Are Dialysis Policies A Blessing Or A Curse?

Dialysis Policies Are Your Friends and Here's Why
Policies!
Stick with me! By the end of this video you will learn to love policies just like me!
I’m here to help you!
And if you are new to dialysis nursing, you are going to be like, ohhhh this is where all ( or a lot of the answers are). We don’t just “know what to do”
I know you are wondering, where does Lindsey get all her answers?
Some of my answers come from experience, but most of them come from my clinics policies!
And I am here to tell you, policies are your friend. They are there to protect you.
I have had to use policies to defend or validate my nursing care.
Lindsey, why did you increase the dialyzer on this patient?
-It is part of the adequacy policy
Lindsey, why did you increase the epo?
-It is part of the epo policy
Lindsey, why are you calling me about this lab?
-It is part of the critical lab policy
And providers love policies too!
-Hey doc, this person has peritonitis, what antibiotics should we start them on?
What does the policy say, can you pull it up for me
Policies are best practice. And I don’t have to remember everything, because I can easily look it up.
Someone codes on the machine, blood leak alarm, water culture results…There are policies that tell you what to do!
And I know, it is easier to ask one of your seasoned co-workers what to do…but when you get a call back asking about something, saying “nurse Jane told me to” but nurse Jane is wrong….idk how protected you are going to be.
But if I look at the policy myself, I get a sense of ease, like I leave work with more serenity, less worry about if I did the right thing or not.
Things that I can do, and it’s not always easy, and this is definetly something I can work on is…instead of always giving the answer, I can help them find the policy and go from there. Because all of the tough question happen when your charge nurse leaves. And then you feel really stuck….but then again….you remember their is a policy for that….and then you feel relaxed again.
For example, when someone code’s on the machine and we have to do CPR there are things I have to do once the patient leaves the clinic.
Could I do this from memory? Maybe. But then I am going to go home and remember something I forgot to do.
So usually, I will pull up the policy, print it, and cross out each thing that has been completed. It is awesome.
I will stress, this does not mean I never ask for help. But it does mean that I need to know the policy I am using. Because, I don’t always remember things right. And sometimes I need help understanding the policy.
Thank you so much for watching. And learning your policies!
See you next time.
00:00 Policies
01:17 Who uses policies
02:19 Policies as a Solution
02:50 To the Seasoned RN
03:20 Questions & Answers
03:44 We all Need Help
04:11 How I use Policies IRL
DISCLAIMER: This video is intended for education purposes only and is not intended as medical advice
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!

[@LP-fz5xm]

Some policies have a thousand steps for something that takes two minutes to complete 😅 But you are so right, you’ve inspired me to go look up my policies.

[@dialysisnurselindsey]

U are so right and I get it. Thank u for watching!!!

[@annebagain9981]

Hi nurse lindsey , i want to make our unit specific policy our dialyis unit is a bit new , can you help me what policy must be at least the basic and most used in a dialysis clinic thanks 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@JCRB2]

If it’s written in policy you must follow unless it is written as a guideline which gives wiggle room.

[@dialysisnurselindsey]

Awesome, thanks!