What is fair

[Elisabetta3]

Not sure if I am in the right thread but my question is where does the responsibility of the previous nurse ends?

I have a patient that came in at 5:45 in the morning. All assessments, charting are done by 6:45 am (when next nurse comes in). So, this patient have home meds that can be stored in the unit until family comes. This was being done in other floors but I am told by the nurse I gave report to that I needed to send the medicine to pharmacy for storage which means all medicine has to be counted. There are no narcs in this file. Anyway, I thought that was ridiculous and asked the charge nurse if we can wait for the family and she said no. So I went to the pharmacy and apparently they don't do the counting. Nurses do. So I went back to our floor, tell the nurse I reported to that she needs to help me count and she was like, No Im busy!! I didn't think she was busy! She needs to shove someone in the shower that's it. So, I went to the charge nurse and she takes the medicine. At this point, I am in tears.

I am so disappointed by this and I want to know what are the boundaries of my responsibilities? Why can I not pass off tasks to the next nurse when I obviously do not have enough time to perform them? I am so frustrated and need to know how to comprehend this situation I feel like an injustice towards me. I would like your opinion and resolutions on this matter. This really makes me want to quit today and find another job.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Good morning and welcome to allnurses! I have moved your post to the nurse colleague/patient relations forum to encourage responses.

As far as I am concerned, when I receive handoff on a patient, further care is my responsibility. You didn't know about the need to check meds in with the pharmacy, but now you do. I am guessing there were lots of meds?

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

We are all just one person. Sometimes things have to get passed onto the next shift. That is where teamwork comes into play. I hate leaving things for other people, but again I can only do so much. The oncoming nurse should have done a quick check on the patients and then came to help you count. That's at least what I would have done. The charge nurse should have also been helping (which obviously they ended up doing anyway). The more who help the sooner something like this gets done. I wouldn't quit over something so trivial. Believe me you will have bigger issues than this with your career.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

This (the whole situation) is dumb. I don't think it's anything to get all upset over, though, nor do I think any "injustice" was done. There's no need to count meds that are not narcotics. I'd have just taken the bag of meds and left them in the med room until family members arrived to take them home. If it's after 7am, it's on the other nurse now. Even if she's busy right that minute, she has a whole shift in front of her, you're going home. You gave the meds to the charge nurse. She and the day nurse can take it from here. Your shift is over, go home.

[ANnot4me]

You said that there were no narcotics involved and that is the beginning and the end for me. Hand it over and go home.

[Gooselady, BSN, RN]

Exactly. No narcs? No problem. It was crappy of the nurse to dump on you, I agree. It happens. You don't have TIME to count someone's 90 day supply of Prevacid and Lasix. That is beyond ridiculous. Lock them up in the patient's room and leave a note for oncoming shifts to remind them to return to family.

In oncology, we'd get 'patients own meds' that were nonformulary and EXPENSIVE. Not narcs, just thirty bucks a pill! Handling them versus a bottle of Pravastatin is a no brainer.

When you seem to be surrounded by nonsense, just decide for yourself, with the help of policy and procedure. Being told they go to the pharmacy by some nurse may be incorrect (and I'd guess it is). Our pharmacy didn't take narcs, either, we had a lock up and old fashioned count sheets to keep track. It's not the big deal the nurse made it out to be :) and that includes the charge nurse who ought to brush up on hospital policy with patient's own meds.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

In my unit, I send home every single med when doing the med reconciliation, unless I know for certain that something is non formulary.

I do not have time to count someone's Zocor or Lasix. That's not happening.

This facility or hospital sounds weird and I would start looking for other employment.

[dah doh, BSN, RN]

To the OP: If the family is present, hand the meds back to them to take home. Otherwise the home meds are listed on a special pharmacy form and get hand carried to the main pharmacy. Only the narcotics are counted! All other meds are listed by name, dose, prescription number if there is one. That's our facility's policy. Did you check yours?