Monitoring catheters is one of the many important tasks performed by licensed practical nurses. Catheters are essentially tubes that get inserted into various parts of the body. They are inserted into the body for a wide range of reasons. Many people have seen them used to drain urine from an ailing individual’s bladder and kidneys. However, they can do much more than that. They’re also used to help people suffering from cardiac and respiratory problems as well as diabetes, ascites, chronic pain and intracranial pressure.

Understandably, each type of catheter has its own set of monitoring protocols that licensed practical nurses must follow. Let’s take chronic pain management as an example. Sometimes catheters are used to administer medications like analgesics. It’s a term used by nursing staff members to describe a category of pain-killing medications. The attending physician generally uses a widely accepted pain ladder to determine which medications would be most appropriate for the situation and how much the patient should receive. Then that information is communicated to the licensed practical nurses on duty.

Using the doctor’s guidelines, licensed practical nurses will insert the medications into the catheter and monitor the patient for signs of troubling side effects. They’ll also periodically check the catheter to ensure that it’s not leaking and there is no pain or infection at the insertion site. In some instances, the nurses on duty may need to clean the insertion site and change out the tubing too. If the licensed practical nurses on duty notice a problem with the catheter or medications, they’ll notify the patient’s primary care physician so adjustments may be made to the chronic pain management care plan.

To learn more about how licensed practical nurses can provide patients with catheter care at home, please contact us today. We have nurses who are experienced in catheter care and able to serve patients in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties around the clock, year round.