All during school we are taught to "think outside of the box". We are taught to use alternative approaches such as meditation or imagery for pain management. It is also engrained in us to respect, embrace, and enable our patient's religious, family, health, and ceremonial practices as much as possible. My question to you then is what is the liability involved in sharing and/or supporting these practices, and where do we draw the line?
As an example, I used to work with a physician who prescribed her patient's douche with anti-septic mouthwash to prevent and treat UTI's. Many patient's swore by this method, and I feel that it may have had some validity, but I would never share an idea like this with my patient's for fear of liability or retribution. Another example is the patient that wants my professional opinion on the mega doses of vitamin D-3 & K-2 that they are taking. I mean obviously I pull out the old R.D.A's. to cover my hide, and also refer them to their practitioner, but sometimes I would like to say more, but find I do not, because I do not want to offend my patient, upset my fellow staff, or risk liability or safety issues.
Readers, I ask that you please share some unorthodox treatments that you may have come across in your nursing career, and tell me how you chose to handle that situation, and what was your outcome?
