armynurse,rn

I usually add that although we try to return all their rbc's on rinse back, they loose some in the lines/system. If you do this every treatment 3x wk, one is bound to become a lil anemic. I also explain that iron and epo kind of go hand in hand. If Epo helps produce/ improve HGB or oxygenation, you need iron as the vehicle that the hgb attaches to get distributed throughout the body.

no crit line. just basic Fresenius H model machines and as of today, still no scale. There was a MD order for his dialysis despite not having a scale. What kind of licensure issues might this cause, if the if a doctor's order to treat him?

I went to a facility that had no hoyer with scale or wheel chair scale but had a pt that was a fairly new BKA. We had no way of weighing this pt. I was told by the charge nurse that they were using fluid assessment to come up with a uf per treatment. The facility is working on obtaining an adequate scale, I was told. It looks like the patient had not be weighed in a while. Does anyone know the legalities of this situation?

Can anyone tell me how often do you change out the heparin in the catheter lumen if the catheter is not in use? I have a few patients that have catheters still in place but we are using their permanent access for dialysis. I was changing the heparin the three time a week with the dressing change but I was told not to if we aren't using the catheter. Does the heparin in the catheter loose potency or something if it sits there for weeks?

I was wondering if anyone can direct my to a resource that talks about what the PCT could legally chart on the dialysis flowsheet? At my clinic I have a tech that often records things like, BP extremely high or records a pt has chest pain when pt was describing sternal pain. I also have a problem with techs recording abnormal vital signs without rechecking even when results are not typical for the particular patient. I would like to give an inservice on legally acceptable documentation. Does any have a resource I could browse?