W.A.G. System

Patient comes in tonight with an insulin pump infusing thru the skin on his abdomen. A new nurse had never seen this before and this patient was more than willing to explain it to the nurse.

Patient very seriously explains how the machine works, how it transfuses into the skin and that he changes the site every 3 days. He then explains how he decides how much extra insulin to give himself based on what he ate for his meal using the carb exchange. And then he talks about the basal (how much insulin infuses continuously every hour)setting and how he changes it based on the WAG system.

This new nurse looked at the patient and then at me in confusion.. I could tell that his mind was going back to pharmacology class trying to remember the WAG system. After a minute or so I decided to let the nurse off the hook and asked my patient to explain WAG.

WAG- Wild Ass Guessing! I love new grads--- they make my nights so much more fun.