You'd be surprised (or maybe not)

You can reclassify some job responsibilities into "non-nurse" jobs, but there are legal requirements that only nurses may dispense drugs in a hospital.

How does the law define "dispense"? I used to work at a drug store. Only the pharmacist was allowed to assemble the prescriptions, but he then gave them to me to give to the customer. Can a nurse "dispense" the drugs to a nurses aide who then "delivers" it to the patient? Wouldn't surprise me if some places are trying this out until someone takes it to court.

Surgery rooms still require nurses.

But not as many as they used to. There have been cases documented where representatives from medical equipment suppliers were in the operating room running a new tool, demonstrating its function. None of the hospital staff though to ask if the representative (read that: salesperson) was a doctor. They weren't.

In short, I don't trust hospitals not to stretch every definition until a court orders them to stop.

BTW I can verify what Hugh said about the local conditions. My mother-in-law is a retired chief curgical nurse. Part of the reason she retired when she did is that the full-time staff kept getting longer hours and more call, while hired guns were brought in at twice the price to fill in the gaps. Within two months of her retirement, the headhunters were calling trying to get her to go back to her old hospital as a contractor.

Can a nurse "dispense" the drugs to a nurses aide who then "delivers" it to the patient? Wouldn't surprise me if some places are trying this out until someone takes it to court.

They don't have to take it to court. It's standard practice now. The floor RN is responsible for checking out the meds, and gives it to LPNs to deliver. I think that RNs are still supposed to start IVs but LPNs can inject into the installed line.

I spent about 4 years total in working in the operating room as an OR tech. This is the equivalent of a scrub nurse and equipment handler. No formal training. They just required a RN in the room to sign off on the paperwork. I also spent a couple years effectively running an electro-physiology lab for ophthalmology. It was easier to teach me the anatomy and physiology than it was to teach a nurse the electronics. I did the setup, tests, and initial analysis. I just needed a doctor to sign off on the results.

I am SO glad to be out of that environment.

Post #105,500 by drewk 6/10/03 9:31:09 AM Reply	You'd be surprised (or maybe not) You can reclassify some job responsibilities into "non-nurse" jobs, but there are legal requirements that only nurses may dispense drugs in a hospital. How does the law define "dispense"? I used to work at a drug store. Only the pharmacist was allowed to assemble the prescriptions, but he then gave them to me to give to the customer. Can a nurse "dispense" the drugs to a nurses aide who then "delivers" it to the patient? Wouldn't surprise me if some places are trying this out until someone takes it to court. Surgery rooms still require nurses. But not as many as they used to. There have been cases documented where representatives from medical equipment suppliers were in the operating room running a new tool, demonstrating its function. None of the hospital staff though to ask if the representative (read that: salesperson) was a doctor. They weren't. In short, I don't trust hospitals not to stretch every definition until a court orders them to stop. BTW I can verify what Hugh said about the local conditions. My mother-in-law is a retired chief curgical nurse. Part of the reason she retired when she did is that the full-time staff kept getting longer hours and more call, while hired guns were brought in at twice the price to fill in the gaps. Within two months of her retirement, the headhunters were calling trying to get her to go back to her old hospital as a contractor. === Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
Post #105,521 by hnick 6/10/03 12:15:44 PM Reply	Re: You'd be surprised (or maybe not) Can a nurse "dispense" the drugs to a nurses aide who then "delivers" it to the patient? Wouldn't surprise me if some places are trying this out until someone takes it to court. They don't have to take it to court. It's standard practice now. The floor RN is responsible for checking out the meds, and gives it to LPNs to deliver. I think that RNs are still supposed to start IVs but LPNs can inject into the installed line. I spent about 4 years total in working in the operating room as an OR tech. This is the equivalent of a scrub nurse and equipment handler. No formal training. They just required a RN in the room to sign off on the paperwork. I also spent a couple years effectively running an electro-physiology lab for ophthalmology. It was easier to teach me the anatomy and physiology than it was to teach a nurse the electronics. I did the setup, tests, and initial analysis. I just needed a doctor to sign off on the results. I am SO glad to be out of that environment.
Post #105,550 by drewk 6/10/03 2:00:00 PM Reply	See what happens when I try to imagine a worst-case? === Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.

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