During a network failure in a hospital, what should a nurse manager instruct the nurses to do regarding medication administration?

The appropriate course of action during a network failure in a hospital, particularly concerning medication administration, involves administering medications manually. This approach ensures that patient care continues uninterrupted despite the technical challenges posed by the network outage. It is critical for nurses to have established protocols for manual medication administration that account for the absence of electronic order systems.

In many healthcare settings, nurses are trained to carry out manual processes, including referring to paper-based medication administration records, to verify patient identities and medications. This enables them to provide necessary medications without significant delays that could affect patient outcomes.

While requesting access to backup systems could be useful in some contexts, it may not address the immediate need for patient medication. Waiting for the network to come back online could jeopardize patient safety and compromise care. Consulting with pharmacy for alternatives might be necessary in certain scenarios, but in the immediate context of a network failure, ensuring timely medication administration is paramount. Therefore, the focus should be on safely continuing care by administering medications manually.