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HELLO! Yes Atropine dosage at this point in time are too low.I've given more in the last hours of death and it does help,ALOT!!!!! Our Medical Director knows we do it,but there is no written order. Cancer.org give .4ml sq ever 15 min. How can "WE" get this info out and help more pt.s have a more peaceful death?? I hope y'all will talk this out with me. Thanks

Thank you, I do know there PRN's :) It just seemed that every post I read called the Dr. 1st. We never do it,so I wanted input. Take care

It seemed to me that I've read y'all have the "end of life med order's ie atropine/ativan/oms etc. on admission and alot have written that they notify the Dr. before starting them. (when the pt. is at the end of their life.) I wasn't sure if this was a Law. I'm not talking about prn's or scheduled meds. Thanks for your input

Hello,It seems every Post I read the RN calls the Doctor BEFORE they can START end of life Medications. Is this a Federal LAW??? State by State?? Do you HAVE to reach the On call Dr. working Eve. or Night shift or can you leave a message? THANKS ALOT FOR ANY INPUT

Thanks everyone for your reply's. I'm still not understanding why the Cancer.org gives.4mg q15 min. SQ.&If not working,THEN scopolamine I.V!!! and every hospice Nurse that answered this says their order's are about 1-2 drops q1 prn!! Which I know with 20+ years as a Hospice R.N. most of the time doesn't work! As you all can Imagine all of our Hospice Nurses are upset and trying to "get" to a standard order! Our Medical Director is now not standing by what she said! We all know That what this Day Nurse is going through could have been one of us! THANKS for ANY input!!!

I've been a hospice Nurse for over 20 years,worked in at least 3 different agency's. Where I work now has a "unwritten" order(by the Medical Director) to place one very,very long pressure on the bottle q 1! Now one of the Nurses on the dayshift is in the mist of a civil suit that she "hasten a death" by giving 2000n/g of atropine. ( 2000n/g = 0.002mg.)OF COURSE she was only trying to stop the pt. from drowning! Which ALOT of atropine DOES DO!! Cancer web site says 0.4MG Q 15 min,then if NO help IV scapalmine!! Needless to say Atropine is the unsung hero when pts are DROWNING,but EVERY HOSPICE seems to use it in their own way! I'd love some feedback about this subject.Has anyone else ran into this kind of "trouble" by family members? Thank you to anyone that can shed some light on this:redbeathe:redbeathe:redbeathe

I'd like to have nurses talk about atropine, I've given more then ordered at the last hours.( It does help) WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS?