[gpip]

Yesterday i took care of a pt with a oxymetric swan. I have worked on the unit as an RN since july and it is the 1st one I have seen. the older staff says it is the first one they have seen in about 3 years. how often do the rest of you see them and are they used properly.

[hollykate]

We use them all the time where I work- I have found that they are a little easier to operate and set up than the baxter swan. But now we are going to continuous C.O. (yay!) On our unit, yes, they are used properly (Do you mean, used by the staff- or put in indiscriminately?) The main trouble with Swans (of any type) is of course, user error. If all of you guys are unfamiliar with it, perhaps its time for the vendor to come and give an inservice. It is hard to keep up on all the different swans, etc....

[ratchit]

So, Holly..

When's your Swan inservice? Can I come?

[hollykate]

Now, Nurse Ratchit,
You know you are welcome any time we have a Swan inservice...Its just that "everyone" knows how to set them up in our unit (yeah right.)

[janicurn]

We have been using CCO swans for some time now. It is the most popular swan, since we don't have to shoot manual outputs. It is more manageable if you hook it up to an H connector so you can get CVPs at the flip of a stopcock. The biggest drawback is that the more fiberoptics you add, the greater incidence of swan failure (ie low light intensity. also not working when temp out of range. Simple oximetrics aren't used that much anymore in our units.