![]() If there is a patient injury or death because of an incorrect drug or an incorrect amount given, both you and your colleague will be named in a suit filed by that patient or the patient’s family. First and foremost, because preparation and administration are fraught with potential for error, relying on another nurse to prepare a medication that you administer is dangerous at best.ĭid your nurse colleague correctly pull the right medication? Did your nurse colleague calculate the correct amount of an injectible drug for the patient? Did the nurse check the order and determine the medication was ordered for this patient? The reasons for this strict rule are numerous. Nor is it acceptable practice to administer a medication that another has prepared. One of the first general principles in medication administration that a nurse must adhere to is to personally prepare any medications properly ordered for a patient and to personally administer those medications.Īlthough there may be instances in which more than one healthcare provider may be required to administer a single medication, such as in a code, it is not generally acceptable practice to prepare any type of medication for another person to administer. Proper preparation and medication administration One reader asked about a nurse’s responsibilities when drawing up an injectible medication but not administering it, and specifically wanted to know about the documentation duties affiliated with the draw-up. Nurses reach out to me regularly with questions concerning medication administration and preparation.
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