USE-BY DATE Enlist your nursing staff to check for expired items once a month.

SUPPLY MANAGEMENT
Don't Let Another Dated Supply Expire

One afternoon a month, have your nursing staff do what we call "expirations." The charge nurse assigns individuals to a room or area to check anything with an expiration date to ensure it's not out of date. These items include (but aren't limited to) fire extinguishers, medication vials, prefilled saline syringes, IV catheters, plastic bottles of eyewash and Ambu bags. (I once learned the hard way that, yes, Ambu bags have expiration dates, too.) It may sound a bit tedious, but with everyone pitching in — "many hands make light work" — it takes only about an hour. We then are assured that nothing is expired, and if it is, the item is removed and we know what we need to re-order.

David Nero, RN
East Greenwich Endoscopy Center
East Greenwich, R.I.
[email protected]