The nurse assigned to each patient has the job of dispensing all the medications. It is also the nurse’s job to provide all the primary care necessary for the patient assigned to him or her. When the medication is ordered by your physician, the information is transferred to a card which is kept on the medication chart. This means that the nurse has a record about which drug he or she should administer to the patient, how often it should be given, and in what circumstances it should be given. Each dose administered will be noted on the chart by the nurse. The nursing staff carries out numerous safety checks to make sure that there are no mistakes. You can participate by learning what each tablet or capsule is, so that if you are given a new pill you can ask when it was ordered.
Dispensing medication is a very responsible job, and the nurse must concentrate on what he or she is doing.
At some time during the morning a member of the housekeeping department cleans your room thoroughly. This may be done while you are out of your room having tests or X-ray photographs. During the morning your bed is changed and tidied. You can ask for this to be done again if a restless day has made the bed untidy by the evening.
The Order Sheet
The staff on the unit gets all of the information about your daily routine and care from the order sheet. The physician writes his or her instructions on the sheet, and the nurses consult it whenever they need information.
Instructions about your activity around the ward are written on the order sheet. “Up ad lib” or “unrestricted” means that you are free to get up and walk around the room, go to the dayroom, and use the corridor. You should not leave the unit without permission because, if you were suddenly taken ill, there would be a delay in getting help to you. “Up ad lib in room” means you may walk about the room, but not leave it. “Bathroom privileges,” as previously mentioned, means that you may use the bathroom when you want to. If you do not understand the reason for a certain restriction, ask the resident physician to explain it to you.
