General Medical issues thread

[LinaLee]

I give all of them 3 tries then suggest gently that I’m running out of veins and am really keen to get treatment going. And after the 2nd failure I start scanning and making eye contact with my fav senior nurse(s) in the day oncology unit that I need saving soon ……such a pain sometimes but trying to give everyone a chance. Fortunately it’s the odd occasion only for contrast dyes for the odd scans and blood test these days. Phew.

 

[prozac]

I give all of them 3 tries then suggest gently that I’m running out of veins and am really keen to get treatment going. And after the 2nd failure I start scanning and making eye contact with my fav senior nurse(s) in the day oncology unit that I need saving soon ……such a pain sometimes but trying to give everyone a chance. Fortunately it’s the odd occasion only for contrast dyes for the odd scans and blood test these days. Phew.

When I was having chemo if nurse didn't get it first or 2nd try they called on their young expert straight away, sometimes before they tried.

 

[Gladstone Tim]

One ICU stay the phlebotomist stood on the urinary catheter when they went to take bloods!
Edit: And it yanked hard

Ouch Prozac! I can only recall ever having a catheter once, and that was in April. Hoping not to need one in my surgery later this month.

 

[drron]

These young medicos had it easy.Complaining of 0600 rounds.
1970 RPAH as a junior resident in ED we had the heparin round. So called in those days because heparin was given 4 hourly IV.
The rounds started at 1800, 2200, 0200 and at those times a JRMO set of around the hospital giving all due injections- heparin, antibiotics, chemotherapy etc. plus putting in cannulas.The rounds lasted about 4 hours so after a cup of coffee you set out on the next round..
Nurses in those days were not even allowed to give IV injections apart from second or later doses of antibiotics- the ones more commonly caused problems.

The bane of our existence was having to collect bloods as well. There was one objectively renal registrar who insisted on taking blood each 30 minutes to measure potassium levels until he first asked me to do it. I figured if it was so important to be done in was just as important for him to know that result. So I rang him every 30 minutes despite his objections. Funny how soon the timing wasn’t as important.

 

[Quickstatus]

I was on the vascular ward on secondment to Liverpool hospital - the heparin round was a PITA. The RN were not allowed to give IV drugs which included heparin. In those days patients with blocked arteries in the legs were given heparin and the vascular ward was full of them.

Every 4 hours taking bloods. I had to do 4 and the night intern 2 per patient.

Eventually years after my time there, they found a way to surgically unblock the arteries without cutting open the leg and IV heparin fell by the wayside as a main treatment.

RNs were able to give the 2nd dose of IV antibiotic after the intern gives the first dose. But everyone knew that the 2nd dose cause more allergic problems - because the 1st just primes the patient.