Routine meds for hospice use

[trodden]

I am a relatively new nurse (a year), and am making the leap I have wanted to since before I graduated into hospice care. I know that I am a caring, compassionate person who will love and care for the individuals who entrust me with their passing, and I want to make sure that I am knowledgable in everything I can be.

For the last year I have been in an urgent care clinic setting and haven't had to use a lot of my medication knoweldge. I am hoping to look up, research, and learn about all the medications routinely used in hospice care (I will be in LTC facilities for the most part) so that I can help make my patients, and their families as comfortable as possible.

Is there anyway that you guys could help me by sort of compiling a list for me to look up? I would really appreciate it. Thank you

[leslie :-D]

generally, the prototypes are morphine, senna, ativan, haldol, ibuprofen/antiinflammatory, zofran.

much luck.:)

leslie

[tewdles, RN]

what leslie said + gabapentin, all the tri-cyclics, methadone, and seroquel are a few more that we use frequently...

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

transderm scopamine patches. also, we are using more ativan gel than we have in the past.

[eternalsunshine]

I am curious to note that you all refer to drugs by their trade name rather than the generic name.

Is that the common practice in the US?

[mrsraisinkain]

atropine (opth gtts given SL) and Levsin

[pam c]

Eternalsunshine: I can't speak for all of the USA, but here in Ohio we tend to mix the generic and brand names. :)

[ErinS, BSN, RN]

Here is a link to the World Health Organization's website:

http://www.who.int/3by5/publications/documents/en/genericpalliativecare082004.pdf

It talks about the above mentioned meds and the uses. So many meds in hospice are used for off-label uses that it may be difficult to look them up. It is a steep learning curve at first, and I think the meds vary from hospice to hospice, so start your job and look up meds as they come. The one thing in hospice that is surprised is that stuff in nursing school I did not think was important, like excretion and half life actually are very useful to know when trying to decide which med to use and whether a change in condition is med related or disease related.