Be Your Own Advocate (or One for Your Loved Ones)

Recently, a young, healthy friend of mine was admitted to the hospital with viral meningitis. I suppose healthy may not sound quite right, but for the most part, she is healthy...just happened to catch a nasty bug. While in the hospital, she was almost killed by a nurse who failed to follow proper hospital protocol and execute even a little intelligence. She administered a narcotic medication that was outside of her scope of practice to administer in the method it was ordered, and although she administered a dose that was within the range ordered by the doctor, it was way too high. This friend of mine was given the large dose and felt fine initially. She sent her husband to go get her some tea because she was thirsty. He returned 5 minutes later to find her blue and gasping. He could not revive her and ran out to the nurses' station and got help. Luckily, my friend survived the incident, but it just goes to show that you always need someone in the hospital room with you, to keep an eye on things.

Now, I want you to remember that I am a nurse, and a nursing educator, and I did my Master's thesis on medication errors. Med errors happen in the hospital, even when nurses follow protocol and the standards of practice. Nurses and doctors are human, and mistakes are going to happen. That is why I urge you to be your own advocate. Here are a few suggestions:

• Always question the nurse about your meds, especially if they look different from what you are accustomed to taking.
• Make sure the nurse identifies you so that you are not receiving a different patient's medication. Don't assume that s/he knows who you are, even if s/he's been taking care of you all shift, or even a few days.
• Make sure the nurse washes his or her hands (or gels) before touching you. Every time. Don't be afraid to ask them to if they forgot. This is the BEST way to prevent the spread of infection, and believe me, it is rampant in the hospital.
• If you receive any I.V. medications, make sure the nurse swabs the port (where the tubing for the medication hooks up to your main line) before hooking up the new tubing or syringe.

These are just a few things that you can do to protect yourself or your loved ones. And always make sure that you are not alone (or your loved ones are not alone) when in the hospital.