Insulin and Levophed drips on cardiovascular unit

Specialties Cardiac

Published

This is something new coming to us nurses on the floor, we have 4 pts each but somedays it can be 5 pts. We have an A side which is the more critical and post op day 1 CABG's then the B side which aren't as critical. Total of 48 rooms.

These drips are usually managed in the ICU, any tips or points to bring up in the future unit meetings? Many of us are worried.

Specializes in ICU.

Seriously- If they opened up another ICU, Im sure they would have no prob. filling the beds

I guess this is what they mean when they say pts are getting sicker and sicker.

^^this.

Had the meeting today concerning the drips; suppose to last couple hours. Haha

This is impossible for us on the floor, the program will alert you when an blood sugar needs checked, which can be q15 min and we have to carb count then bolus the patient which u will need a witness everytime. Cluster is what it is! Then went on to Levophed drips......yup lets throw them in too! Oh and no consideration of how many pts u have either, TL got mad at one time and made the comment "there's hospitals doing this and they have 6 pts" there is no compromise with this, the best part is this starts live Monday Jan 21!!!!! Are u kidding me? Of course all these great ideas have came from management who spend their time behind a desk and leave at 530pm, I pray that nothing bad happens but afraid it's going to take something happening to show we can't have 4-5 pts with these drips.

Specializes in PCCN.

^^^ time to look for another job:(

You need to find another job, you are risking your license to work on this unit and I would probably report them to state as well for endangering patients (after I left)..... OP you can't get out of there fast enough!! Our max on insulin gtts was 3pts and we had q1hr accuchecks. Levophed is just dangerous to have on the floor.

Run. Run fast. Run hard. Don't look back. Levo on the floor is an absolute no-no--Very dangerous for patients and very dangerous for an RN with 4-6 patients to be trying to juggle. To me, it's absolutely insane to even suggest something so ridiculous.

Our facility doesn't send out vasoactives, central lines or art lines, or insulin gtts to the floor or step-down. Ever. Under any circumstances. We are max 2 patients in ICU--I've only been tripled once in 1.5 years, and it was only for an hour or so.

I just can't believe anyone who knows anything about these drugs would even suggest such a thing.

Specializes in PCCN.

Because facilities are trying to see what they can get away with.

How stupid in this day and age of litigation.

But , of course, they will blame the nurse and throw them under the bus, then hire one of the millions of nurses who don't have a job due to over saturation.

:-(

Those are my thoughts too, they really don't care about the staff they have. The new team leader is willing to do whatever for the docs, and yes us hard working nurses will be thrown under the bus and then ran over.

Specializes in Cardiac.

I work on a cardiac/step down ICU. Our max is a 4 patient load. We have insulin gtts a lot but our MST's do the finger sticks. We do allow Levo on our floor; however if your patient is placed on it you automatically go to two patients. We are never allowed to have it with more than two.

Specializes in PCCN.

^^ what if you are already running short to begin with that you wouldnt be able to go to 2 pts?

Specializes in Cardiac.
^^ what if you are already running short to begin with that you wouldnt be able to go to 2 pts?

Then the pt has to go to CCU.

Specializes in PCCN.

wow- I guess some places are better than others.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I have seen some PCU/Stepdown units with a lower nurse patient ratio that have bedside and central monitoring....where most of the patients are on "Eagle" or satellite monitors that have portable bedisde monitors with noninvasive monitoring (B/P SaO2) and the ICU/PCU nurses are interchangeable ....where this can be done safely. However most PCU/Stepdown units are not set up for this intensive of a patient and that is what makes it not a very safe situation.

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