RN92

hand mittens are wonderful in this situation. it is the least level of restraint (in my opinion). and they cant pick at anything.

dont forget: someone who isnt afraid to ask...when they dont know. Scariest nurses are the ones who know everything.

check with the state board, also.

the pt could have aspirated. i know you probably reported it to the md, right? he should have ordered a chest xray. was the tube secured? and how? just curious.

it depends on the census. if you have a high census and are unable to give the meds 30 min before/after...maybe they need to reconsider staffing. if you start gettin written up for it, i'd be calling the supervisor to let her know if it wasnt going to be possible. at least then you could cover yourself. it figures a pharmacist would make these kinds of decisions without considering the reality of a situation.

wow. in ms new grads start at 19 something.

I agree with everyone. HIPPA is there for a reason and you either follow it for everybody or not at all. I can see where people would think "its not that serious, you can make an exception for me...Im her daughter "(for example). Truth is I dont know you're who you say you are. Family and friends will have to learn that its not personal, its just the law.

Hi. I just started back working at a very small town hospital - you know the one, where everybody knows everybody elses personal lives, the Docs all have the buddy system and meet at the country club on Wed's for golf. I work with a lot of (much) older nurses who still think that if the Doc orders it, they have to do it. (huh?). There is one Doc known for her "euthenasia" efforts. I had an 82 yo nsg home pt who was on his last leg. Diagnosis: aspiration pneumonia, old age, etc.. she writes an order for Morphine 2mg IV q4hrs prn for pain. They guys bp stayed around 84/42 even without morphine. She convinced the family that he needed something for pain so that he could rest better. He was comatose! There was no way I was giving him morphine. the family got upset and I get called into the managers office the next day for refusing to carry out a Dr.'s order. It was just a slap on the wrist, but come on. The week before, she had made one of my elderly pts a no code. In the chart she wrote that she talked to the family and my coworker was present. I asked her about it and she got so upset, she said that she never witnessed that conversation - and when asked, the family knew nothing about it. All she could do was make a note in the chart. I cant believe this stuff still goes on.

I just watched an episode of Smallville. They did shock asystole and guess what? It didnt work - he died. (they also gave NO medications, just shocked):angryfire The patients girlfriend was crying over his body and the nurses grabbed her and told her that she had to leave. Once they pushed her out, they pulled the cover over pts face and all walked out!! So much for allowing family to grieve. We wouldnt want them to touch dead pts, it might be catchy.!? I cant help but get aggravated at that kind of junk.

I work in Memphis TN ER. Every August during "Elvis death week", we get bombarded with Elvis "look-a-likes" - mostly intoxicated, few Diabetics out of control, etc...One in particular, is a regular. Once his blood sugar gets closer to normal, he'll sing for us and other pts (whether we want him to or not).

I've done both, too. You will learn/master different skills in each dept. Personally, I like being in the ER - kind of like solving a mystery....is this pt really sick and if so, what is it? I, also, dont care about having the same pt everyday all day as in the rest of the hospital.

Just curious what his diagnosis is. He obviously has some "mental limitations" (whether its abnormal lab related, mr related, etc..). He needs something stronger to sleep at night...talk with the Doc. Depending on what the cause is...if feasible - you need to set limitations with him. Let him know you cant be at his beck and call and that the call light does not gaurantee "speedy" service. Also, on your end...try and anticipate what his usual requests are ahead of time. I'm sure you've tried some of this - be firm, very firm with him - and get him well so he can go home.

Luckily, cathing a lady parts is (most of the time) not painful. One way I can tell Im in the right place is by the shriek!

In the hospital, we always do it sterile tech... However, when I did home health, pts families were taught clean tech. The theory being that - teaching sterile tech for pts at home - just isnt feasible.

I know this is wandering off of the subject...I took Paxil for over 10yrs - and it worked great. Then over the last year, it just QUIT. I had forgotten how bad my depression could get. Im now on Lexapro (3mo). Not too impressed with it. How long did it take for it to help you.??