Homemade Pyxis

Jessica Hoy

Pyxis products were expensive and out of our budget. Our center used a box with drawers similar to a home garage for storing small fasteners.

We had a procedures cart that was underutilized. By combining pieces of the parts box with the cart and a touchscreen laptop, I created a no-cost pyxis.

• The learner will use computer systems to identify the correct medications for a specific patient during simulation.
• The learner will implement the seven rights of medication administration in simulation with checks at the pyxis station.

• procedures cart
• laptop with touch screen and MS PowerPoint
• small boxes/containers
• sharps container
• drug book
• medication administration supplies
• demonstration medications
• (optional) MS Excel spreadsheet

1. (Optional but helpful) Create a spreadsheet with a numbered grid and “place” your medications in the grid boxes. Download Medication Pyxis drawer layouts in the Files section for visuals. You may need more than one drawer depending on the number of medications and the size of your small boxes/containers.

2. Number these containers and drawers to correspond with your spreadsheet. If you do not have a spreadsheet, you must still number the containers and drawers.

3. Fill your boxes or containers with medications and place them in the corresponding drawers of the procedure cart. 

4. Create an MS PowerPoint slide show on the laptop with a main slide with the floor census and a slide for each client. Download the Test Out Pyxis PowerPoint file in the Files section for an interactive example.

5. Create location slides with each drawer and grid box number. 

6. Hyperlink the location slides to the medications listed on the client slide. Location slides can be hyperlinked to more than one client.