Are family members asking you for med advice?

[dorselm]

I will graduate as a diploma RN in Dec 08 and recently my brother-in-law became sick and wouldn't you know it, his wife calls me to see if I know what's wrong with him.

My 2 yr old niece starts having severe diarrhea and of course my sister runs to my house to ask me what I think.

My daughter has suddenly become a hypochrondiac with a new condition everyday on just about every part of the body imaginable.

I almost hate to pick up the phone when a family member calls, I tell them, even when I become a nurse, I am not the family health center, do what you've done before I entered the field, talk to your doctor!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kassie1kalel]

you know that I have that happen to me and I do enjoy offering what I have learned and I just also read up on whatever it may be that they are saying. I like to gather all the s/s and see what I put together so after they do get seen by a Dr, I like to see if I was right. but I always throw in that little advice to go see their Dr or go to the hospital. B/C I am not a nurse yet and I think even when I do become a RN I will never have all the answers.

[RDH-NrsgStudent]

I'm only in my 2nd semester of NS, and I get all the questions as well....even from my own husband!! LOL They always start with, "Hey, Miss Nurse Woman...." or "You're the nurse, so...." Uh, not for another YEAR, thank you!

Also...I've been a dental hygienist for 14 yrs., and I always get the "I have a toothache, what do you think it is? Oh my gosh, do I need a root canal???!" phone calls. Uh, let me see if I can visualize your tooth through the phone. Good grief! So, I KNOW it's going to be even worse when I become a full-fledged RN!

[aerorunner80, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN]

My answer to people who try to do that to me is that I'm in nusring school. I don't know it all nor have I ever claimed to. There's a reason I'm in school.

Then I go tell them to see the doc.

[Fiona59]

Sigh. . . That makes me very wary of the quality of your nursing education. I for one had Nursing Care for Poodles in first semester. :lol: Seriously though, as soon as I got my first stethoscope, I became information central for all my friends and family. They still don't seem to grasp the idea that I cannot and will not diagnose them!

Don't laugh, my dog's Dr. uses the same stethoscope as me.

I just treat the dog as a small human. Polysporin on cuts.

Here's the weird one, pediatric benedryl can be used if you don't have any prescribed by the vet. And it's a lot cheaper.

Now, I don't try and treat anything with beaks or feathers.

[whatchamacallits]

I always say "Gee, I wouldn't even begin to guess..." after a few times they get the hint.

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

They ask me for advice routinely. I'll share what I know about the drug but I won't actively encourage its use. One thing I've noticed is that more I learn about medications- even over the counter medications, the more I hesitate/discourage their use unless absolutely necessary.

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

Don't laugh, my dog's Dr. uses the same stethoscope as me.

I just treat the dog as a small human. Polysporin on cuts.

Here's the weird one, pediatric benedryl can be used if you don't have any prescribed by the vet. And it's a lot cheaper.

Now, I don't try and treat anything with beaks or feathers.

Actually- and I don't want to usurp any veterinarians here- dogs require a significant amount of benadryl to achieve a therapeutic level. I was instructed to give one-half of a regular adult pill (25mg) to my 15 lb dog. I believe I was told the appropriate dose was 1-2 mg/Kg, but don't quote me on that!

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I always tell family that well, I'm not a doctor..but here's what your med does.

Also, when it comes to medical advice...well, what did your doc say?

[Crux1024]

I always suggest one thing to anyone who asks...Webmd.com

Even now i use it just for general information about anything health related. If I want more in depth, Ive got my books.

[txnursingqt]

I am not even in NS yet...just taking pre-reqs but my in-laws already fall into the "oh she is going to be a nurse so ask her" thinking. I normally tell them generally what could be wrong but that they need to see a Dr and ask them. But I do try to give them an idea of what it could be.

But I must say that even before I decided to go to NS people have always come to me with these types of questions. That is one reason that I am told that nursing is my calling.

It does annoy me a little when they just assume that I know stuff but my DH says that I should be honored that they think of me in that way! Yeah right!!!!!

[pinkiepie_RN]

I don't mind the basic questions that I can answer like basic first aid and stuff like that, but my mom is the worst about this sometimes! My brother has had MRSA before and when he had a recent outbreak again, my mom called me to have me check out some info about his abx. She was like "I've never heard of these because the doctor said they're new and I want you to find out if they're commonly given and how well they work." I told her to ask the doctor! I know a very limited amount of drugs and I don't any of my brother's symptoms or what is best for the situation. She's also called me because she was perscribed some stuff for her shoulder and stopped taking it because it wasn't working. She called me to ask what she should do. It is not my job as a nursing student to dx anything and doctors go through years of school to do that! *sigh* Though I'm always interested in lab values and test results, stuff like that. I can talk about that kind of information. :)

[MoonRising]

When I was in Pharmacy Tech school people asked for medical advice. When I was doing prequisites for nursing school and while I was in my first term of NS school everyone asked for advice. I kinda understand asking while I was in NS school but why Pharmach Tech school? We don't diagnose patients. I'm just a pill pusher *smile*