Home Nurse - Quadriplegics

student456 · Nov 5, 2007

you describe me!

i take care of a women part time during School that has ALS and who is on a vent, trached and has a G tube. I administer all medications as well. She is totally immobile and depends on us caregivers. I have catherized her before too to get a urine sample. Its a very interesting job to have during nursing school :)

sounds like our jobs are pretty similar

student456 · Nov 5, 2007

wow i guess your lucky that he has a care staff of 20...the woman i take care of has only 7 of us to take 24/7 care of her and 3 of us are in nursing School we so only work a few hrs on the weekend usually.

SarahLovesNovember, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2007

Yeah, he's lucky as well as us. I'm getting my RN and have my LNA right now...we also administer meds and the such. Great pay too...it's a lucky position to have during my schooling. He doesn't like to have his nurses working too much because he knows it's tiring. He's amazing though. He's still a part time high school teacher and getting his Master's...he inspires me...truthfully.

Noryn · Nov 5, 2007

It really seems that the rules are completely different for spinal cord injuries. In nursing school you are warned about the consequences of frequent enemas, etc but with a SCI (in general) they will get a bowel program every day or two preferably at the same time. Also in spinal cord injuries Foley catheters are bad, intermittent catheterization is much better but this is not always possible. Probably the biggest thing though is pressure relief. A pressure sore can put someone out for over a year if not kill them (Christopher Reeve).

These people have great courage and they are inspiring but just be ready to learn and know that there are many things that are done "differently."

SarahLovesNovember, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2007

Oh yeah...most definitely the case. Intermittent cathing is procedure. We actually cath him about 8 times a day. Crazy. And I never knew that high blood pressure usually means that his bladder is full. So many things to watch for. I gotta say though, that brushing his teeth has been the most flustering experience for me. I have to learn all the basics so I can cover all shifts eventually, but because he's fully alert, he let's you know if you missed a tooth while flossing or brushing and to be honest, I've never had to do that before. It's a different experience for me. Lol

caliotter3 · Nov 13, 2007

I've had several patients like this. What I find astounding is that this gentleman has a staff of 20. He is a very lucky patient. Hope that you are able to maintain a good working relationship. You will be able to learn a lot while working with him.

katiekoo · Sep 25, 2011

I'm glad to find someone else who has experience in caring for quads. I just finished my 1st week of working with a quadriplegic patient, whose SCI occured in May of 2011 (roughly 4 months ago). I had a crash course (one day of training), then I was on my own for the next two days. I provide 3 hours of care in the morning and 3 hours of care in the evening, so not that bad. What is eye-opening to me is how many little steps that you have to remember and how to stage/plan your care. The transfer with the hoyer lift and sling is my most challenging aspect of it all.

Anyone know of any good websites that I can find a step-by-step procedure for transfers? Everything out there I can find uses actors that are NOT quadriplegics! Not real enough for me...

Another issue, is the newness of the injury. I know the patient is angry, frustrated, ****** off, etc. Luckily, I have the maturity to not take it personally. I hope that after my learning curve and with more experience with him, these tense moments become fewer. Until then, I have to just keep smiling and get to know how to provide the best care possible for him.