[QUESTION] Missing Treatment: Purgatives @ ICU

Botulism can send your patients rather easily into the ICU ward. Why they are not able to precribe purgatives is rather beyond me. ICU is the highest level of patientcare and should be able to do almost anything not needing special equipment. But a mere pill...?

DocDesastro wrote:Botulism can send your patients rather easily into the ICU ward. Why they are not able to precribe purgatives is rather beyond me. ICU is the highest level of patientcare and should be able to do almost anything not needing special equipment. But a mere pill...?

Hi, specialization of ICU is keep patient alive, not to treat every single problem he has. Like in real hospitals ICU doc is not a "multi-specialized" genius who can treat everything.

But they should be able to give them proper medication if symptoms are discovered - I am not talking about special equipment there. But medications from pills to IV solutions should be fair game. Even more so if it is such a common thing like a purgative.

Try seeing it from this part - this is not the doctor's job, but the nurse's providing prescribed medication for a hospitalized person no matter which doc made the prescription. So if the TC doc said purgatives are in order but the patient is to be moved to ICU, then still the patient care nurse will give the prescribed medicine while checking up the patient. This is not about ICU docs being miracle workers but only about the ability of a department's nurses to provide already prescribed medication.