OR Nurse on Call Doing ER Conscious Sedation

[jimls2]

I come from a 3 Room OR. We take call for OR, Trauma, and GI Lab. The ER Director wants the OR Nurse on call to be called in to do Conscious Sedation for ER patients so her ER Nurses are free to do other things. Is anyone else doing this and if so what is your P & P.

Thanks,

Jim

[DIPLOMATICRN4HIRE, MSN, RN]

At most of the hospitals I have worked at (Im a traveler) once they hear that you are able to do and are comfortable with Conscious sedations, you are basically on call to a few depts. One it frees up the other nurses to do their jobs while You can monitor and do the job. The P&P were the same as when I was in the OR. Same paper work,and monitoring system was portable. I enjoy doing conscious sedations in the ER, they are so thankful that your there because it does free them up for another patient.

I Hope things go well for you

Zoe

[shodobe]

It is hard enough covering your own call for the OR department. Add on someone elses work only makes it tougher. I don't mind the idea of helping out other departments when it is needed, but I don't think it is a good idea to make it a requirement to cover call for those departments. You will be taken advantage over and over again. I have been taking call for the OR for 25 years and don't mind going to the L&D to scrub a C/section when they are desperate, but I want to do it on my own terms. Mike

PS, there is no P&P at my hospital, it is purely voluntary.

[l.rae]

in my er, we do our own CS

[meandragonbrett]

At my facility anesthesia comes down and does it.

[chartleypj]

Originally posted by shodobe

It is hard enough covering your own call for the OR department. Add on someone elses work only makes it tougher. I don't mind the idea of helping out other departments when it is needed, but I don't think it is a good idea to make it a requirement to cover call for those departments.

I agree; after all the purpose of being on call for the OR is for emergancies IN the OR. What would happen if you were tied up in another department and a surgical emergancy arrived in the ER or a post-op pt. from earlier in the day began bleeding?

I've covered call in my department for over 25 years; we cover just the OR.

Good luck,

Paula

[sharann, BSN, RN]

Unless you have been specifically trained in CS, you should refuse. This is a big "iffy" area. Let them get anesthesia to do it, or a procedure nurse should be hired.(Yeah, right I know)

Check with your Nurses Practice Act on this one too.