Ms_Bee

Kyasi- The liability I was talking about was about transporting the patient...

Kyasi-Thats a huge liability!! And what a touch situation to be involved in but I think you did very well. Your main priority was your patient and once tended to you then if needed you could tend to the mother. I agree its a very very fine line sometimes... PsychNurseWannaBe- Very nice and simply put!!

I agree with you all. I do not think its the best idea to become friends on facebook with your patients. There was a unique circumstance that happened to my one of my nursing school friends where she went to school with her patients moms sister (they were acquaintances). They hadnt seen each other in years and then met again through the pt and are now "friends" on facebook. Im kinda on the fence about that one?? "I did PD nursing for 20 yrs and I understand the relationship that develops w/the families. It's difficult to keep that line from being blurred but you really have to. Every time you allow that line to move back, the professional relationship is compromised and eventually someone, the patient or caregiver, gets uncomfortable with it. I see this all the time. There were things that I knew other nurses would do on one case I was on. (ex: transporting the patient from a grandparents house to her house (while the mother was gone) I just wouldn't break policy no matter how close of a relationship I had with the parent... no way, no how. Always error on the side of caution." Kyasi- I know exactly what you mean as far as seeing other nurses do things that cross the line. I have heard of other nurses baptizing their patients, lending their patients parents their credit cards, purchasing furniture for them, working with their niece/nephew etc. And I do agree with you, at times its very difficult to keep that line from being crossed because you spend so much time with these families but its very important to keep it from being crossed. Im pretty new to pdn (

So I have read through various threads on here about being "friends" with your patients on facebook but not from any who work in private duty. I would like to know what is your take on this issue. It my opinion the situation is a little different than meds-surge since we are often in these patients home Monday-Friday for several hours out of the day. My patient is 2 years old so dont really have an issue with becoming "friends" but have heard of nurses becoming "friends" with the patients family (i.e mom, dad, aunt, uncle). I think its important to keep that professional boundary but can see how easy it is to become friends with the family when you've been on a case several years. What do you think? Can you maintain a professional boundary with your patient but not the family?

I had a pediatric patient with muscular dystrophy and a trach. They were very very thin and couldnt put on weight. There respirations were unlabored but they seemed to be slightly uneven. Their right side expanded slightly less than the left. Sats were good. No signs of respiratory distress. They were given a chest xray and were given an ok to go home (no pneumonia/infections). So I am curious as to why their respirations were like that. First thing I think of when I hear uneven respirations is collapsed lung but I am sure they would be in respiratory distress or would show up on xray. Any ideas??

LOVE THIS!!!!

So I just read a thread about the "not so good things" about working in private duty. Im curious to hear about your joys/benefits of working in pd and what makes you stay in it?? (besides the obvious need $$ lol)

Thanks that certainly helped. I am just a bit confused. In school when we would give medications or anything through the g-tube our instructors always told us to clamp as soon as the syringe was empty so that air would not be going into the stomach between meds and flushing. So that is why I thought if you held the syringe above that patient that air would just be filling into the stomach.

Hi I was just wondering how you vent a mic-key button. (1) I have heard that you can attach the syringe (without plunger) to extension tubing, open clamp, lower syringe to allow air to flow out. (2) I have also heard that you can fill syringe and plunger with 10 ml of air and suck air out of stomach using the plunger until you draw back stomach contents. The physician wants to vent the pt 30 minutes after the feeding for 10-15 min, according to the family. If you use method (1) after a feeding wouldn't all the feeding just come out? In order to vent with method (1) the syringe would have to be lowered, correct. Bc if not air would be flowing into the stomach?

Sorry for not specifying but the interview I have is for an agency doing shift-care in the patient home as you stated. I thought PDN was shift care in the home but maybe I was wrong

Wow. Such inspiration!! Im glad you were able to come back after 10 years. I do no have a job in PDN but have an interview on Monday. 8-10 patients seems ridiculous to me too. When I first started my orientation I thought 4 patients was too much but eventually got up to 6 and was managing it. I Thank You for your words of encouragment. I was getting a lot of slack on the general nursing forum for even considering shiftcare/pdn, one said if I couldnt handle med-surge I had no business taking care of babies. The thing is, it wasnt a matter of handling it because I was, I just didnt like the work environment. Thanks again and I am glad you think I could do it. :)

Thank you for the encouragement! And like you said "life is too short to be so miserable". That is one of the things I thought about when making my decision. Its always something I try to go by :)

No need to apologize for other responses. And yes it was a very tough decision. For me, quitting was the best thing to do and I do not regret it. Thank you for your input. I wish you the best too!!

Thanks for your response, what kind of psych issues do you believe are at play? I just want you to know that I am not asking in a mean/rude/defensive way, I would honestly like to know.

Thank you!! I really appreciate your response.