hi all

ditto on the amen! charlie and mary ann!

this sounds like a great beginning
to a PD awareness program!

i wonder if it might be possible (assuming the patient is
conscious and cognizant) for the parky's physician to set up a
"self-medication" protocol so that pd patients can take their
pd meds on their own without bothering the nursing/medical
staff at all? or would this undercut the awareness value of
the education/discussion efforts?


janet


At 21:00 2001/07/09 -0500, Charles T. Meyer, M.D. wrote:
>AMEN;
>
>If the patient is able to take his/her own Meds perhaps one
>dose  of Sinemet and other vital meds  can be placed on the
>bedside table an hour prior to when the next dose is due to
>be taken with  nurses  checking at their leisure that it has
>been taken.  That way the time pressure is less for the nursing
>staff and the PWP-patient. We know when it is time to take our
>meds and most of us are usually quite reliable in taking them.
>The nurse should always check to be sure it has been taken but
>doesn't have to drop everything that she is doing and give the
>meds out for a PWP.
>
>PWP are rare enough as inpatients in most hospitals that  nursing
>needs to be educated about optimal med timing  for PD patients.
>Ask the head nurse to meet with her staff and discuss the potential
>problem,  since in general nursing  2:00 PM  often can mean anything
>from 1-3 PM . The nursing staff will often see the PWP as demanding
>and we will see the nursing staff as uncaring and incompetent .
>
>I hope pose this idea and ask the RN out there if it passes federal
>and state rules it might be adopted by  some institutions in order to
>make life easier for  nursing and hospitals as well as PWP who are
>served by them.
>
>Charlie
>
>At 11:16 AM 7/9/01 -0400, Mary Ann wrote:
>>The hospital care horror stories of PD patients comes up rather
>>frequently on this list.  Inevitably, the comment is made that
>>hospital personnel should certainly be prepared to take care of
>>the complicated medical regimen that PD folks depend upon to
>>function.  I've commented on this problem before, and it's time
>>to review the reality of the response of hospital personnel to PD.
>>
>>1.    PD patients are *infrequently* hospitalized. Those that are
>>admitted usually have an acute problem unrelated to PD.
>>2.    The PD patients most seen on medical units *do not have
>>complicated medical regimens.*  Yesterday, for instance, I cared
>>for a man with PD who was obviously under-medicated (and barely
>>functional as a consequence).  He was receiving Sinemet 3 x day
>>before meals - that was it.
>>3.    When a person with a complicated medical regimen is admitted
>>to the hospital it is *critical* that the medication schedule used
>>at home be somewhere at the patient's bed side as well as in the
>>patient's chart and at the nurses station.  The bigger the font type
>>used for such a schedule, the better.  Believe me.......all medical
>>staff in a general medical surgical hospital need to be appraised
>>over and over again about the importance of timely medication
>>administration for PD patients - such patients are *rare*, therefore
>>personnel need to be educated by family members about the importance
>>of timely med administration.  Having a loved one staying with the
>>patient is not a bad idea.
>>
>>The reality of hospital care today is that we are suffering a
>>terrible nursing shortage in the midst of ever increasing acute
>>medical cases appearing on general med-surg units.  The person having
>>the coronary is going to be getting more attention than the PD patient
>>down the hall ... it is an unfortunate situation that isn't going to
>be resolved any time soon.
>>-------
>>God bless
>>Mary Ann Ryan R.N.

janet paterson: an akinetic rigid subtype, albeit perky, parky .
pd: 54/41/37 cd: 54/44/43 tel: 613 256 8340 email: [log in to unmask] .
snail mail: 375 Country Street, Apt 301, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1A0 .
a new voice: the nnnewsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/janet313/ .
a new voice: the wwweb site: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/ .

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