Hi. Im new to this but excited to possibly get some ideas. I work in a state psych hospital adult admissions unit. I have a 47yo female patient with diagnosis of depression with psychosis. She does not feel the need to eat or take meds, as her spirit voices tell her that God will take care of her. She states she is a Christian. When told that Jesus ate after his 40 day fast, and that he also fed his disciples, and the multitudes, she begins to cry and says she is on a different path. She has an indwelling NGT
and receives nutritional supplements and meds via the tube.
She has been tolerating the TID feedings without problem. How-
ever the tube is beginning to irritate her nares and throat. An attempt was made to change the NGT to the other nares, but she has a deviated septem. She has had a tube for about 6 weeks. Had it for a month prior to admission, and has been on the ward for about two weeks. She complained of oral discomfort yesterday, so I encouraged her to use oral swabs, as toothbrushes are too rough. Her skin is very dry. She is a good candidate for a G-tube, as she is essentially healthy. She does have a medication override in effect, and has been taking her meds via NGT since Thursday 9/4/03. She spends her days in her room lying quietly on her bed. She does not attend on-ward groups or really do much of anything. I can't wait til her meds kick in, and would love to figure out how to get her to eat so that she doesn't have to have a G-tube.
A N Y S U G G E S T I O N S W O U L D B E G R E A T L Y
Perhaps where you work it is acceptable, but regardless, locking the door can still have legal implications. It's not something I'd be real comfortable with doing whether it's accepted by the hospital or not.
PMHNP10
1,041 Posts
Perhaps where you work it is acceptable, but regardless, locking the door can still have legal implications. It's not something I'd be real comfortable with doing whether it's accepted by the hospital or not.