peanut butter
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 6:55 pm Post subject: If Wishes Came True
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I'd wish Medicare would pay the dialysis companies to hire a Nurse Educator to travel to the different units to teach a course for patients on how to thoroughly understand their treatments. I am sick and tired of searching all ovr for info on my tx, because when I ask my asking my doctor or staff questions I get answers like,"Sorry, I just dunno.. or, never heard of that..or who told you that!?.. or if you want to do that go right ahead I don't care. Or how about, "Doc, why does it feel like the machine is eating me alive?". Doc's answer, "That's just the way everyone feels on dialysis.. don't worry, you'll get used to it." If the medical personel want to be so lazy and unprofessional, then I wish Medicare would pay to equip patients who would like the training for education on their disease. It would save Medicare bucks if more patients were edcuated so why not?
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ridgerunner
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 101
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 10:05 pm Post subject: nurse to train
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yhe companies are not going to do any educating of patients because it is not in their financial interest to train you in fact the only way they can get more funds is to mess up if you get an infection they get payed more to give you antibiots if they destroy your access they get paid to do a new one. the more they mess up the more they get paid. until we get some real standards nothing will change.
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Jelly
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 1:20 am Post subject: Nurse Educator
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It sounds like a good idea to have a nurse educator but I question the impact it would have. If they were to train everyone it would be a one size fits all education as they never have time to deal with patients individually. I believe one of the main problems of dialysis is the one size fits all approach which is standard to accommodate the number of patients being treated. If you look at the post on home hemo posted by jfwag at the end Dr. Blagg says the 3x a week 4hrs was set up to be able to offer dialysis to more patients. At some point in time dialysis has got to be done on an individual basis; I don't believe this will be done until home hemo comes back and more patients take on responsibility leaving the centers with fewer patients to treat thus more time to work with in-center patients and adjust dialysis time and set ups.
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SHIRTS
Joined: 13 Jan 2003
Posts: 39
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 1:28 am Post subject: GET REAL
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IF ANYBODY TRULY BELIEVES THAT PATIENTS ARE GIVEN INFECTIONS AND RUINED ACCESSES IN ORDER TO GENERATE FUNDS, THEY NEED THEIR HEAD EXAMINED. RIDGERUNNER, YOUR LAST POST WAS SILLY. <
>PATIENTS ARE NOT INTENTIONALLY HARMED BUT BAD THINGSSOMETIMES HAPPEN. <
>STAY WELL.
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So then
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 7:35 am Post subject: Shirt
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When techs and RNs do not wash their hands between patients or change gloves at appropriate times, they are not tryng to give patients infections? I guess you must think they were never trained in asceptic technique and universal precautions. I guess you think if the Dept. of Health showed up, they would not wash hands and change gloves and do the many other things they skip when the Dept. of Health is not around. I guess they require all patients to wash their access arms with asceptic soap, or assist those who can not do so, for their safety before their tx. If you think that infections are not purposeful, then please explain to me why these corners are cut in so many units?
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Check it out
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 3
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 7:51 am Post subject: Cramping 101
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A tech was grumbling what a wild shift it was with patients everywhere getting sick and cramping. He commented that I was the only patient who didn't have a problem. I replied, "Well maybe you need me to teach a course for patients on how to avoid cramps? It would sure cut down on all the extra work you have to do!". Tech gets big question marks in his eyes.. "You know that's right", he says, "That's not a bad idea..maybe then we'd get something done around here without being interrupted everytime we turn around!".
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This is why
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 12:23 pm Post subject: Infections
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I go along with shirts; I do not think anyone intentionally tries to infect a patient. The lack of asceptic procedures is due to laziness and taking chances; I really doubt that it is to deliberately cause infection. They have this problem in the majority of hospitals also.
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Pleeeeeze
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 5:06 pm Post subject: Open your eyes
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What they are doing is criminal and they know it! They have no moral code..that's the problem!!!
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Open eyes
Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 1:54 am Post subject: Moral Code
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I agree if moraility played into more decisions in life the world would be a better place and people would not suffer so much however a lack of morals does not = deliberate.
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Lin
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 337
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 3:16 am Post subject: Precautions
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I don't believe infections are purposely given, but I know for a fact that staff have been trained in asceptic technigue/standard precautions, and about bloodborne pathogens. I know because I used to be staff in the healthcare field. I also know that many of the precautions are not followed the staff is putting them self at risk too. It really doesn't take much time to take the precautions so that everyone is safer. If these things aren't followed it's just pure laziness, and if it's continually allowed the DON is too lazy to pull rank and insist procedures be followed. The unit I go to is by no means perfect, but I will say that they are meticulous about asceptic procedures. Lin.<
>
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Pleeeeze
Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 6:14 am Post subject: Help ME Out
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Assuming all health personel are trained in aseptic technique, and I would highly assume they are, because if
ought to their attention that they are
eaking with asceptic like, "Hey, how comes no one washes their hands around here anymore?!", they will just blush so red and run right to that sink, but then go right over to the next patient, who doesn't have a clue what asceptic is, and then violate that patient... those of you who think this behavior is not deliberate.. PLEEEZE help me out!<
><
>That would be like someone running over a child with his car on the way to work and when caught by the police replying," I was in a hurry to get to work and the kid was in my way". I'm sure the judge would buy that one. <
><
>What else do you call it when someone knows something is wrong and deliberately does it, anyway? So if we lined up the doctor, administrator, all the RNs and techs and asked them if they knew they were
eaking asceptic technique on a regular basis, you think they would say, "We just forgot". PLEEEZE!<
><
>Do you know when you do something wrong or do you just excuse yourselves? Do you have a conciensce when you hurt someone? You mean when you hurt someone that's ok with you and you sleep fine at night? <
><
>Oh let me see.. the health personel are lazy or, they forgot they are supposed to use asceptic (when every other day a patient has an infection, is hospitalized or loses an access), the administrator said it was ok not to use asceptic so it must be ok, or the administrator said only use it if you see the Dept. of Health coming. Like I said...PLEEEZE!
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dialysis patient
Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Posts: 5
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 12:38 pm Post subject: LAZY
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What is the patient going to teach another patient about cramping. I can go to treatment with a very small amount of fluid on me and still the tech sets the machine wrong and I cramp. I contact administrator and am just told "I will talk to her about that".
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Helping Out
Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Posts: 1
Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2003 4:11 pm Post subject: lazy; neligent or deliberate
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I am not here to condone the practice of being lazy or cutting corners as it is wrong and yes people have a conscious and know it is wrong. But this is what happens. If you hit someone with a car there is instant proof of the damage done and who did it. If someone cuts corners on asceptic procedures he / she may not get caught as infection doesn't occur everytimes it happens and there are more than the non-use of aceptic procedures to get an infection. Therefore when it does happen it is to easy for those not practicing asceptic procedures not to accept the blame. And as a patient who acquires the infection we can never prove who or how we got the infection. So the lazy's remain lazy and when something happens passify their conscious by not accepting responsiblilty.
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Lin
Joined: 28 Oct 2002
Posts: 337
Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2003 1:05 am Post subject: Laziness
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No one said being lazy and not observing universal precautions was alright! Pts. should be protected. However, unless you were ever trained in these procedures you would not be aware that the staff member/s that choose to ignore these procedures is putting them self at risk also, so to say that they purposely want to infect pts. must also say that they want to infect themselves! <
>To those who have a problem with staff not following procedure I would like to know what you have done to help solve the problem so that others have a model to follow!<
>Dialysis pt, I had the same problem and strongly suggest that you gain some control over your tx.. I finally had to enlist the help of my neph. and also tell staff that unless they set the machine properly I was going to walk out and make a call to whoever I had to to get things rectified. It's been 1 1/2 years and I still don't need any fluid taken off. When they did I was being severely dehyrated by at least 2 kilos every tx.. and was sick from it. Staff often thinks all pts. are in denial about how much fluid they need taken off. Take charge! Lin.
