DDDIRRT

Today I took a big exam that I have been cramming for the past week and a half; even though I got an 84% (which wasn’t as high as I wanted) I’m just glad to be done with the nervousness that inevitably comes with studying! 

My next big thing to prepare for is a medication skills check off demonstration on Tuesday. I will have a pretend patient and I will have a few medications that I have to give most are oral meds, but one is an injection and our instructor will be watching and asking questions the whole time. 

DDDIRRT

On the surface this seems like not a big deal to just give a mannequin a few pills and a shot and I’m done, but it’s so much more than that.  I have to triple check the 7 R’s which is verify the correct medication, the correct dosage, the correct route, the correct patient name and medical number, the correct time, while keeping in mind the patient has the right to refuse the medicine and following up with documenting that I did indeed give the drug.  I like this little acronym my friend taught me in class:  DDDIRRT = Drug, Dose, Document, Identify, Refuse, Route, and Time.  I have to give just the scheduled meds and possibly be aware of any prn drugs needed depending on what the patient is complaining of like pain or nausea.  Then I have to know the adverse reactions of the drugs and the common uses of these drugs and be able to tell the instructor when she asks why we’re giving the medication to the patient. 

Heparin

The injection is just a SQ of either insulin or heparin in the abdomen at a 90 degree angle without aspirating.  Sucky huh? 

I’ve practiced a few times so I feel pretty confident that I’ll get the procedure done, and I can bring in drug notes for when the questions from the instructor are asked, so all in all I feel good. 

But goodness gracious, I've had even less time this semester with friends and family that it's beginning to really bother me.

And for some oddball reason I agreed to working 4 days back to back, what was I thinking???