Re: How do you use the FAST Scale? Originally Posted by NurseAlwaysNForever 
I didn't want to make this an RN vs LVN thread so that is not where I am going with this at all. I truly respect my RN and acknowledge that she has had much more training and experience than I have and I recognize that 100%, but at my place of work as the LVN my opinion is less valued. My boss does not ever want to disagree with the RN's because 1, he is afraid of losing them, they are much harder to come by, and 2 he is an LVN himself. Whenever I or any other LVN raise a question we are told not to be "insubordinate" to our RN. So, that is my problem. I want to approach this very carefully so as not to ruffle any one's feathers. I have had 4 RN's in 2 years at this company and would not want to lose the one I have for anything. She is the first one that has truly helped me and been kind and compassionate to my patients. I do feel blessed to have her. She doesn't think that she is any better than me, but does tend to "mother/mentor" me as she is much older than I am and much more experienced. Maybe I am am a little hesitant to truly "argue" my opinion out of respect for her. I don't know how to put it. It's kind of complicated I guess.
All makes perfect sense, really. And I had no idea who was the RN and who was the LVN before you told me.
I know the issues of hierarchies and power can be tricky indeed.
As I said, I'm glad you mostly get along, and are doing well and right by your patients.
I'm just curious -- were you able to present the info I gave you to your partner and your boss? Has it made any difference?
Please, let me know if there is anything else I can do.
Oh, did a quick lit search and here's one more bit to add. Here is the abstract, and I've attached the full .pdf
Again, I hope this helps you make your point.
FAST Staging .pdf
Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
Functional and Global Evaluations
The GDS/FAST Staging System Stefanie Auer a1 and Barry Reisberg a1
a1 Aging and Dementia Research Center, New York University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
Abstract
Staging methodologies are an essential tool in the assessment of disease severity in progressive dementing illness. Several different instruments have been developed for this purpose. One of the most widely used methodologies is the Global Deterioration Scale/Functional Assessment Staging (GDS/FAST) system. This system has been studied extensively and proven to be reliable and valid for staging dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in diverse settings. One of the major advantages of this system is that it spans, demarcates, and describes the entire course of normal aging and progressive AD until the final substages of the disease process. Other advantages include: (a) greatly enhanced ability to track the longitudinal course of AD, (b) improved clinicopathologic observations of AD interrelationships, and (c) enhanced diagnostic, differential diagnostic, and prognostic information. This article presents a brief overview of the GDS/FAST staging system
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