Bladder Scanner

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Nursing Assessment or Nursing Intervention that requires an order ???

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Specializes in Home Care.

Can you please word your question clearly.

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Specializes in Gerontology RN-BC and FNP MSN student.

Nursing assessment or interventions fall under Nursing care planning....not medical orders.

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You dont need an order to bladder scan. You may often see a dr order them q 4 or 6 hours but if you think you need to do it for whatever reason you can just do it.

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Yeah . I didn't think you need a Doctor's orders to bladder scan a patient since you are assessing them at that point. You do need a order to straight cath a patient . I had a MD questioning me why do I have to call him for an order to straight cath a patient after bladder scanning the patient . Based on his belief that should be done out of nursing judgment !!! Of course I explained to him that we can bladder scan all we want but if we need to intervene with a foley or etc , we need an order from him .

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Specializes in medsurg, progressive care.

I had a doctor ask me the other day why I bladder scanned a patient. We took their foley out at 3pm (start of my shift) and by 11:00 (end of my shift) the patient hadn't voided. Uhhh are you really asking me that? Policy states that if a patient doesn't pee within 8 hours of foley removal, call the doctor. If I call the doctor and say a patient hasn't voided, they're going to tell me to bladder scan and then, based on results, straight cath. Why WOULDN'T I bladder scan this patient?? Then the doctor refused to start fluids because "this patient has been here 6 days, I'm not going to be the one to start fluids". Really?! Luckily I had this patient for 5 days straight and little home slice voided the next shift.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Performing a bladder scan on a patient is noninvasive. At my workplace, we can do them on patients who have not voided in a predetermined amount of time or on patients who are displaying symptoms of urinary retention.

Of course, we need to notify the physician for any abnormal findings to see how (s)he wishes to proceed.

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.

We now have protocol retention orders which are a blessing! No more calls for orders to straight cath.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
We now have protocol retention orders which are a blessing! No more calls for orders to straight cath.
Same here. Protocol at my workplace is to go ahead and do a straight cath if the bladder scan result shows a post void residual of 250mL or greater.
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i think its a faculity policy. At our hospital you have to have a doctors order to bladder scan. Even though when you call the dr. and tell them patient is having trouble going or is retaining urine the first thing they ask is Have you scan them?

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

We do not have to have a physician order to bladder scan, that's silly! In my opinion that is a part of nursing assessment. Good lord next you will need an order to assess someone's lung sounds using a stethoscope...

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.

New question:

We just implemented applying nursing charges when a pt is bladder scanned for the first time. Anyone else do this?

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