The One Dozen Most Important Things You May Not Have Known, Understood, or Realized About American Medicine
Safety and Errors
Scenario Script
A doctor and a nurse are on opposite sides of patient. The patient is fully reclined on an exam table, has her eyes closed, and is unresponsive during the scene.
Doctor: Okay, Carla, let’s get a line in and start her on some cephalosporin, I’ll write up the order for 1 gram right now and q6hours, you get it going.
Nurse: Doctor Klein, I thought I saw something on her chart about a penicillin allergy. Shouldn’t we check on that first?
Doctor: [Flipping through chart] I don’t see anything here…of course her admission workup is in the other part of her chart. Anyhow, I don’t remember seeing that, and if she were truly allergic, someone her age would have been flagged or at least had a Med-Ident bracelet. [Quickly checks the patient’s wrists, and there are no bracelets.] So, why don't you get it going? That cross reactivity is pretty rare. I will check on it later.
Nurse: Okay, Doctor Klein, but just be sure and write that order….