Next time you are drawing up an IV or IM medication, always check the vial three times:

• Check before you open it
• Check while you are drawing up the medication
• Check after you have drawn up the drug

You will NEVER pick up the wrong medication this way. Plenty of mistakes are made with wrong medications. So many drugs come in similar looking vials, with same-colored caps, too.

Triple check. It takes no extra time or effort.

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Terry

Counting Sheep

I can't even tell you how many times I've found the error on the third check!!!!!!!!

They teach this for a reason, and there have been many times I was glad it was branded into my brain!

Oh, and welcome!!! I just put two and two together!

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The ER is the only place where you are rewarded for efficiency by getting more patients!

Kim
http://www.emergiblog.com

because a nurse doesnt triple check. That include triple checking your MAR too and your patient.

I saw a nurse trying to break another nurse who was supposed to give Dig to a patient. The offgoing nurse asked if the breaking nurse wanted to see the MAR and vial it was drawn up from. She said no and headed over to give it to the patient, as the offgoing nurse walked to the break room. The off going nurse just happned to be walking back in for her jacket and saw that the break nurse was about to give the dig to the wrong patient!!!!

Check EVERYTHING!

We are taught these and it is the only thing that will definatly be on the exam.
Right Pt
Right Time
Right Drug
Right Route
Right Dose
AND 6th
Right to Reject (from pt).

The first time I was allowed to give meds as a student, things went wrong. Had been nursing this pt for a few days and knew what they were on and why, so with my nurse buddy I measured out the meds and gave them, and they were signed off. A couple of hours later I heard that the pt was over dosed, I found my buddy and asked 'how, why, what!!!' It turned out that another nurse thinking that the pt was theirs, re-did the drug round (with the wrong date)after me, so it was not my fault.

The overdose was not too bad, and no effect was seen, however 6 hours later the pt was transfered to ICU for tachycaria (not related to overdose). So make sure the pt is actually assigned to you and you have the right date.

Whoa!!! This was a scary one! Such an unusual situation, but it will make me look twice!

__________________
The ER is the only place where you are rewarded for efficiency by getting more patients!

Kim
http://www.emergiblog.com

we have a "bridge" device, a computer system, that in addition to doing all the checks, helps to further reduce medication errors.

you simply scan your id badge, then scan the patient and then the medication. and there's alot more to it, like linking medications, and dealing with pharmacy errors ALL THE TIME!!

however, this computer system is far superior to a system we had recently for 31 days called: IPROB.

it's a special computer program for labor and delivery.

we had it for 31 days before the hospital had to call it quits. the doctors boycotted the damn thing! these are conservative people who actually took a stand because the system was telling them how to practice medicine.

those 31 days were very painful, watching grown people one by one having psychotic breakdowns.

the nursing staff tried to help everyone use the system. we worked together as a cohesive whole for the good of all.

yet it was not to be.

__________________
Peace (of mind),

Kate Loving Shenk
Nursing Career Transformation
http://nursehealers.typepad.com

if myhospital ever gets oneof these iwill have to go work elsewhere... it would make me feel like a chimp...just performing a task...as a patient i wouldnt like it either

I worry about the PO medications we send home with the patients. Have you ever stopped and looked at some of these meds? For example, metoprolol looks exactly like Lipitor. They both have the same football shape and about the same size. The only difference is the small etching on each pill is different. Now, take an elderly person who is dispensing his own medications into a "weekly" pill holder to help remind him to take his medications. He looks into his pill holder and says to himself, "Hmmm, it looks like I already put the Lipitor in there and then proceeds to double dose himself for 7 days on metoprolol because he thinks the other pill is Lipitor. Do you think it doesn't happen? Think again.

I can't imagine that drug companies can't alter the look of their medications not to look so alike. For those of you who are muttering to yourself, "he should have been more careful," you may be right, but eyesights fail and the elderly still want to be independent. We should give them that opportunity to be independent....safely.

(She now steps off her soap box and hides in the corner.)

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www.MyOwnWoman.blogspot.com

Why hide in the corner? It's a very good point. There are so many drugs out there, I'm sure most of the shapes, sizes and colors have already been used. That said, I don't know why the name of the drug can't be stamped in big black letters on the pill.

I agree with you completely.

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code blog

That is exactly what our instructors want every student nurse to be doing. As a student nurse, I have to tell my instructor that "I'm checking to see if it's the right medication." *look at patient meds on the sheet/computer* Then I have to communicate to the instructor what the meds do, why I'm giving them, etc. The 3 checks are so important. The 5 (or 6) rights are very important too.