CVME Insider: Nursing Knowledge That Matters

Did You Document? This is one of the biggest issues we face in nursing.  I truly feel nurses are awesome at what we do when it comes to actual hands-on.  However, when it comes to documentation; We Suck !   Every nurse I know and have worked with; I would say that less than half; has ever wondered about the legal ramifications of an in-hospital cardiac arrest (code blue). Code blue events happen fast, and documenting the entire event correctly may be a difficult and daunting task. Unfortunately,  in today's nursing environment; especially with the arrival of the EHR(electronic health record) nurses are becoming more vulnerable to legal actions. If you don't document it wasn't done.    Yeah Yeah!!  I know you have heard that a million times; but do you really listen? N urses are being named defendants in malpractice lawsuits, according to the Nurses Service Organization (NSO).  " Of the 549 nurse...

It was a familiar walk.  One I had made countless times.  Over the years I had entered the Children's hospital Operating Room (OR) on a regular basis to observe and support surgeons during surgery.  It was my job.  I worked for a minimally invasive surgical device company and I loved it.  But, today's trip up to the second floor was not for work.  This time was different. This time I was on the other side of the double doors marked, "Authorized personnel only." They were doors I had walked through many times, but had never been forced to wait behind.   Today would be filled with deja vu and reflection because today the little person walking down the long corridor to the OR was my son.  My little boy. My everything. And I was overcome by emotion. What must he be thinking?  I was his mommy and I was handing him over to complete strangers in scary masks and hats.  I told him to do whatever they asked and had allowed them to poke h...

by Heather Connor It was a grey and cloudy afternoon in early fall and the sky had that threatening look of an impending storm.  So it seemed oddly appropriate when the school called to say my son was having a storm of his own. Storm This is the medical term used to describe a Dystonic episode.  If you've ever had the misfortune to experience or witness one, then you know it is perfectly named. Just like a real storm, some can be seen coming from a mile away and others appear all of a sudden with no warning.  They can be mild and short lived or violent and destructive.  Some storms resemble a grand mal seizure where the patient shakes and convulses. But unlike a seizure they are awake and lucid.  The experience can be terrifying for my children. When his body will let him, my son tries to hide if he feels one coming. His teacher has found him several times hidden and alone on the floor of the bathroom shaking with his muscles cramping so hard that his little...

Infusion Therapy is a growing industry and we have more and more patients going home with implanted ports, temporary dialysis catheters, and other types of Central Venous Catheters (CVC).  We get many questions regarding the scope of LVN's/LPN's and what they can and cannot do in regards to infusion therapy. For the sake of this article we will use the term Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) as this is what they are referred to here in California.  However, most states still refer to an LVN as and LPN or Licensed Practical Nurse.  That is another discussion in its entirety. California is one of the only states that we know of at this time that requires LVN's to gain an IV Certification in order to perform IV Therapy .  Pedagogy has a great link that one may use as a resource to determine what an LVN can and cannot do in regards to infusion therapy . Here is California it is illegal for a Medical Assistant (MA) to start an IV or even access a central ...

  Protect Against It Yahoo news report “The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm uses expert testimony to prove medical negligence in the case of a day-old infant who suffered permanent injuries as a result of improper IV administration. The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm, a New York personal injury law firm, has successfully obtained an $800,000 verdict on behalf of their client, a day-old infant, who suffered permanent scarring and injury Extravasation malpractice case: Law firm secures $800,000 verdict. The child was admitted to the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx on Jan. 13, 2006, a day after he was born. The law firm filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Bronx County (Index # 8785/2007) against the hospital alleging that the child, who was scheduled to undergo spina bifida surgery the following day, was not properly monitored by nurses at the hospital while he was receiving intravenous fluid in preparation for the sur...