Welcome to the world of med-surg nursing, where your brain becomes a walking pharmacy. Let’s face the reality of the med-surg nursing floor, where you are dealing with multiple patients with different diagnoses who need different medications at different times! In the real world of med-surg nursing, just memorizing the drug names and their side effects is not enough. When dealing with real patients, the most important thing is when and how to administer these medications and what to do when things get out of hand. In this blog, we will discuss the essential med-surg drugs used in nursing, administration tips, and what to do if patients refuse to take medications or if something goes wrong!
Most common med-surg medications
Analgesics:
When you are in pain, the analgesic medications are the ones that come to the rescue. These pain relievers or pain medications help you relieve pain and discomfort. Some of the common pain reliever medications are as follows:
Acetaminophen: It is used in mild to moderate fever, and a maximum of 4g/day should be taken.
Morphine: This medication is used to relieve severe pain.
Ibuprofen: This medication is used for fever, pain, and inflammation.
Anticoagulants:
Another common med-surg medication is used to prevent blood clots. These medications are also known as blood thinners and your go-to medications to keep heart attacks, strokes, and lung blockages at bay.
Some common anti-coagulant medications are:
Heparin: DVT, PE. It is an injectable anti-coagulant.
Warfarin: It is an oral anticoagulant medication.
Antibiotics:
No one is new to this word! Antibiotics are the fighting agents that fight any bacterial infections in your body, from stubborn skin infections to pneumonia, antibiotics are your to go weapons. Some of the common antibiotics are as follows:
Penicillins: Used for a wide range of infections.
Cephalosporins: For respiratory, skin, and urinary infections.
Some of the other common med-surg medications are:
Cardiovascular medications: These medications are used for the heart and blood vessels. They lower blood pressure, clear out cholesterol junk, etc. Some of the common medications include lisinopril, metoprolol, and furosemide.
Gastrointestinal medications: These med surg meds are used for the digestive system, such as for heartburns, constipation, diarrhea, etc. The medications include pantoprazole, ondansetron, docusate sodium, etc.
Tips on how to administer the right medication to the patients
- Timing
- Right patient
- The right dose of medication
- The right way to administer medication
- Looking for medication reactions/ right documentation
Timing:
One of the most important things to consider when giving medication to the patient is timing, as some medications work well with food and some on an empty stomach.
Right patient:
Another step to administering medication to the patients is to ensure the identity of the patient. Med-surg nurses deal with multiple patients at one time who need different med surg medications. Identifying the right patient by their name and date of birth is crucial before administering medication.
Right dose of medication:
Every age group’s medication dose differs; therefore, nurses should be very careful before administering it to the patients. nurses should always double-check the calculations of the medication and watch for unit conversions.
The right way to administer medication:
Some medicines are taken by mouth; some are injected, and some are inhaled. Nurses, while administering medications to the patients, should always know how to give medication to patients. For example, ibuprofen is taken by mouth, insulin is injected, and albuterol is inhaled through an inhaler for asthma.
Monitor for reactions and documentation:
After administering med-surg medications to the patients, nurses should always look for reactions and also document in real time. The documentation includes the dose, how it was given, and the reaction of the medication on the patient, etc.
What to do when you make an error in medication?
We make mistakes all the time, but the important thing is to know how to handle the situation if a mistake is made during administering medications. Follow the following steps:
- Asses the patient and look for any reactions.
- Let your charge nurse know immediately about the mistake and don’t hide it.
- Document the error.
- Analyze the error and make sure to avoid it in the future.
Conclusion
Med-surg unit is a fast-paced environment where nurses will deal with multiple patients with different medical conditions. Therefore, they have to administer different med-surg medications to the patients all the time. Some Essential Med-Surg Drugs include analgesics (e.g., ibuprofen, morphine), anticoagulants (e.g., heparin, warfarin), antibiotics (penicillin, vancomycin), cardiovascular medications, etc. There are five things to consider before administering medications to the patient, such as the right time, the right dose, the right way (oral, injectable), the right patient, and documentation. I
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