Why Can’t I Put My Half-Eaten Lunch in the Medication Refrigerator?
Because it will cause the school nurse to twitch, roll her eyes and then throw out whatever you put in there. Of course, that will make the owner of the half-eaten lunch angry. But how do you convince your co-workers to find someplace else for their food?
Hit them with the facts.
Every time someone opens a refrigerator door it alters the temperature inside. If you do this too many times it can harm the medication being stored there.
Many states have Infection protocols / health departments that do not allow food storage in the school nurse’s refrigerator, due to an increased possibility of contamination issues.
Medications are required to be locked up – put a lock and sign on the refrigerator.
There are confidentiality issues involved in people traipsing through the nurse’s office.
In some states you will find this in the state’s pharmacy regulations. Also, medications need to be stored in a secure place. (This could be in a locked box within a food storing refrigerator-if you have no other way to store refrigerated meds. Some states forbid it … check your state regulations.)
Places to check this would be in state childcare regulations (preschool), SED, DOH, and/or Pharmacy Regulations.
There needs to be a thermometer in any refrigerator in a school setting and you need to be maintaining a daily log.
Suggestions for dealing with violators:
· Put a lock on the frig
· Place a sign that says: Medical Use Only / Anything not medically related will be thrown away
· Post a copy of the state regulations, regarding use of medication refrigerator for personal use
· One light-hearted suggestion is to get a urine specimen collection container and put some apple juice in it to deter the recalcitrant co-worker.
Again: Reasons for not storing food in Med refrigerator:
· Food storage can contaminate meds with mold or bacteria
· Frequent opening and shutting the door can affect temperature control
· Putting hot food in the refrigerator raises the temperature for several hours
· Going in and out of the refrigerator repeatedly will also destabilize the temperature inside of it
· Medications need to be stored in a locked spot
· If you are seeing children and staff are traipsing in and out of your office, it can be a violation of confidentiality
· Staff being able to see medication labels is a violation of confidentiality.
If you can think of some other suggestions, please do share—especially the light-hearted variety.