What is Recap?

zacarias, ASN, RN · Feb 2, 2004

Hey,

It appears they were talking about "recapping" a needle. Which means putting the cap back on a needle usually after injecting it into somebody. The risks are obvious and this is highly discouraged in all health settings.

If you are preparing insulin/heparin or something and you need to recap a CLEAN needle prior to injecting it, then you should use the "one-handed" recap which is where you set the cap down on a surface and then you slide the needle into the cap with your dominant hand. This way your other hand is no where near the needle to be stuck.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Feb 2, 2004

Originally posted by StephMSeattle
I'm such a newbie! I work in long-term care and they were referring to the Resident Care Coordinator/Nurse Manager doing "recap". What are they referring to?

While the previous poster may be correct, I think the term "recap" in a nursing home refers to reviewing the medication administration records for the next month. They are often referred to as "recaps" by the LTC nurses.

When LTC nurses review the "recaps" they are actually reviewing the new MARS against the physicians orders to ensure accuracy before the start of the next month. Perhaps this is what they were talking about.

StephMSeattle · Feb 2, 2004

OK...that makes sense! Reviewing physicians orders 'cuz february 1st was nearing. I'm still not 100% familiar with all of the abbreviations and acronyms used at work. Sometimes my co-workers make up ones that don't exist anywhere else. Haha!

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Feb 2, 2004

Originally posted by StephMSeattle
OK...that makes sense! Reviewing physicians orders 'cuz february 1st was nearing. I'm still not 100% familiar with all of the abbreviations and acronyms used at work. Sometimes my co-workers make up ones that don't exist anywhere else. Haha!

That can be a problem. Look into your facility's policy & procedure manual for an approved list of abbrevations. This might help you understand a little more of what terms they are using. Of course, nurses with experience tend to use abbrevations that they learned in school and through their years of nursing. As these terms change, they need to change too. For me, my last position used the initials SHOB for shortness of breath. I have always used SOB ... but I can see why this change was needed. Good luck.

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Feb 2, 2004

StephM..... come over to the Geriatric Boards!!! It gets slow over there. We call them monthly re-orders... Ours are recapped or reprinted q month and checked every month along with the MARs and TARs. As far as the abbreviations... I've seen some crazy ones, just check your facilities accepted list and ignore the rest.