paranrs66

It's all good, you're entitled to your perspective, I have worked on Oncology, I have not invited anyone to move in with me but..."Family isn't about whose blood you have, it's about who you care about" to quote an intraspective colleague....Best regards....:)

LOL, She's not even working as a nurse while her new friend is living with her. Ok, then, Let's say you have a diabetic roommate, they have a diabetic crises, you intervene b/c as a trained RN you recognize a problem and interveine(sp). You "may" have saved their life b/c of what would've happened if you were not there. NOW she is your patient, guess she's moving out next week. Too bad... (;D, a little tongue and cheek) so to speek....Good thoughts from all though, every situation is different. Just do the RIGHT thing. And it is prudent to think about your license...don't forget the humans! The original poster simply wrote she "was a primary RN for a patient for about a year and then they got discharged and went back home out of state. I became friends with the mom and the little patient." and some people are saying you "shouldn't cross that line" by letting them crash at your place the night before they go in for a procedure....You can be a friend and a nurse, just don't be performing any medical procedures or giving medical advice to the little tyke, k? jmho It's just a place to sleep btw friends. Oh yeah, Other's are right, it would be better if you are NOT her primary care provider as a nurse at work anymore, but I have real friends who come into the ER all the time, and I take care of them, and it is not discussed between us except on their terms, in private. Big deal. They are glad to see a friendly face :)

the doc ordered it, you gave it. the patient didn't stop breathing, didn't die. IF he had stopped breathing, you could've bagged him for 20 minutes if it was IM, if IV it would wear off in a few minutes....what a terrible way this was handled. I'm sure some NM HERO saved the day by making a BIG deal out of this. "Investigated and Fired" LOL. Sounds like you should have said, "could you repeat that into my cell phone for my atty.? How about "investigated" and let's go from there. Dang! So Professional. What City does that NM live in, I don't wanna go there! Lol

OMG. What if I had a roommate that was a diabetic? What if someone I know has a cardiac arrest in front of me? What if a former patient saw me at the mall, had lunch, and choked on a chicken bone...Oh Please....maybe I missed something, but geez, if your scared to lose your license b/c you might have to "act" as an licensed RN, LOL, how do you make it in the world...If you are friends, and you wish to help, then do so. If you don't, b/c of whatever, then don't. And if you want to do some of that, set your personal boundries and stick to them. I once met a family that had nothing, mother had to go to hospital for stomach problems, 13 yr. old brought his premade baloney sandwiches to the hospital b/c he knew he would not have food if he didn't. Later, I brought them some food and blankets of mine. SCAREY. I coulda been sued! I guess!....guess I'll keep taken my chances with my license...LOL AND your not even working? That negates EVERYTHING. Do what you want.

A little "dark" humor : MANY years ago, as I was a newbie EMT-Paramedic, we had occasion to be called to an unconcious subject in an alleyway. "High crime" area of town, after quick assessment, decided the pt. was possibly OD'd on some "new" heroin that had hit town. After reviving the patient, while on the way to the hospital, the pt., now fully alert and answering questions, including telling us he didn't know exactly what had happened, but that he had been partying with some friends...(PS, he didn't seem like a "newbie"). Anyway, talking now, when asked if he had any other complaints or pain said something like, "you know, my A_S (bottom) hurts". My partner, without missing a beat said, " Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but while YOU have been doing heroin, your buddies were doing crack". My jaw hit the floor.

You should have an infection control policy at you facility. Your supervisor should be advised, hopefully they will possibly test your pt. for hep, hiv, maybe more. Chances of infection depend on many factors, including: did your finger bleed? (that can wash out germs), but the deeper the stick, the higher the risk, etc., BTW, MRSA would suck, but we all know it is not unlikely that health care providers have already colonized MRSA or something else on their body's, in there noses, etc. and being colonized is not the same as an "active or acute infection". Just follow up, also, if your pt. tested positive for anything, then it could be important to immediately or ASAP, get your own blood drawn to document whether you already are positive, b/c you already had it, or document you are negative so that if you do have a "positive" blood draw in a few weeks, then you know when it happened. Make any sense? just a few quick thoughts, I bet you'll be fine, but it depends on your pt.'s history.

I have had an IM phenergan shot in the buttocks for uncontrolled N&V just a couple years ago at a doc in a box, owwwie, hopefully no one would give that in the arm, especially over and over...Also, learned 10 yrs. ago this med should be diluted when given thru a vein, especially over and over, and who assumes a vein is patent? Always check for patency no matter what the IV med. Our system uses zofran mostly now anyway. Cheers!

Just want to add: what's done, is done. Every nurse has an obligation to continue to learn and advocate on behalf of their patient and their patient's wishes to the end. While there are times that we can only "do the best we can", there are many times when we must "do what is necessary". Sometimes the "best we can do" is simply not good enough. We can sit around patting each other on the back and say " you did the best you could do", or "we did the best we could", or we can critically examine how we can improve to be better in a future situation. Always strive for a higher standard, always choose to learn and learn from mistakes seeking critical imput from those with more experience and knowlege. Sometimes we don't know what we don't know.:)

Liability would likely be spread around. Probably little risk, but if the management at the facilty ok'd it, then they bear some liabilty, as well as the physician who ordered and also ok'd it. Also, the "Paramedic" cannot be called that unless they are holding a "EMT-Paramedic" certification which means they must be currently affiliated with an Advanced Life Support system UNDER the license of a physician who serves as their Medical Director and "extends" his license to them. Otherwise there certification "reverts" back to an EMT Certification. So...if you let this Paramedic start an IV in your facility, and say, for example, that the pt. is allergic to shrimp and the IV site is cleaned with Iodine prep....well you see where I'm going... BUT, if nothing happens, no harm, no foul, I think, but of course there is usually always a risk vs. benefit in health care decisions.

Flashback is great, but you can still "blow" the vein, i.e. "infiltrate" it even with flashback. After cannulation, if you are in the vein you should be able to either attach tubing for a fluid bag or tubing for a saline lock. If you are "in" the vein you can lower the bag and see if blood moves into the tubing or try and withdraw blood thru a syringe gently. If you are "in" then you will see blood moving thru the tube or into the syringe and it can be easily returned without swelling or other other signs of infiltration. Reveiw IV starts in your literature, and review the many ways to tell if you have a patent IV. Hope that helps!:)

I think you did fine! If you had decided to give D-50 that would have been fine too! There are pro's and con's to each decision. For ex. You know you had to be prepared to manage an airway if the pt. had gotten into trouble swallowing while her sugar was so low. Sometimes people with tolerate low sugars well, another time they will not. If you had given D-50 there are risks there as well, extravasation, rebound, etc. It's easy to second guess someone, but only the person making a decision saw, felt, smelled and heard the whole picture and you are the one who has to take responsibility for doing something as well as doing nothing! I know you know this! Good job following thru, too! Another nurse may have just given report and left, another may have given D-50 and reported then left, b/c they would have gotten off on time since D-50 is generally faster to bring up B.S. than watching someone eat and waiting for BS to begin to rise slowly with digestion. Good Job on doing the "right thing" for your patient! :) Just my two cents...

I am an EMT, and thru my states rescue association I was awarded a $2000 scholarship. With most prereq's out of the way, I applied at a local community college and in 2 yrs. had excellent clinical experiences and earned an RN degree for about $3000. Others I know are paying much more at other types of schools, but whichever you choose, it will be worth it. Even if you borrow $20,000 it would be worth it! IMHO.

Be afraid...be very afraid! JK Male Nurse here, lots play politics, lots stay out of politics, room for all! Challenging field, and like most things : You get out what you put in, usually. :)If you want it, you can do it! Welcome and good luck!