dumb conscious sedation questions

[julezzz26]

Quick questions about conscious sedation:

1. Does it matter which medication you give first, fentanyl or versed or do you mix them and give together?

2. How much time do you have to wait in between administering them if they are not mixed?

3. Does the patient have to be on a cardiac monitor?

Thanks in advance :)

[Booty Nurse, BSN]

Wow, I had no idea non-CRNA's were doing all of this...

What do various states BON's say about this?

In Vermont, and I believe this is true in most states also, an RN is allowed to provide conscious sedation, but there are strict guidelines in place: VT BON statement - scroll way down to #25

Some states allow RNs to administer Propofol, but many do not; nurse-administered Propofol is very controversial.

[Magnolia08]

I will take the advice. Here in Georgia an LPN can start and IV and push certain meds but they should be IV certificed to be safe. I learned all about IV therapy in LPN school, but nothing about pushing conscious sedation meds and narcotics like Fentanyl. The Anesthesiologist performs the procedures (such as lumbar steroid injections etc..) He is right there by me in the room at all times. A medical assistant is usually in the room too and he will ask me to draw up and push those meds. I also have to mix up antibiotics such as Ancef with certain procedures and inject them into normal saline bag before procedure. The procedures usually take 20-40 minutes. Anyway I am not IV certified and only learned IV therapy in school so I would not be prepared to intubate in an emergency so the doc would have to do it! I only have BLS training. When I looked on the Go Board of nursing website it states that there is not an approved list of activities for LPN's. That is just crazy! They also state that we are encouraged to review the legal definition of practical nursing on their site which I could not find. I will be calling them tomorrow. Anyone who has any advice is welcome to respond to this reply as well.:wink2: