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Hi Ronda, Great questions!
States have different regulations so please be sure to check your state nursing practice act and your state pharmacy regulations. In most cases, it is Ok for the RN to put medications in different containers if the same RN is also administering the medications directly to the camper. It is more challenging if one RN is pulling medications and expecting another RN to administer. According to RN practice acts, the nurse is responsible for knowing exactly what they are giving and confirming the 5 rights of administration beforehand. If medications are placed in a secondary container (if allowed in your state), then the container should be labeled with the 5 rights (person name, drug name, dose, route, and time) to prevent medication errors. An unlicensed person can’t legally administer meds without the delegation piece. (Wilderness First Aid/First Responders are not licensed.) On the ACH website page dedicated to Medications you’ll find good documentation about the various roles of healthcare providers, as well as guidance for medication administration. Specifically the Medication Administration Practice Guidelines will give you some language to use with your camp director/leadership about the system currently in place at your camp.
https://www.allianceforcamphealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Medication-Management-PG-2020-ACH.pdf
Please feel free to reach out to ACH at the office should you like to have additional conversation! 820.830.8393.
Best,
Mary
Mary Marugg, RN
Operations Director
Alliance for Camp Health