During a shift change, the nurse you are replacing tells you to expect the narcotics count to be off because it was off when they began their shift. How would you handle this situation?

"This situation happened to me a couple of years ago. I reacted by doing a re-count with the nurse who mentioned the discrepancy. There were, in fact, narcotics missing. Calmly, we went together to report the issue to our charge nurse. I believe in situations like this; I must follow regulations and guidelines while maintaining a united front with my fellow nursing team."

State and federal guidelines mandate accurate record-keeping of medications. No matter where you work as a Licensed Practical Nurse, part of the daily routine includes narcotics counts at the beginning and end of each shift. The interviewer wants to know that you understand the importance of accurate record-keeping and that you will handle any discrepancies within the legal guidelines.

"If I were taking over a shift and the nurse who worked before me told me about a discrepancy between the narcotics count book and the actual medications on hand, I would first ask them if we can do another count to verify the discrepancy. If the count did reflect that medications were missing, I would immediately report this to my supervisor. This situation is not about getting someone into trouble, but about being accountable for the safety and well being of our patients, myself, and the other healthcare providers. Medication errors can occur, but it is my responsibility to make sure I notify the appropriate authority to determine where the error occurred and to make sure it doesn't happen again."