Question of legality
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So, I have MS, and I get an infusion every 6 months. Typically, I am sent to an infusion centern for this, where there are NP's and several RN's. This time, I am told that my infusion will be carried out at my neurologist's office. Aside from the fact that I have to sit for 6 plus hours while this bag runs in a normal exam room with a TV in it (no recliner, no warm blankets, no snacks, and no water or coffee here) there a basically a million things very very wrong going on here. The woman who called me back to handle my IV and get the infusion going represented herself as a "nurse". I noticed right off she did things a little bit differently when starting an IV, but no major alarm at this point. Now, with Ocrevus, the usual protocol is to get Tylenol PO, 125 to 250 of solumedrol, 25mg Benedryl and 20mg Oeocid IV. When she eventually got my IV in, she went straight to hook me up. I asked her about the tylenol and benedryl and pepcid and she said they didn't have tylenol, nor did they have Pepcid, but they did have "phengrin" if I needed it. WOW!?! I said I am not nauseous, its just usually given prophylactically bc it is an H2 blocker and it can act as an antihistamine along with the benedryl. She looked at me like a deer in headlights. Then as she is giving me my PO benedryl, I made a joke about how sleepy it makes me and she said, "o benedryl makes me hyper, I take it each morning for my allergies, but I have to take Advil PM to sleep at night and that knocks me out". I mentioned to her that Advil PM WAS benedryl, she also had no idea. I am now starting to wonder if she is even a nurse at all. I also asked her to refresh my memory if the Ocrevus infusion causes hypotension or anything bc I felt like I remembered getting pretty dizzy last time getting a headache. She shrugged her shoulders, giggled and said: "I have no idea about that". Ummmmmm......so you are administering an IV medication and you have zero idea what reactions you should be watching for in your patients?
As luck would have it, I began to have a reaction where my throat started tingling and itching and tightening. I let her know, she offers me another PO benadryl. I ask her why they don't have IV Benedryl for instances like this and she just said, "sorry, i don't know". Then she comes back in with a syringe of a "steroid" and gives it to me IM. She rammed that thing in my arm so hard, I am not sure if she hit the bone, or if it is the medication itself, but that was about the most painful IM I have ever had in my life, and I am typically pretty damn tough considering all the crap I have to have done to myself. To top it off, like my missed IV's, no bandaid, so my shirt looks like it belongs in a crime scene. I asked her casually where she went to nursing school and what do ya know, she is not an RN. She is not an LVN. SHe is a medical assistant. Is it LEGAL for a MA to run IV drips, push IV meds, and give IM injections???????? She had no clue what potential reactions there were, they have no crash cart, no epi, no IV benedryl, just "Phengrin". What the hell is going on here? Am I crazy and overreacting ??