June 4, 2009 |

Your thoughts on medication aides in LTC facilities

Would you advocate for medication aides in your facility if the state allowed for them?

Comments:

– Rolina has medication aides in some of their nursing homes. It is a dangerous liability for any nurse who has to oversee or supervise. Some may be good but the majority is not. We speak of the nursing shortage however this is not a viable option. It is more to administering meds than one thinks. You also need to have assessment skills to know when you can and cannot administer. Passing a state test is not enough along with one year’s experience. If you think we are inundated with advertisements on TV regarding nursing home lawsuits let this pass.

– That is a professional nursing domain!!!!!

– NO, I do not think it is a good idea. Why don’t you advocate for a position for serious medication reviews to cut or combine meds. Therefore REDUCING the number of meds given to older, more compromised people?!?

– They free up the nurses’ time and we already have them in our facility.

– We have them already and they are great.

– Yes. Not for freeing up time for other aides but freeing up time for the LPN or RN. We use them and they are a great help.

– The nurses are so overwhelmed in this setting, that this direction may be necessary in long-term care. Facilities today simply cannot: A) find enough nurses or B) afford to pay them a competitive wage—between the workforce shortage and minimal state/federal reimbursement. These positions will be inevitable.

– This is usually the only time a nurse has time to assess a resident. Communication is a huge problem at most places. It puts the residents and nurses at a high risk. I worked with med aides and it was terrible. Want to add to this discussion? Speak your mind in the comments below.

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