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Discussion

do dialysis nurses administer narcotics?

Hello dialysis nurses!

I'm seeking advice regarding narcotics...I have been in recovery for over 5 years now after struggling with addiction to pain medication (started after having heart surgery). It was a miracle to get clean and even start working again in the ICU (I never thought I'd be able to handle it, but after a few years of being clean, I went back to ICU and did well for a long time) Unfortunately, I've been under a lot of stress lately, and those old thoughts of using have come back- I've been going to meetings, talking to my sponsor, etc. but the thoughts keep coming and my recovery needs to come first. I think it's time to consider working in a "safe" environment where I'm not tempted to use. I'm considering a job at an outpatient dialysis center- does anyone know if dialysis nurses administer narcotics?

Thank you!!!

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    • Featured Replies

    I work in an out patient clinic (one of the big two) and we don't even have anything like that in the building. The only pain reliever we have on hand is Tylenol, period. Honestly, after working in a rural hospital on med surg with plenty of opiate addicts for patients, this was one of the most appealing aspects of the job. However, if you're used to the pace of ICU nursing you might be bored in dialysis because there's actually downtime...hell you might even get to take a real lunch break!

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    • Expert

    I'm an APRN in a large nephrology practice and I see pts in both FMC and Davita outpt hemodialysis units.

    There are no narcotics available.

    I will say though that per Federal law I do write for narcotics and in some instances must leave the script with the nurse to give to the patient during the next dialysis session.

    So, no narcotics readily available but scripts available. Would that be an issue?

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    • Author

    No, that sounds great! Thanks

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    I do inpatient acutes and if the patient needs pain medication during treatment, the floor nurse has to pull it from their own pyxis and deliver it to the patient. I'm not even allowed to open the package

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    I work in Alcohol and substance dependency program, we "take care of" many professional providers and 99% go back to same pathway career, but is so difficult for nurses and PA's.

    There is some improvement/" awareness" but somehow still medical providers are more judged by "union" and "professional license organizations". They suppose to help to find the best job after recovery, but the reality is different.

    Anyway, I really understand, how difficult it is for nurses, since the job side could be stressful.

    As for Chronic Dialysis units- no narcotics available in the unit, but the clients gets prescriptions and all goes to ISTOP. In the Acute Dialysis in 2010-2013 Montefiore Hospitals RN give narcotic medication in ICU, by regulation in the setting. Both Acute and Chronic Dialysis settings are stressful environment.

    Good Luck

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