Scheduling/rescheduling medications

[cjj0603]

Hi,

I'm a new med-surg grad and sometimes I have to either schedule times for meds for a newly admitted patient or reschedule meds for a patient who was NPO before surgery. In the first case, the order will say daily, bid, tid, etc, but no times. In the second cases, usually all or almost all the morning oral meds were held but apparently I may need to give some or all of them later in the day. Can anyone enlighten me on how I determine which to give, which to wait until the next day, and what times to schedule?

P.S. the next day, pharmacy will have scheduled or rescheduled so it's no longer a problem.

[truern]

We always do "daily" at 0900, BID is 0900 and 2100, TID at 0800, 1600, and 2400. If I have a patient NPO for surgery or tests, I'll give their necessary daily meds when they're back in their room. If they're BID or TID I check to see which dose they're due next and give that, but I don't double up the dosage.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Check your facility's or unit policy first, you might have standard times already.

We give most of our q day meds on the am pass, unless it is somthing that needs to be on an empty stomach, causes sleep, or works better at night.

Find out what the common meds are on your unit and keep a list.