Okay, if the computer screws up, you should be competent enough to know if the drug/dosage is lethal.
” Okay, if the computer screws up, you should be competent enough to know if the drug/dosage is lethal. “
LOL. Someone who has never marked undergraduate exams where they had to calculate something using large numbers.
Orders of magnitude errors in both directions...
This business with people not being able to function without a computer to tell them what to do is complete nonsense. There was a time when there were no computers, and people had to function using common sense, and their knowledge of drugs to treat patients. If you didn't know, you found out, and not from a computer.
My oldest son was seeing a Rheumatologist. Their computer system was held ransom, and they told him they couldn't make an appointment for him because they had no access to their computers. Good Lord, I guess they never heard of appointment books.
Here is he problem, A nurse might have 20-25 patients to pass meds to. In a hospital patients are in and out rooms usually less than 3-5 days. The next time you come in, 5 to 10 new patients might be under your care. The computer system is how all patient data, test results, diagnosis and treatment plans are shared. How much insulin is too much? If you don’t really need any, a relatively small amount could trigger insulin shock. If your kidneys are in trouble, the last thing you need are a couple of Tylenol. And don’t even get started on interactions between drugs. False patient records are murder waiting to happen. catch the crooks, and then bury them under the jail.
In have seen the personal ravages of computer systems that went down...in patient care related issues...some professionals freeze cause there is no preplanned competent work around..sadly, because computers have been given sanction to take over, many, many practitioners have simply forgotten how to calculate doses or remember complex protocols, or are taught that the computer will figure it out and they simply lose proficiency...with dei, crt, and acceptance of poor verbal communication...I expect to see more of this in all fields where the computer rules over intelligent human thought...
The problem is that the computer would confirm the dose and medication was correct. The nurses and pharmacy did not have access to the doctors’ original hand written orders. So they might not know the medication was wrong if it was one routinely given in certain circumstances. For example someone hacks the system and removes allergen info from patient’s chart. Because of that post surgery a patient is given an antibiotic they are allergic to and they have a severe reaction.
But you are right if the dosage was way out of wack for the patient that should have been spotted. It should just be second nature for a nurse to check such things. He sure would if he could not make out a doctor’s hand writing and was concerned with misreading orders. Relying too much on the computer means less independent thought.
“Okay, if the computer screws up, you should be competent enough to know if the drug/dosage is lethal.”
Nope. Back in the 80’s we were not smarter than the computer. Drugs were a mystery. We’d stamp our feet and tell people they were hurting our feelings when we had no one to point the finger at, no computer/lack of, to blame
We were lost. We were stupid. Waiting for someone to invent a computer so we could know what we were doing
No. Actually any nurse is able to calculate a drop rate for a drug- number of drops per ml, without an IV machine. The pharmacy should have a contingency plan as well.
Not in my neck of the woods...
anyone in a facility where labs or drugs are administered MUST ask what the test is, why you're getting it, what drug you're getting and all the WHY's....