistakes happen..by Md's, pharmacists, manager and even Rn's. I don't intend to be sarcastic but I really think this is a bit extreme :)

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Specializes in Dialysis.

Obviously we can't always avoid giving meds mixed by pharm or the manufacturer. However, most of the time it is a pharmacy tech that is doing the mixing, the pharmacist is supposed to check & initial it. They are crazy busy just like we are. I would just like to go back to mixing my own meds like we used to. If that zithromax had just been drawn up in a syringe, mixed in a plain bag of ns & labelled as vanco, no amt of checking on my part would have avoided an error. I would just prefer to have the original medication package in my hand. I know I can't control what is in the original package but realistically the more hands that mess with that package, the more chance for error. For the most part I would rather give something mixed by my nurse coworker who I know than by some unknown pharmacist/tech (not that I do that either but if given the choice it would be a nurse I know & trust). Sorry, but in recent years I have caught wayyyy toooo many pharmacy errors.

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