how did they pass theyre boards??

GilaRRT · May 11, 2011

So far, you have not presented a case for administering a "breathing" treatment, assuming we are talking about giving adrenergics. The only recognised indication is bronchospasm and you have not presented a compelling casse of bronchospasm. In addition, you may want to look at spelling and grammar as people will generally not consider an argument from somebody who does not take the time to correct gross errors in spelling and grammar. I would be a bit more understand if you are foreign however. Otherwise, your argument is likely to backfire and you can expect to draw fire from other nurses on this site.

LTV950rn · May 11, 2011

She had every right to be mad, because you are unlicensed and were performing outside your scope of practice by administering a treatment. If you honestly felt that this patient was having a hard time breathing and you weren't being listened to, you could have gone above her head and reported it to either your supervisor or hers.

Part of being a nurse is assessing. While 92 is not a "normal" number for many, it certainly is not an emergency (generally speaking). There are other reasons his sats (not "stats") were abnormal. You mentioned he was nervous; perhaps anxiety led to him feeling he could not breathe. It was not up to you to decide what he needed and you should be written up for this. You cannot assess the patient as a nursing assistant.

I would further suggest working on your grammar and spelling, as both of these

skills are necessary when in nursing school. You will have many papers and care plans to write that require this.

Finally- take a piece of humble pie. I am always aware that I do not know everything and have much to learn. It would serve you well to be aware of this as well. Sorry to be so harsh, but you need a dose of reality here. You will have a lot of trouble in nursing school and in your career as a nurse if truly act the way you have written above.

Thankful RN,BSN · May 11, 2011

You need to "stay in your lane!" Also, learning how to spell won't hurt. :)

diane227, LPN, RN · May 11, 2011

It is important to assess the patient. If the nurse was not willing to come in and take a look at the patient, you should go and get another nurse or the charge nurse. A breathing treatment may not have been exactly indicated for this patient and a pulse ox reading can be misleading depending on the overall status of the patient and his/ her diagnosis. It is important to remember that a breathing treatment is considered a medication and you are not licensed to administer medications. Plus, please spell check.

reginachanana2660 · May 11, 2011

ok thanks for the suggestions about spelling i am not very good at it but no i am not foreign...and as a stna my first duty is to the patient. i see what you mean about going to her boss but it was 8 pm and she was the only charge nurse. so if i had to decide between calling 911 or putting on the breathing treatment come on you no what is the right desicion. i have to keep them safe an he could have been harmed.

GilaRRT · May 11, 2011

Do you even know what a breathing treatment does? Are you familiar with autonomic nervous physiology, G proteins, adenyl cyclase, cAMP, assessing for bronchospasm? Again, you appear to have been grossly negligent and acted well outside your scope of practice, yet have little understanding of the implications of your actions.

LTV950rn · May 11, 2011

"so if i had to decide between calling 911 or putting on the breathing treatment come on you no what is the right desicion. i have to keep them safe an he could have been harmed. "

Um, no. Call 911 if you really feel it is necessary then or at the very least, be vocal about your concern that the patient is having a hard time. A simple "Hey, I'm really worried about Mr. Jones in room 200. He seems to be having a lot of problems breathing. Can you go take a look at him?" Seriously, you are not getting it. You CANNOT give a treatment when you are unlicensed. You cannot assess as an unlicensed caregiver what he needs. It is just the way it is until you are educated as a nurse and pass your boards. Even then, it rarely is black and white.

Something else for you to know- the nurse assigned to that patient does have a license. If harm would come to the patient, despite you voicing your concerns, she will be the one in deep water, not you. I get that you were frustrated, but your course of action is wrong. You will be at risk of losing your job if you go beyond your scope of practice.

SaraO'Hara · May 11, 2011

"Breathing treatments" can cause paradoxical bronchospasm, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure...

Honestly, if a patient were fragile enough, a breathing treatment could be imagined to kill them.

Unless you've been trained to assess a patient and decide whether the treatment may be more harm than good, you have NO PLACE administering it.

reginachanana2660 · May 11, 2011

ok but put yourself in my shoes. would you just let the man sit there and not be able to breath or would you take 1 second and put it on him and let him be able to breath again? you no you would help him and i have a duty to help all my patience. or should i tell the man hey your nurse said your ok dont worry while he is yelling he cant breath? its called caring for your patience. she could have at least came to look at him.

boojum · May 11, 2011

If he was yelling, he could probably breathe pretty well...

allnurses Guide · May 11, 2011

ok thanks for the suggestions about spelling i am not very good at it but no i am not foreign...and as a stna my first duty is to the patient. i see what you mean about going to her boss but it was 8 pm and she was the only charge nurse. so if i had to decide between calling 911 or putting on the breathing treatment come on you no what is the right desicion. i have to keep them safe an he could have been harmed.

You could get fired for operating out of your scope. So could I for practicing out of my scope. You can go up the line as far as you want to. You don't have the education to make the decision on whether they are "safe" or not.

The only reason this became an issue is because you could see it and knew the pulse ox percent. The rest of the picture including other diagnoses and their signs and symptoms you will not be able to see. That is why it's the nurse's job to "keep them safe".

I would never ever disregard your input as far as his appearance, but you really need to stop justifying your decision to go ahead and give the patient a breathing treatment over the nurse's head.

Just to clarify: it is your job (and my job) to keep the patient safe from falling and other ways they could come to harm in the course of your normal duties! ! The CNAs, STNAs etc spend more time with the patient in many cases. :up: