Grrrr
Alright, here's a story about why I need to listen to myself.
We had a patient come in last week, and I did part of the patient intake. And this patient was taking a PRN medication containing barbiturates. But I didn't ask how much she was taking or how often. Then I read the ER report which stated she got 2mg of ativan without effect. (For the uninitiated Ativan is a sedative that isn't a barbiturate, but has some degree of cross tolerance) So, I turned to my resident and said "I wish I knew how much of the medicine she was taking." To which the resident replies, "It's an as needed medication, we don't need to know how much she is taking. And I let the matter drop. I wasn't in the hospital the next day. I come in the following day to find out my patient had a siezure, fell, hit her head, and now has a basal skull fracture. What caused the siezure, yep, you guessed it, barbiturate withdrawl. And, if I had gone with my instincts, it could have all been prevented. Granted I technically did what I'm expected to do, I told my resident. But still. Grrr.
We had a patient come in last week, and I did part of the patient intake. And this patient was taking a PRN medication containing barbiturates. But I didn't ask how much she was taking or how often. Then I read the ER report which stated she got 2mg of ativan without effect. (For the uninitiated Ativan is a sedative that isn't a barbiturate, but has some degree of cross tolerance) So, I turned to my resident and said "I wish I knew how much of the medicine she was taking." To which the resident replies, "It's an as needed medication, we don't need to know how much she is taking. And I let the matter drop. I wasn't in the hospital the next day. I come in the following day to find out my patient had a siezure, fell, hit her head, and now has a basal skull fracture. What caused the siezure, yep, you guessed it, barbiturate withdrawl. And, if I had gone with my instincts, it could have all been prevented. Granted I technically did what I'm expected to do, I told my resident. But still. Grrr.