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I've been a nurse since before you were born, and a hospice nurse for 7 years. My concern/peeve is this: Ativan is sometimes ordered and given for agitation, with no Haldol or other antipsychotic available. This drives me to. . . psychosis. In my b...

Not much. I think I need to raise the question in an organization-wide way. Just sent out an email about this - thanks.

A friend and I are thinking of starting a service called "A Nurse in the Family", perhaps, where, for a monthly retainer of probably $100, we offer 24/7 phone support, a monthly visit to help with problem-solving, medication questions/issues, caregiv...

I've been a nurse for umpteen years, and a hospice nurse for 6. My impression with bone pain from mets is that ibuprofen works better than decadron, along with a narcotic (the pts are always on narcs to begin with, so I don't have experience with Ib...

I tried to remove a PICC line today that had been in for 6 months, site looks good, no issues with it. (I'm an infusion nurse but not recently). It pulled about halfway out with gentle intermittent traction, then stopped. I massaged the arm above, ...

Thanks for this post. I just started working in a clinic where we deal with lots of diabetics and do teaching; I thought "Oh, I'll become a Certified Diabetes Educator" and was floored by the number of hours required. I don't get it - it seems insu...

I've found this referred to in old texts, but can't find anything current. I'm not a student, but saw great responses here, and don't know where else to ask this. We have a patient whose catheter plugs with purulent matter every 1-2 weeks, despite b...

Thanks SO much. I'll pass this on to his MD. It's wonderful to have this level of support available! DM

I've found this referred to in old texts, but can't find anything current. We have a patient whose catheter plugs with purulent matter every 1-2 weeks, despite biweekly irrigations. The sides of the connector become narrowed by hard, white dep...

I recently spent 45 minutes talking about death, and hospice, with my husband's sister across the country. Her mother (my mother-in-law)-a delightfully quirky 91-year-old activist who still spends her days faxing her congressmen-just signed on with t...

Thanks, Debilpn. Hope you can get there - it's sweet work.

I know we're supposed to use filter needles on meds drawn from glass ampules, so I do. However, in the first, oh, 25 years of my nursing career I didn't. Is this a theoretical risk, or does research of actual harm done exist? Anybody know? Bottom ...

Thanks! LOVE this site - so many good brains to pick. I'll stop rolling my eyes when I use filter needles. . .

Thanks, guys! Shucks. . .

Thanks, Blondy. Good points!

Thanks for your input, Ashley. I do plan to call the BON. As I mentioned, we'd be a "knowledgeable go-between" for pts and MD's - I'd never adjust medications without an order. It's certainly within our scope of practice to assess and triage - jus...

http://ask.metafilter.com/6351/Fired-Now-What interesting link about how to deal with having been fired.

Oh, the "fired" thing. . . I'd call your (former) HR department and ask what they'll say to prospective employers. Maybe call places where you're NOT going to apply and ask how best to discuss this? Just a thought. Hang in there, m'dear. You mig...

It's really hard to make a blanket statement about this. I make visits if it would be helpful, to anyone, to do so. Usually SNF's don't want a visit - they've tidied up the patient and, unless family is there and need emotional support (often the S...

Sure you can, as long as the tubing isn't automatically "clamped" unless it's in a pump. It's just longer, but works the same way. You'd just want to infuse what's in the tubing at the end, as it might hold a significant percentage of the volume of...

Keep spray Bactine or the equivalent for scrapes and cuts - it numbs and is antibacterial. Wipe it off with clean gauze, slap on some antibiotic ointment and a bandage and, voila! Happy campers. Athlete's foot (smelly, itchy, sometimes cracked feet...

Don't let this get you down, my dear. As a nurse who's been one since the dawn of time (35 years, to be exact), I notice that some places are getting much more punitive, leaning more toward discipline than coaching/teaching. I'm impressed how artic...