Interesting presentation. I worked in primary care for 10 years and have also seen the under utilization of RN’s I like the idea of you using them to their full potential. Patients do like continuity. I think it makes them more accountable and they also like the idea of not having to meet someone new every time they got to the doctors office. Can you clarify the “titrate and prescribe medications under a signed and written protocol after a thorough assessment” portion. I don’t exactly understand what that means?
We have protocols for titrating Coumadin and Insulin. We also can prescribe antibiotics under our UTI protocol and sent the prescription straight to the pharmacy. The physician co-signs the order later.
Great presentation, thank you for sharing. Your clinic sounds very forward thinking with a lot of community involvement, highlighting promotional health care. I also think the idea of a change process for your clinic, utilizing nurses to their highest potential, is very smart and forward thinking. This parallels what the Institute of Medicine is trying to support within our overwhelmed health care system- utilizing nurses to their highest potential and continuing their education. Having nurse led appointments will not only allow for triage, but one on one time with patients to increase trust, continuity of care, and comprehensive educational opportunities for patients. When you say titrate and prescribe medications, I’m also curious as to what specifically your clinic allows under the scope of the physician. In the hospital where I work, we have standing conditional orders that if a patient lab falls within a range, we are able to autonomously give medications or therapy based on lab values. We don’t physical prescribe the medications (they are already prescribed conditionally), we just administer. We also titrate drips and feeding volumes (I work in NICU) based off of conditional orders as well. Thanks for sharing!
I agree with you all and with Tammy’s reply about the IOM’s recommendations for the future of nursing. “To utilize nurses to their higher potential”. This will relieve constrains, as you mentioned, such as higher residents-patient ratios, long waiting times, and patients non-compliance.
Interesting presentation. I worked in primary care for 10 years and have also seen the under utilization of RN’s I like the idea of you using them to their full potential. Patients do like continuity. I think it makes them more accountable and they also like the idea of not having to meet someone new every time they got to the doctors office. Can you clarify the “titrate and prescribe medications under a signed and written protocol after a thorough assessment” portion. I don’t exactly understand what that means?
We have protocols for titrating Coumadin and Insulin. We also can prescribe antibiotics under our UTI protocol and sent the prescription straight to the pharmacy. The physician co-signs the order later.
Great presentation, thank you for sharing. Your clinic sounds very forward thinking with a lot of community involvement, highlighting promotional health care. I also think the idea of a change process for your clinic, utilizing nurses to their highest potential, is very smart and forward thinking. This parallels what the Institute of Medicine is trying to support within our overwhelmed health care system- utilizing nurses to their highest potential and continuing their education. Having nurse led appointments will not only allow for triage, but one on one time with patients to increase trust, continuity of care, and comprehensive educational opportunities for patients. When you say titrate and prescribe medications, I’m also curious as to what specifically your clinic allows under the scope of the physician. In the hospital where I work, we have standing conditional orders that if a patient lab falls within a range, we are able to autonomously give medications or therapy based on lab values. We don’t physical prescribe the medications (they are already prescribed conditionally), we just administer. We also titrate drips and feeding volumes (I work in NICU) based off of conditional orders as well. Thanks for sharing!
Reference:
Garner, C. (2010, December 29). IOM issues recommendations for transforming nursing practice. The Sentinel Watch. Retrieved from https://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2010/12/29/iom-issues-recommendations-for-transforming-nursing-practice/
I agree with you all and with Tammy’s reply about the IOM’s recommendations for the future of nursing. “To utilize nurses to their higher potential”. This will relieve constrains, as you mentioned, such as higher residents-patient ratios, long waiting times, and patients non-compliance.