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Monday, November 13, 2006

I am appalled. Shocked beyond words.

A nasogastric tube is a tube that is passed through the nose and down through the nasopharynx and esophagus into the stomach. It is used to decompress the stomach, for feeding purposes and for administration of medications. A suction catheter, on the other hand is a long, narrow flexible tube used to remove secretions from the oropharynx and trachea. They are 2 (totally) different tubes for different purposes. As far as i'm concerned, they are not interchangeable!

A fully certified enrolled nurse with 4 years of experience in paediatric ward. My, my. How could you ever forget how an NG tube looks like? O-kay, maybe that is still pardonable. But using a suction catheter for feeding purposes?? How in the friggin' world will you secure the catheter, with the tip of the catheter at the nostrils? You even have the cheek to admit that you have performed this several times. The reasons you gave to justify your actions were ridiculous. Ey, which institution are you from? I doubt ITE teaches their students that.

I worry for the patient's under her care. I understand that there is no fast and hard rule in nursing. Different people have their own way of performing procedures. To save time, nurses resort to 'short-cut' methods. Personally for me, short cuts are acceptable as long as they DO NOT compromise the safety of the patients. After all, we do not have the luxury of time. But the above mentioned, to me is simply horrible. I do not think that her actions were justifiable.

Does it mean then, the next time she wants to perform CISC she could use an NG tube? It is after all similar to the tube normally used for CISC, but only longer. -Gasp-

If one day I feel i'm no longer interested in nursing or if feel that i can no longer provide safe nursing care, I'll quit. It beats harming others and leaving in shame.

7:29 PM