wilsonsrn

I have taken care of patients who were useing prescribed Marinol in the past. Many have told me that smoking pot worked better for them and I know of at least one of my former patients who stopped Marinol because of side effects in favior of smoking pot, in that he felt more incontol of the doseing (Marinol being to strong for him). The biggest problem I have with Marijuana is that seems to increase psychotic symptoms in my psychiatric patients (I am a psych nurse). I feel pot should be contraindicated in patinets with a history psychosis. There are other chemicals in pot other than THC and little research has been done on how diffirent straines of Marijuana plants affect targeted symptoms. In Michigan we seem to have ingoried this issue and just told people to grow thier own. How are we going to collect any real objective data when we do not know the exact product being used? I think it would be much more in line with Evidence Based Practice if we had a system that limited the product to a few varities of this plant and collected data in a more controled mannior. To say that pot has no benifit in the relief of suffering for some patients is in my opinion to deny the reality of what a very many of our patients are telling us. Our role as nurses is to help find what is helpfull and what hurts. If nurses are to be relivent part of this issue, it is our duty to study and whigh in on the side of inproved patient care based on fact and not preformed biases. I think we all agree that drug abuse is a big issue. Use is another. We nurses need to help educate the public on the difference between the two. First we need to educate ourselves. How about some controled studies? It may be time to reclass this drug so we can better sort out the issues useing Evidence Based Research. Any one reading this know of any we can read? If so please post!

We need more research to base our opinions on.

I am a Psychiatric RN working at Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall Michigan. We have devoloped a psychchiatric fall risk assessment tool. The "WilsonSims" assessment tool. It is easy to use and we belive it was helpfull in cutting the fall rate on our unit by 50%. We are currently working on having it valadated. Interest in use at another hospital inpatient psych unit is welcome. Feel free to contact me for more info. Steve