The Missed Dose

At eleven o'clock Kevin realizes Gloria never got her eight o'clock pill.

Key takeawayA missed dose: don't double upIf a dose was missed, never give two at once to catch up and never guess. Call the nurse, pharmacist or prescriber right away and follow their instructions. Check how the person is feeling, write down what happened and what you were told, and complete your agency's incident report. Reporting a mistake protects the person and you.

In this scene

Kevin: Oh no. Gloria's eight o'clock blood pressure pill. It's still here.

Kevin: I missed it. I'll give her two at lunch and she'll catch up. Nobody needs to know.

Nadia: Never double up. That could drop her blood pressure. And we never hide a mistake.

Watch the episode to see what happens next.

Questions to think about

You find a missed morning dose at lunch. You:
Why not give a double dose?
After a missed dose you also:

About this series

For direct support staff who help people with their medicine: the rights of medication, refusals, not pre-pouring, missed doses, medication errors, documenting, side effects, outings, locked storage and counts, and as-needed medicines. Follow your agency's medication policy, your nurse's instructions and your state's rules on who may give medication. See the whole series

The Missed Dose

In this scene

Questions to think about

About this series

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