AtlantaRN

AtlantaRN RN

Med Surg, Hospice, Home Health

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All Content by AtlantaRN

  1. I witnessed the most horrible death last night at a LTC facility.

    AtlantaRN replied to stdntograd06's topic in General Nursing

    God bless you dear one. Had the patient been tolerating the tube feeding at 65/h? It is always difficult when family insists on continuing tube feedings for a declining patient. In addition,...

  2. Calling Doctor to START end of life Med.

    AtlantaRN replied to powerflash's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    On admission, if the patient is already having difficulty swallowing, we order a comfort kit with liquid morphine drops, compazine suppositories, phenergan tablets, ativan tablets, ABH (ativan,...

  3. home care vs. hospice house

    AtlantaRN replied to sclpn's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    It is helpful when going to do an admission, first pull out all the paperwork that will need to be signed by family and set that out to one side with a paperclip. If you have a folder that you will...

  4. Hospice Salary Requirement?

    AtlantaRN replied to EmilyLucille523's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    66K in south atlanta. 13 yrs RN experience, 3 in hospice field. this is for weekend oncall position 5p on friday to 8a monday plus

  5. Narcotic management in the home

    AtlantaRN replied to gsstover's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    we obtain medications from a contracted compounding pharmacy, we deliver to the patients home, and get them to sign a "release" that states the name of medication and quantity delivered, and we turn...

  6. Family wants Diagnosis on Death Certificate changed

    AtlantaRN posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    We had a patient with end stage hiv, he was on our service with same diagnosis, history states same diagnosis. He has died, and death certificate states end stage hiv as cause of death. Is it normal...

  7. hospice care plans

    AtlantaRN replied to hospicemom's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    My company has recently implemented a standardized hospice care plan that is individualized to the patient. It's 38 pages plus, but it's great. I couldn't find anything hospice specific prior to my...

  8. Greetings... Hospice Nurse Falling Apart

    AtlantaRN replied to grbrico's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    God bless you dear one! We have a load of 12 patients, and we don't see all of them in one day! Staff nurses are 10 hours a day and they work 40 hours a week with the last night being on call (so we...

  9. Dialysis 9 yrs, but terminal illness is COPD???

    AtlantaRN posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out! Account exec has been working on getting a patient discharged for the last 3 weeks, daily notes from md says "husband considering stopping dialysis", then,...

  10. Laxative for patient with Kidney Cancer

    AtlantaRN posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Does anyone have an algorhythm or the like for selection of laxatives to use for the patient with kidney disease/cancer. I tried to order senna today for a patient, from a local pharmacy, and they...

  11. Rant About On Call

    AtlantaRN replied to Sue Damonas's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Ive gone from a m-f 8h/day position to the weekend call position, it's friday 5p-monday 8am. good thing is one staff nurse is available for backup call from 8a-5p saturday & sunday so if i'm out...

  12. Taking care of ourselves

    AtlantaRN replied to dalmos's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    talking with fellow nurses out in the field really helps. Moving to different positions helps too (i've been in the field monday through friday for 2 years now, and have chosen to move to a weekend...

  13. how to change a s/p cath, have one tomorrow

    AtlantaRN replied to chenoaspirit's topic in Home Health

    it is my understanding, it's alot like a gtube. It has been in a while, and scar tissue has formed, so it's one out, clean area, and new one in. Good luck! post how it goes! (i've never changed a...

  14. Dialysis 9 yrs, but terminal illness is COPD???

    AtlantaRN replied to AtlantaRN's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    what really gets me on this one is one of the higher ups in the company chose copd as her terminal diagnosis, not her physician. Physician usually writes "evaluate and treat if appropriate." frankly...

  15. roxanol in neb treatments

    AtlantaRN replied to lesrn2005's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    I've had a patient use it with a lung cancer diagnosis. We had a special nebulizer set up especially for the morphine neb. The good thing was, if he was extremely short of breath, he would only need...

  16. How Hard Is It To Get In TO Hospice Nursing?

    AtlantaRN replied to bonnie west's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    I was a med surg nurse for 9 yrs, then critical care 2 years, then transitioned into hospice nursing. My company won't hire someone with less than 2 years hospital nursing. Even then, you must be...

  17. Such a sad situation....

    AtlantaRN posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Patient with chf, on dialysis, he has frequent falls (family wouldn't even consider a hospital bed). They refused aide visits, dear wife is at her wits end (saving grace is his son who rearranges his...

  18. Such a sad situation....

    AtlantaRN replied to AtlantaRN's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    he died this morning while hospitalized. It was truly a blessing.

  19. Such a sad situation....

    AtlantaRN replied to AtlantaRN's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    patient wants surgery to repair shoulder, but cardiologist said he would die on the table. Patient wants to live, hence the dialysis 3 x/week. Son said since we couldn't provide dialysis at our IPU...

  20. In the Field: Turning In paperwork question

    AtlantaRN posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    For hospice nurses that are out in the field, how often do you bring paperwork to the office to be exited and place in charts? Corporate has requested nurses exit DAILY, but thank goodness our...

  21. Will I lose weight being a nurse??

    AtlantaRN replied to Misslady113's topic in General Nursing

    nope. i'm a hospice rn. My hubby has been great the last couple of weeks, getting up and making me breakfast. If that happens, then i'm not ravenous at the end of the day. Normally, i'll only grab...

  22. Some days I just can't take it.....

    AtlantaRN posted a topic in Hospice, Palliative

    Please forgive me if this sounds petty, but some days I just can't take it! I love my patients and have compassion for each situation, but some days I just have trouble dealing with the family...

  23. On A Roll

    AtlantaRN replied to rngolfer53's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    febreeze is a great idea! I suppose if one is sensitive to the fumes, you could spray in the air and walk through it, like when you try a new perfume?

  24. Point of Service documentation

    AtlantaRN replied to dalmos's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    I document in the home, on paper, just vital signs and such, last bm, number of voids in last 24, meds used in last 24, then I put the paper aside while we talk and educate. family signs bottom of my...

  25. Some days I just can't take it.....

    AtlantaRN replied to AtlantaRN's topic in Hospice, Palliative

    The dear elderly lady passed away last week. I was the nurse on call when she slipped away peacefully. I was not available to go to the wake or funeral, but did speak with daughter last week. She...