The First National Survey of Medication Aides

A survey was developed with the goal of providing insight into the work settings, education, supervision, and work roles of medication aides. Results, which typically varied by work setting and regulatory agency, included 46% of respondents reporting that medication aide training needed to be more challenging and 8% reporting they had no supervision. Of medication aides who had supervision, 19% said their supervisor was never on site. When asked about work roles, 21% said they were not given a job description that addressed the scope of their duties, 33% needed more information about their authorized duties, and 21% thought some of the tasks that they performed were beyond their scope. In terms of job duties, 29% indicated they were allowed to administer injectable medications, 80% were allowed to administer the first dose of a new medication, 67% were allowed to administer prn medication without an assessment by a licensed nurse, 49% were allowed to administer medications when the patient's condition was unstable or had changing nursing needs, and 59% were allowed to crush medications without authorization by a licensed nurse. Study implications are discussed.