KSSRN

Thank God we don't do children in our department, so in answer to your question-no we don't sedate them. I would certainly do my research on the drugs used, policy, etc., before I would even attempt to do this. Perhaps you should present this question as a "new thread". Your question gets lost because it is listed under the "Does anyone use the WITT system to document". It is a valid and important question and I bet there are a lot of nurses who could give you advise if they were aware of your question.

In the last year our cardiac cath lab has been using the WITT system for documentation. Most of the time the lab is staffed by two RT's and one RN. As the RN my responsibility is to sedate and monitor the patient. One RT assists the physician and the other RT circulates and documents the case on WITT. My concern is that the physician and I are the only ones signing the document after it is printed. Most of the time I agree with what is printed, most of the RT's are very careful about adding text to clarify what is being done, the correct time it was done, etc. However, the main computer is in the control room and there is usually other activity going on in there and occasionally I am concerned that they are not paying as much attention to the case as they should. (There is a slave computer in the room with me but to use it my back is to the patient.) A few times I have gone as far as only signing the Sedation sheet and the vital sign sheet and refusing to sign the rest. Does anyone have any suggestion/advise?

Thank you both for your responses to my question. I'm fairly new to the cath lab and it has been interesting reading all the topics addressed in this web site. I don't want to give the wrong impression here. Our lab is a very close group, RN's and RT's. We rarely discuss this topic. Its just that I still get a feeling that the RN's are being told that we cannot scrub because the RT's cannot give meds. Yes, our IVCS policy is also very clear that only RN's can sedate, which I feel is very appropriate. And "most" of the time we are not able to scrub because we are monitoring the patient. I just feel that it would be beneficial to me and the other RN's to learn to scrub, as one of you stated, to get a better feel for what is happening. Yes we observe and know what is going on, but all the RN's would like to have a little "hands on" experience. Again, thanks for your responses.

I have worked as an RN in an Interventional Cath Lab for almost 2 years now. We have 3 rooms and each room is staffed with 2 RT's and 1 RN or 2 RN's and 1 RT. Either way the RT is the only one who is allowed to scrub in to assist the physician. Recently I approached our manager (who is also an RT) and asked her if the RN's could learn to scrub and assist. I was told that we could not. We would have to have been grandfathered in? Does anyone know what that means? Several years ago the cath lab was staffed by RT's only. They gave meds, including IVCS. The first RN staffed in the lab met horrible resistance. During the last few years our cath lab has hired more RN's, we are up to 6 now. Up until the last 2 years the cath lab was a horrible place for an RN to work. I attribute the change to the attitude of the current nurses. We have an average of 10 years of critical care experience and are comfortable with who we are and what we know. We don't feel the need to strong arm our way into the lab. The RT's have realized that we are an asset to the lab and not a threat. Plus most of them are young and have never worked in a lab that did not have RN's. Yet we still have a few that are opposed to our learning to scrub. We are not wanting to replace them, we just want to learn how. Is there a law or rule that states nurses are not allowed to scrub/assist?