Since when is it my responsibility to... - Page 3

What an interesting topic! What a gray area, too. Depends on the situation, and the facility's policy. I like the idea of the lab calling the doc - and why not? Removes a layer of possible micommunication.

I always wondered why the pharmacy called the nurse with a questionable order, when they needed to talk to the doc directly.
Finally,some facilities started telling the pharmacy to call the doc!

Bottom line - if you took the call, it appears you are the responsible party.

I would definitely revisit the facility policy on this. You may have brought to light a systemic problem waiting to be solved.

Thought my sarcasm was apparent, also said JACO, and my pet peeve is people that don't realize that they've been "Joint Commission" for YEARS now.

It's all about passing the buck. And hospitals are perfectly happy to throw nurses under the bus. So if they can make a policy that puts nurses in the hot seat the majority of the time, that's what they'll do. So either the nurses answers the phone and takes the critical result on other patients and the blame if it doesn't get passed along, or we're not "team players" answering the phone for our coworkers.

I've taken the lab call when my fellow nurse was busy. Have honestly never had another nurse throw me under the bus by saying I didn't tell them. Can't remember a time when the nurse I reported to, didn't take care of the problem.
If the OP reported to two nurses, and neither one of them addressed the issue, I think there's a problem with staff. How could anyone ignore a K+ level of 7?

At my facility it is the responsibility of the nurse who took the call from lab to record it in the chart and record what actions were taken. Frequently that action is that primary RN was notified. I don't call the MD unless the primary requests it. We all carry phones but sometimes when you are in the middle of something you can't answer it.

No, they don't inform the RN. It was our responsibility as we saw fit to check the labs (you DO get a little alert on the computer if a critical value resulted) though it could go ignored. But ultimately, the RNs (unless they had a protocol) were not the ones treating electrolyte abnormalities so they were not the ones to primarily notify.

They probably changed their name because people kept getting JCAHO wrong in the first place.