TB In The Air And Sound-A-likes

We have a patient with possible TB. In each unit we have a special room for TB patients that has negative pressure. This prevents the TB infected air from being sucked into the ventilation system and circulated throughout the hospital. The only problem is that our negative pressure room is broken. Does that stop them from putting a rule-out TB patient in that room? No. Does anyone care that we and everyone else in the building is breathing air that may be contaminated with TB? No.

A nurse gave morphine to a patient who is allergic to morphine. The doctor ordered it and the nurse failed to catch the mistake. So, when the patient started to swell up and become itchy, she called the doctor. The doctor ordered Zestril, a blood pressure medication. Without questioning it, that's what the nurse gave.

Another nurse intervened at this point and not believing that the doctor intended to give a blood pressure pill for an allergic reaction, called the doctor herself. The doctor was livid and said that he had ordered vistaril, an antihistamine. Vistaril and Zestril both end in an ril, but do such different things. It's kind of scary that a nurse would blindly follow a doctor's orders no matter how silly or dangerous they were.

Besides ordering medications that patients are allergic to, doctors also do silly things like ordering the wrong drug, such as Tylenol for constipation or stool softeners for fever. My personal favorite is the doctors who check the box that they want the patient's arm suspended from an IV pole when the patient has had surgery on their leg. We can't just do things because the doctor ordered it. It's a wonder that patients leave the hospital alive.