Stat orders and the MAR

If the doctor orders it stat and I'm the one putting in the order, then I will order it stat.

We write them on the MAR as 'give now' then highlight the area to show it was done and order was completed. Does seem a bit like overkill, but that is how we do it.

the MAR is Medication Administration Record....a flow sheet of meds given, if you will. Hence, all meds given need to be on there.

there is probably no P+P because it would seem obvious on it face.

If I am going to give it to a patient, I am going to write it on the patient's Medication Administration Record. That's what it is, a "record of the medication administrated to the patient."

Think of it this way. Suppose something went wrong and you end up in court. What will be your answer to the question as to why you did NOT record what you gave. Sounds like a nightmare to me.

I like to print the order out to put it in the actual MAR. This helps me to track trends with a patient.

For example, one resident has awful spikes in his BS every few days or so. Having the stat order "10 units regular insulin, now" or whatever it is right in front of me can help me see when this patient has gotten these types of orders, what the order is for, etc. This also makes it easier for the MD and PA to see what's been going on as well.

Hey all,

This may seem like a silly question, but do any of you write Stat orders on the MAR (for example, 10 units of Toronto Insulin stat)? I don't as I think that's a waste of time, and as long as I initialed the time that I carried out the order and my name next to the order, it's all documented.

Some nurses at my unit like to write stat orders on the MAR...there's not a policy in our unit about that. It seems like its more of a preference thing.

What about you? What do you do?

Always. It's a pain in the butt but how is the medication nurse coming on, or the following nurse know that the patient had medication. Things don't get past in report sometimes and you need a record of everything that that person received where the nurse can see the med that the patient got.