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Misadventurous Melissa

Everyday is an adventure, or misadventure as the case may be. It is the latter that makes for the best stories, inspiring the name of my blog. I'm a nurse and an attorney (and way too silly sometimes). I am retired now. WELCOME to my blog! This is a work of fiction inspired by true events. The patients I refer to are a patchwork quilt of various patient's problems mixed together. If you think you recognize someone, you are wrong. These people do not really exist.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Who Gets The Blame?

The patient was allergic to dilaudid, a type of pain medication. The chart clearly stated so, but the doctor made a mistake and ordered it anyway. The recovery room set up the dilaudid in a pump, but didn't start it because the patient wasn't having pain yet. Once the patient arrived on our floor, she was having pain, so the nurse turned the pump on. The patient began going into anaphalactic shock.

The patient was treated and is fine. It seems like there is plenty of blame to go around here. The question is, who got the blame for the patient getting a drug that she was allergic to?

1) the doctor who ordered the drug,

2) the recovery room who set up the pump,

3) the nurse who turned the pump on,

4) all of the above.

The answer is 3.

Why? You tell me. (Thank goodness I wasn't involved.)

Written by Melissa on 12:03 PM


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2 Comments:

At 5/28/2007 08:16:00 AM, Blogger Alan said...

I'm not sure of the pecking order in a hospital, but I'd guess the nurse is the lowest of the given list, and hence gets the blame. You know what always flows downhill.

 
At 5/28/2007 04:48:00 PM, Blogger Melissa said...

Alan, you're absolutely correct. It sounds like you know something about how large businesses operate.

 

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