Any healthcare professionals here?

[AnaCat]

Hi. I'm a registered nurse and I just started vaping on 3/21. I haven't had an analog since I started about 36 hours ago and I feel great! I wanted to quit analogs because I was tired of waking up with that nasty phlegm and gross taste in my mouth, smelling like an ashtray all the time, and feeling like a hypocrite when I had to tell my cardiac patients to stop smoking. I'm wondering if anyone here is a health professional and if you ever recommend vaping to your smoking patients. Could that be seen as unethical or practicing outside the scope of nursing (it will be a couple of years before I become a nurse practitioner and then it won't be an issue at all)? I think that it would be really beneficial, but I don't want to cross any lines. Also, if I were to tell a patient it's fine to vape in the hospital, could I get in trouble? I mean, really, why would it be a problem? We offer patches, so it should be ok, right? Thanks! I'm really new to this and I know I'll be asking a lot more questions!

 

[Rosa]

Hopefully some will chime in soon. I am just starting a new career as a medical assistant, but I know that we have plenty of nurses here and even a few doctors too.

 

[AnaCat]

Thanks, Rosa. I've read a lot of your replies. You seem to be quite knowledgable!

I would like to see more nurses and doctors get into vaping, or at least learn about it as an option rather than the patches, gum, and meds. There are so many of us who smoke, and it looks bad. I was told when I was a certified medical assistant before I went to nursing school that I made the entire cardiology practice and hospital look bad because I smoked in the hospital's designated smoking area in my uniform. It's not like I was the only one, but I do see the point that nurse was trying to make.

 

[StormFinch]

I had to look, but I thought it was there and it is. AnaCat there is a sub-forum for medical professionals here; http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/medical-professionals-private-forum/. It's private, by application to the admins only, but that may be where your answers lie if this thread is missed. Once you have 5 posts (and wait for the system update, an hour max) you can post anywhere on the forums. Then you can contact any of the moderators and ask what you need to do to get access.

 

[Evie]

From a fellow RN - I'd go with the standard CYA prefix of, "You may want to talk to your doctor about...." ( Saved me on a few occasions) then you can go ahead with facts and anecdotal evidence. As far as vaping in the hospital, I'd check facility policy before I started telling pts it was ok. I can't use my PV in patient care areas. As goes in the mouth, it's a cross-contamination/infection control issue (same as food and beverages).

I would definitely steer clear of recommending specific products or vendors as this will probably make people feel you have some sort of ulterior motive (ie: Volcano giving points for referring new customers).

Just make sure you feel confident in your knowledge base because you will be asked all sorts of questions.

 

[AnaCat]

Thanks, StormFinch! I'll do that.

 

[AnaCat]

Thank you, Evie. Yeah, I wouldn't use mine in patient care areas, either. I was just thinking about the patients who might want to. I'll check with the hospital. Maybe I'll need to do some educating with admin. Maybe info about vaping could be included with the smoking cessation materials we give out. I'm sure one of the cardiologists would possibly be willing to listen.

 

[Evie]

Definitely educate admin. I think including PV info with the cessation materials is a great idea. When you talk to the cardiologists, remember to stroke the ego a little. After all, MD usually stands for Miniature Deity.

 

[AnaCat]

Definitely educate admin. I think including PV info with the cessation materials is a great idea. When you talk to the cardiologists, remember to stroke the ego a little. After all, MD usually stands for Miniature Deity.

LMAO! That's especially true with cardiologists and cardiac surgeons!

 

[Cat_in_the_Playground]

LMAO! That's especially true with cardiologists and cardiac surgeons!

IMO neurosurgeons are worse...

 

[AnaCat]

IMO neurosurgeons are worse...

I guess they're all gods in their own little worlds! LOL

 

[Cat_in_the_Playground]

Thank you, Evie. Yeah, I wouldn't use mine in patient care areas, either. I was just thinking about the patients who might want to. I'll check with the hospital. Maybe I'll need to do some educating with admin. Maybe info about vaping could be included with the smoking cessation materials we give out. I'm sure one of the cardiologists would possibly be willing to listen.

Boy to I wish they would include vaping in smoking cessation literature. I probably would have found out about it sooner. Even if its not included with the smoking cessation materials (as a smoking cessation option), but at least information provided as a harm reduction technique. I know when I get my health insurance documents every year, they offer smoking cessation benefits. Wouldn't it be nice if insurance would cover vaping? Or at least provide some kind of benefit? If insurance companies will pay for Zyban, Wellbutrin, Chantix, counseling, etc - wouldn't it be in their interests to say that if the patient fails some number of smoking cessation techniques that they will cover some portion of an ecig?

I'm disabled now, but I used to work as a paramedic (both on the ambulance and in the hospital). The way most states are, I would think that recommending vaping to a patient might be exceeding the scope of practice. I would talk to your MD about it and see what their take is on it. Like someone else said, provide some literature to the MD about vaping. If you work in a department (ie ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, etc) it might be hard to get the MDs approval since you don't work with judy one MD. I know some hospitals are kind of picky about the whole chain of command thing too. Unless you work with one specific MD, then rather than speaking to the MD, you may want to talk to the nurse supervisor for you floor or area and let him/her talk to the MD(s). I think the difference would be if a patient saw you vaping outside or somewhere on hospital grounds and asked you about your PV. In which case, I think you would be safe talking to them, so long as you qualify the exchange with the caveat that they should talk to their personal MD.

 

[AnaCat]

Wouldn't it be nice if insurance would cover vaping? Or at least provide some kind of benefit? If insurance companies will pay for Zyban, Wellbutrin, Chantix, counseling, etc - wouldn't it be in their interests to say that if the patient fails some number of smoking cessation techniques that they will cover some portion of an ecig?

I agree that it would be great if vaping were covered in health insurance smoking cessation programs. Even if they only covered the basic e-cig.

As far as getting e-cigs included in the smoking cessation materials, there are too many docs, so I think my best bet would be to talk to a clinical nurse specialist for the unit or the director to get it pitched at a meeting between nursing and the MDs (or maybe one of the Nurse Practitioners).

 

[medic123]

Get some of the ECF free business cards. They tell about this forum and e-cigs without promoting one vendor. I am a Paramedic and our medical director hands out these cards all the time. After watching me and my family and friends quit smoking he is a believer.

 

[dee5]

I work for a Pulmonologist in a clinic setting. We have many(very many!) smoking patients with diagnosis' of COPD, emphysema, dyspnea and cancer that I was just crazy to talk to about ecigs but didn't feel it was my place. Finally I wasn't able to stand it any longer and wrote my Dr a letter. I explained my own addiction to nicotine, my attempts to quit and my success with the electronic cigarette. I included printed material from the CASAA website and concluded by saying if he had any patients that he thought could benefit from this product that I would LOVE to be able to educate them about it. I placed it on his desk to read at his leisure (he's super busy) and waited. And waited....Finally had to ask him if he'd read my letter yet after a week had gone by and he smiled and said "Yeeeess". Long story short, he has allowed me to talk to patients as I see fit as long as I begin with the disclaimer: "Dr K doesn't endorse this product but he has allowed me to talk to you about it". It's been so wonderful! I have a postcard printed that I hand out with info and links on it. I demonstrate the ecig for them (right here at the front desk!) and I even have one they can try. In my opinion, he's the best Dr in the world!!

 

[GMoney]

As an RN you do not want to do anything that could even give the appearance of "prescribing medicine". As Evie said above, "you may want to talk to your doctor about ..." is the way to go.

Even when you do become a Nurse Practitioner, You will need to be aware of your specific State regulations concerning the limitations on prescribing medicine. Some states still require a collaborative Medical Doctor to prescribe medication.

Always be aware of State law and your contractual limitations as far as your license is concerned and as Evie said above always CYA.

 

[GG227]

Good Luck with your vaping experience!!! I'm an RN and have been vaping steady since July 2010. When pt's ask about different ways to quit smoking I tell them about all their options including vaping. I didn't start vaping just to quit smoking altogether. I don't intend to quit vaping at all!!! I do still smoke when drinking!!!! Any ways I've even had the dr's I work with bring it up to pt's when I'm there so I can tell them my experience with it. Most dr's agree that whatever option that is going to work best with a pt to quit smoking then go for it. Bottom line is it gets them off the dangerous tobacco cigarettes!!! If they ask I tell them which PV's I've tried and liked. As far as vaping in pt care settings that would be up to the individual hospital. The hospital I work for does not allow it. I think hospitals will come around eventually though!!

 

[pAth77]

I'm a Pathologist so I don't see patients as often as I did when I was in med school. I still do bone marrow biopsies a few times a week, and that's pretty much all the patient contact I have nowadays. Vaping is still a very new thing, and many docs don't know much about it, if anything at all. I know that I'm the first doc to use it in my hospital, but I'm doing my best to spread the word. The older docs still have a tendency to resist the whole idea, but those that are my age (early 30s) are very open-minded and love the concept. They know of my frustrations and struggles with smoking, and they know that I tried every NRT available. The fact that I was successful just solidifies the fact that vaping works. That's not to say that it's 100% fool proof and safe, but then again what drug out there is? All I know is that it's worked for me and for thousands of others out there, and I will continue to support and recommend vaping to others that want to quit smoking.

 

[Religion]

I have been teaching every doctor I know about these d**ned things! Half of them smoke, so it is so much fun to set them free, both personally and to further the cause through their positions of authority.

 

[bLuNtz]

most of the MD's i know already considers this as an alternative to analogs for lung cancer patients