How many of you have ever removed Jackson Pratt drains? If you have never removed them yourself, but have watched them be removed, you would feel comfortable doing it on your own?
I would esp like to hear from any home health nurses who have done this. But I think all nursing input is important here.
I have been a nurse for 20+ years, and today I was made to feel like an a$$ because I questioned whether this is within the scope of nursing. The order was to "D/C JP Drain when drainage is les than 30 cc per day", which to date, the pt has not met the criteria, so it has not become an issue. But, being the girlscout I am, I figured we should address it before it is an issue, so we can have it clarified for the pt and for ourselves. The supervisors were particularly PO'd that I told the pt I would have to see if the nurses could do this b/c to my knowledge we do not ordinarily remove JP drains. The pt said to me, Yeah, that's what the other nurse said too, so I apparently wasn't the first one to think this was out of the ordinary.
Just to clarify, I don't think it would be incredibly difficult to remove a JP, no harder than removing a G-Tube or SP tube, just wanted to clarify if this was a nursing function. It just seems to me it falls under the surgeon's realm, or maybe a RNFA. (???)
If you have removed them please indicate under what circumstances, ie, what is your nursing background, how were you educated to do this, and if you have a policy.
I did say to the supervisor, well, I looked for a policy, and there was no policy for removal of a JP drain, so how was I supposed to know?? And apparently the other nurses don't know this either. Her main goal was to embarrass me for telling the pt this info and making her afraid to have a nurse do this. I think she wanted to put me down, because I had asked her to mentor me in a program, and she then admited she did not meet the criteria, which I had assumed she did (I would have taken that as a compliment myself, AND I did not ask her in front of a room full of people either.)
Anyway, doesn't the pt have a right to have a person who has done this procedure before, or at least been watched by someone doing the procedure at least once before?? We don't put in NG's on our own or start IV's on our own, or even apply sterile gloves for the first time without being checked for our compentency.
And, what about retention sutures? I am comfortable if the rest of the wound looks good and is approximated etc, even though I have never removed retention sutures before, but figured, while we are on the subject, I would ask, and again, under what circumstances and how were you evaluated?
