I'm a fish out of water in my new 'home' AND TRYING TO ADJUST...lol!
Rural LTAC who will be doing some surgeries(even pedi) and acute obs patients. No ER. No doc on premesis. BUT a 5 bed ICU where they want us to be able to 'do just about everything an ICU could handle including pedi' which I'm having some trouble with ...as no doc or CRNA around.....I'm NOT a pedi ICU nurse either which concerns me.
Asked my administrator the other day what my responsibility will be if a chest pain drives up. (even tho we do NOT have an ER perse it happens) Call EMS and do what you can til they get there was the answer, which is fine. But if they need intubation what then? He said "You have ACLS, right?" Well yah but I've never intubated and really don't WANT to......so how do others in this situation cope with this?? Guess I would bag and let RT deal with it til EMS arrive.....?
But inpatients will be expected to be managed in our 5 bed ICU and I'm concerned a bit about what I'm getting into and the liability associated...sounds like we will be expected to 'handle' a lot of stuff with no physician around ..how do other small facilities deal with this stuff????
Sorry I am rambling here...new experience for me and have been very spoiled up to now I guess...have always had an ER doc and anesthesia around to help....along with doctors hanging around to grab for that unexpected patient deterioration...
Anybody have any hints about questions I need to ask my DON and/or policies we should be writing to protect us?? I am having an uneasy feeling this stuff is not being addressed yet and I may be biting off more than I wish to chew....LOL!!! Maybe I'm wrong....
kellystaceya
1 Post
has anyone work at a select specialty hospital that closed due to low census how much notice do they give?