Into the Abyss
Early yesterday morning, near the start of the shift, one of the pharmacists handed me a vial of propolol.
"Go take this up. There's a code so don't worry about finding an order."
What's a code? Where am I taking this? Why can't I just wait for the rest of the run?
I asked one of the other techs, and she said just to take it to the room number. I knew the section where the room was...but not the exact location. It took me about 2 minutes to find the room. There was a large crowd of people, doctors and nurses scrambling inside with the patient, and the patient's family standing outside, watching the commotion. Another pharmacist came up and grabbed the vial, mumbling something that sounded like thanks. I joined the crowd, watching.
What is going on?
I couldn't see much from where I was standing. I could see the clock, though. It was time to go get ready for the run, so that's what I did.
Denise was kind enough to explain that a "code" meant that a patient was "crashing".
That didn't hit me until I saw them cleaning out his room later in the day.
"Go take this up. There's a code so don't worry about finding an order."
What's a code? Where am I taking this? Why can't I just wait for the rest of the run?
I asked one of the other techs, and she said just to take it to the room number. I knew the section where the room was...but not the exact location. It took me about 2 minutes to find the room. There was a large crowd of people, doctors and nurses scrambling inside with the patient, and the patient's family standing outside, watching the commotion. Another pharmacist came up and grabbed the vial, mumbling something that sounded like thanks. I joined the crowd, watching.
What is going on?
I couldn't see much from where I was standing. I could see the clock, though. It was time to go get ready for the run, so that's what I did.
Denise was kind enough to explain that a "code" meant that a patient was "crashing".
That didn't hit me until I saw them cleaning out his room later in the day.