INSULIN . . . Life Saver or Life Taker | Understanding How Insulin Works

Does insulin save lives, or does it take lives?

Bodies that don't produce enough insulin shut down, but if too much insulin is in the system it can be just as disastrous.

As nurses, we are often tasked with administering insulin to our patients. When done incorrectly it can be life-threatening. 

For years I was a member of the code team, and count

• WHEN I was a new nurse I remember trying to keep track of the patients and insulin action times and the dosage times and everything else . . . I felt like I was drowning trying to keep it all straight in my head - I was both stressed and scared at the same time
• THAT'S WHEN I copied all the insulin peak and onset times down in my notebook.
• THIS HELPED me feel more relaxed and avoid my patient coding!

If you want to see my notes they are at NURSING.com/cheatsheets.

Honestly, I still use the cheatsheet today!

What we cover in this episode: 

• what is insulin
• understanding how insulin works
• what does insulin do
• types of insulin
• onset, peak, duration of insulin