In 2004, the Demo Dose® Simulated Medication brand was created to provide educators with a tool to teach medication administration and management. It fits in perfectly with the vision at Pocket Nurse®, which is to improve educational experiences and outcomes by providing simulation solutions.
Prior to Demo Dose, educators would seek expired medications to use in the simulation environment. Another common strategy is to use candy, which we think is a bad idea as well. Demo Dose safely and effectively allows educators to simulate real-world clinical scenarios in the classroom, improving patient safety by better preparing students for their healthcare careers.
With this all being said, we understand a few objections to Demo Dose exist. Here are the ones we’ve heard most often.
Demo Dose medication names are not spelled correctly, which creates concerns in the classroom when trying to teach accuracy.
Our primary reason for “misspelling” the name of the medication on Demo Dose labels is so that the product doesn’t end up in the supply chain of a hospital or doctor’s office. Although Demo Dose contains no active ingredients, it could pose a danger to patients if healthcare workers believe they are administering actual medication.
While accuracy is important, the spelling on the labels of Demo Dose is close enough to the actual medication so that it’s not misleading. Students can easily recognize that “Sodim Chlorid” is meant to be sodium chloride or “Lidocain” is simulated lidocaine.
Another way Pocket Nurse ensures Demo Dose doesn’t get mistaken for real medication is the disclaimer on every label: For instructional use only. Not for human or animal use.
Demo Dose has a limited formulary compared to what we would find in a professional setting.
While this is true, the Demo Dose family also is comprised of over 400 vials, pills, and IV simulated medications. It may not be comprehensive at this time, it is certainly striving to get there! In addition, we we are always looking for opportunities to expand our Demo Dose line. Since last year at this time we have added approximately 50 new products to our offering. Many of these came from feedback we received through our customer service team as well as the many tradeshows we attend. We strongly encourage feedback and requests from our customers and industry experts. We welcome requests for new Demo Dose solutions at ideas@pocketnurse.com
Inventory shortages have occasionally prevented fast delivery of products we wanted.
In the not-so-recent past, we did struggle to keep up with demand, specifically for code drugs and saline IVs. At this time, we are back in stock and even have an abundance of inventory to meet the needs of the purchasing season.
Our mission is to continue to develop and source simulation and medical supply solutions to address the needs of healthcare educators. In turn, this will elevate patient safety, which is the goal of everything we do. This is achieved by starting in the classroom. We want to work hand-in-hand with healthcare educators to understand and address changes that occur in the industry.
View the most recent Demo Dose catalog here.
Justina Luckey is the Business Development Manager at Pocket Nurse.
