What is the requirement for storage of medications for self-directed students during school hours and at school sponsered events, such as field trips if the school nurse is not present?
Students’ medications must ALWAYS remain in a properly labeled pharmacy containers or original OTC (over the counter) container. The 2002 Medication Guidelines allowed the following. When oral medication is to be given off school grounds or after school hours, the medication may be prepared by the school nurse for short out-of-school experiences. This has changed. Nurses may no longer place a medication into an envelope or other unlabeled container for an unlicensed person to “assist” the student. The Board of Pharmacy considers this to be “dispensing” and nurses do not dispense. Best practice would indicate that medication should always remain in the original bottle until it is given to the student. With field trips rapidly approaching, it would be timely to ask parents/guardians to bring in an identically labeled bottle if you do not presently have one. The nurse MAY transfer a medication from one labeled bottle to another identically labeled bottle.
