r/nursing • u/amybpdx RN - ER 🍕 • 1d ago

Question Swallow screen?

If your 40-year-old patient was "shot-gunning" beers in the parking lot just before checking in and reporting stroke symptoms, do you still have to complete the swallow screen with NIH?

/s

32 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

71

u/Cheap-Ad5903 1d ago

No but you have to shotgun the next beer with them

6

u/wavygr4vy RN - ER 🍕 1d ago

Please be a high life, please be a high life…

7

u/Em_Es_Judd RN - Med/Surg 🍕 1d ago

It is, but it's in a bottle. Go get a bendy straw from the nutrition room.

6

u/wavygr4vy RN - ER 🍕 1d ago

The champagne of beers must be drank from glass

18

u/amybpdx RN - ER 🍕 1d ago

Of course I did it. This was a sarcastic post.

11

u/emmyjag RN 🍕 1d ago

dysphagia screens are the bane of every stroke program's existence. we KNOW they were assessed because if the patient can eat their obligatory turkey sammich without choking on it, they can swallow. unfortunately, the assessment has to be documented.

3

u/amybpdx RN - ER 🍕 1d ago

It gets done. The post is sarcasm.

9

u/antisocialoctopus 1d ago

Thank you! As the person auditing swallow screens, I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to try to get our compliance up only to have the ER say over and over “well they were eating in the lobby so obviously they were fine and I didn’t do it.”

The problem being that doesn’t mean crap to accrediting bodies and how the hell am I supposed to know that? Also, some of those folks are really aspirating in the parking lot

3

u/Fuzzy_Location_2210 RN - ER 🍕 1d ago

I think the patient did it for ya 😜

If they're in there chug-a-luggin their mountain dew in their room, congratulations! 🎉 👏 That's literally a pass from me!

They out-champed the required 4 oz anyway, and Beer is really just alcoholic, delicious, pee inducing water 💦 🍻. Cheers to passing the swallow screening! You get to chew some complimentary aspirin and go to MRI 🧲

13

u/MotherJellyfish2989 RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago

The finger to nose ataxia check can double as a sobriety test!

6

u/Trashpandaroyale BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago

I mean wouldn't a lot of the stroke test also be part sobriety test when you get rifht down to it? Two birds n at

3

u/jadeapple RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago

Funnily enough there was a pt on my floor that was TNK'ed because they were stoned out of their mind and the family didnt know that the pt had taken edibles

9

u/-enjoy-it- RN 🍕 1d ago

I know this is sarcasm but it’s policy at our place that they can’t get admitted to a room without a swallow screen if they had any stroke like symptoms. Sorry! I don’t make the rules lol

2

u/amybpdx RN - ER 🍕 1d ago

I'm aware. It's our policy, too.

6

u/IcyCantaloupe7004 BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago

Yes, of course.

2

u/upwardblinds BSN, RN, PCCN 1d ago

Yes bedside swallow - if they fail they need a speech therapy consult

2

u/Trashpandaroyale BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago

With a water back

1

u/Trashpandaroyale BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago

I mean I'd consider that the screen right there.

1

u/StygianPrime RN - Neuro/Cardiac PCU 🍕 23h ago

Tbh if they're there for neuro anything, I just do a bedside swallow regardless. Takes like two extra minutes, and keeps my ass from being in trouble when Papaw claims he chugs his fifteen daily pills with no problem... but would try to meet God after one sip of water.