need higher medical support

[brotherbear3]

Need some advise.

I am currently working as a LVN campus nurse in a small private college that is not wealthy. I am the only medically trained person on campus. I have been told I need to find someone that I can go to for medical advice. I work under the umbrella of counseling.

At the moment if I don't know what the problem is, or if its something out of my scope of practice I just send them to an MD, depending on their insurance. Additionally, if I need to bring in flu shots or TB testing I have to contract it out.

Due to lack of money we cannot hire a NP/PA, at the moment. does anyone have any ideas? perhaps a website that supports nurses?

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Honestly, if I were you, I would start looking for another job, NOW. Before something happens.

Due to my unusual education history, there was a time when I was constantly asked to be a counselor of a sort, and so I'd seen things to remember. "Some sore throat" which turned out to be mononucleosis, two days before first day of NICU clinicals. "Heart beating fast" and near faint before final, after sleepless night and lots of coffee... VTach, viral cardiomyopathy, thanks God that it was caught in time. "Just feeling weak" and cramping a bit female, extrauterine pregnancy.

All these cases turned out just fine, but it was A WHOLE LOT of pure luck and/or the God's grace and my gut feeling to call 911 and get more knowledgeable folks onboard right that moment. I wouldn't advise anyone in the whole world to sit under "counselor" umbrella seeing people with all sorts of symptoms and making himself responsible for their well-being. These people may be young and generally healthy, and 99% of their symptoms may be totally innocent, but there is always that 1%.

I would try to explain that a person whose scope of practice doesn't include diagnosing can easily sent a young female student whose periods never were regular and who is feeling cramps and a bit dizzy and tired after night in town home if her blood pressure is still high enough and she doesn't want pregnancy test right away. At home, she will go to bed and either die there or, hopefully, found and rushed to hospital for emergency surgery, because she would have extrauterine pregnancy, the condition about which you might know but have no means to diagnose except to send every female sexually active student to doctor for pretty much anything except finger cuts and cat scratches. And if you somehow miss it, you AND those in the college who couldn't find money to hire a a doctor or mid-level provider will be held responsible. If you higher ups still don't hear, get a REALLY good mslpractice insurance first, then get out of there.