August 21, 2005
Stupid Nursing Trick #1
Getting nose to nose with a confused, agitated, restrained, pissed-off patient on a vent and yelling this at them: "CALM DOWN. DO YOU HEAR ME?? YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN AND GO TO SLEEP!!!! MR. XYZ YOU NEED TO STOP MOVING AROUND!" Yeah. That's going to work.
Posted by swift at 6:13 AM
July 3, 2005
The Cortado Maneuver
You've got your Valsalva maneuver and your Heimlich maneuver. Now, I present the Cortado maneuver, developed by myself in my own imagination to ease my frustration when I see an 89 year old man in ESRF on round-the-clock dialysis who is not DNR/DNI and not coherent enough to speak for himself.
The Cortado maneuver is performed thus:
1. The care provider places the dominant hand over the patient's mouth, applying pressure gently until an airtight seal is obtained.
2. The thumb and the index finger of the nondominant hand are placed on either side of the nares, pinching them shut.
3. Pressure/pinching is applied for a minimum of 180 seconds, with 300 seconds being the optimal amount of time for application.
~~~~~~~~~
I walk in his room. He is lying there; masked, cathed, and perfused to beat the band. His eyes are wide, classic deer-in-the-headlights. He's stared like that all night. Clicks, beeps, murmuring nurses, alarms. Family at home. MD somewhere else in the hospital. Is this how it's supposed to be??
Posted by swift at 7:04 AM
February 5, 2005
Just Because
Just because we can keep a loved one alive, doesn't mean you should. Just because we can keep you alive doesn't mean we should.
Posted by swift at 12:10 AM | Comments (1)