Job aids

ARF medication help: the steps to remember

The short step lists from each lesson of ARF medications: helping adults take their own medications, on one page. Print it for the station or the break room. Each list points back to its lesson, where the sources are linked.

Open the course Print a poster with a QR code

Decision guide

May I help this client with this PRN dose?

Is there a signed, dated physician order in her file, and do the order and the label both list the four items?

Yes
Has her physician stated in writing that she can determine and communicate her need for it?
- Yes
  Staff may assist. She decides when she needs it, and you help her take it.
- No
  Has her physician stated in writing that she cannot determine her need but can communicate her symptoms clearly?
  - Yes
    Is this PRN medication a nonprescription one?
    Yes
    If the licensee has designated you, give it as the physician's written direction says. Record the date, time, dose and her response.
    No
    The case does not fit the rule as you read it. Do not guess. Tell the administrator, who can ask the physician how to go on.
  - No
    Is she unable both to determine her need and to communicate her symptoms clearly?
    Yes
    If the licensee has designated you, call the physician before this dose, describe her symptoms and get direction. Record the call and the directions, then the dose, time and response.
    No
    The case does not fit the rule as you read it. Do not guess. Tell the administrator, who can ask the physician how to go on.
No
Do not help with the dose on your own judgment. Tell the administrator, so the order or the label can be completed with the physician.

A job aid, not a rule book. It does not replace the physician's orders or your facility's procedures, and it does not decide what a client can do: her physician states that in writing. Call 911 for a medical emergency.

Step through it one question at a time: alwbeta.com/training/courses/arf-medication-assistance#decision-guide

Lesson 1

Helping a client take her own medication

In an adult residential facility, staff help clients with medications every day. The rule calls this help with self-administration. This lesson shows what that help is, which rules apply in an ARF, and who on the team may give it, so you can decide whether a task is yours.

The client takes it; you assist
In Chapter 1, "adult CCF" means your ARF
Training or experience in medication help, shown by safe work
Specialized skills: licensed or certified staff only
Not sure the task is yours? Ask the administrator first

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/arf-medication-assistance#lesson-arfm-assist

Lesson 2

Never force, hide or withhold; respect a refusal

Some days a client says no to her medication. What you do next matters. The rule says what assistance never includes, and the client has rights you must respect. This lesson prepares you to decide what to do when a client refuses, and what to report.

Never force, threaten or pressure
No medication hidden in food or drink without her knowledge and consent
A refusal is her right; a relative's wish does not override it
Never withhold medication as a punishment
Report rights violations; send health changes to her physician and representative

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/arf-medication-assistance#lesson-arfm-refusal

Lesson 3

Inhalers and injections

Inhalers and injections have their own rules in an ARF. Before staff help with an inhaler, they need training from a licensed professional, with papers on file. Injections are different again. This lesson prepares you to answer one question: may this staff member help with this device today?

Inhalers: only staff trained by a licensed professional
On file: written procedures and the names of trained staff
Review by the professional at least once a year
Training records go in the personnel files
Injections: no giving them; designated staff may assist a client who gives her own

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/arf-medication-assistance#lesson-arfm-inhalers-injections

Lesson 4

PRN orders, labels and a client who can decide

A client asks for her as-needed medication. Before you help, you check the order, the label and what her physician wrote about her. This lesson shows what every PRN order and label must carry, and how to help a client who can decide for herself.

PRN means as needed, prescription or not
Signed, dated physician order on a prescription blank, in her file
Order and label: symptoms, exact dose, hours between doses, daily maximum
Physician wrote she can judge and tell her need: she decides, you assist
Missing item or unclear case: tell the administrator

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/arf-medication-assistance#lesson-arfm-prn-orders

Lesson 5

PRN help when the client cannot decide

Some clients cannot tell when they need a PRN medication. Some cannot describe how they feel. The rule sets different steps and records for each case. This lesson prepares you to choose the right steps, and to write the records that show you followed them.

She describes symptoms but cannot judge need (nonprescription): follow the written direction
Record each dose: date, time, dose, response
She can do neither: call the physician before each dose
Record each call: date, time, physician's directions
Only designated staff help in these two cases
No case fits? Do not guess; tell the administrator

Lesson: alwbeta.com/training/courses/arf-medication-assistance#lesson-arfm-prn-cannot