Wait, what the what ?!

[BSNbeauty]

I was talking to my Nicu friends and I was told that per the FDA and hospital policy that only BSNs can do heel stick to test Glucose on critically ill babies. I find this to be a slap in the face for experienced nursed without a BSN. Have they lost their minds ? Any one else heard of this non-sense ?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

This has nothing to do with the FDA. It is a new CLIA requirement that the College of American Pathologists (CAP) surveyors are looking for. Basically it requires Lab Personnel and Nurses that perform moderate to high complexity testing to have a diploma or transcript in their personnel file. You can be surveyed at any time and potentially lose lab accreditation if this is not complete and documented.

Yep, we all had to provide a copy of our diploma a couple of years ago if we did any type of bedside testing. Although I did feel sorry for those who graduated so long ago that they no longer knew where their diploma was and the school had closed, making getting a new copy quite difficult.

[AMR21, BSN, RN]

We recently had to present a diploma to be able to run out ISTAT machines. They didn't even care what diploma it was. I couldn't find my one from nursing school so I brought in my one from my BA in anthropology.

Honestly, I have zero idea why. The medics in the ED at the same facility can run ISTATS. Most of them have yet to attend college.

Dumb.