So I get a call from the lab.....

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  1. This is a discussion on So I get a call from the lab..... in General Nursing Discussion, part of General Nursing ... Your pt has a critical high potassium of 4.8.....seriously? Then in the same sentence....your...

    by Nov 13, '12
    Your pt has a critical high potassium of 4.8.....seriously?

    Then in the same sentence....your other pt is set for dialysis....tell the dialysis nurse to stop.....their creatinine is 4.1 and dialysis may not be safe....SERIOUSLY?

    I told her to keep the numbers coming and to leave the interpretation to me....

    SHEESH
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    by mindlor Nov 13, '12 6:52 am
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    canoehead, GrnTea, ChristineN, and 2 others like this.

  2. 40 Comments so far...

  3. Nov 13, '12 by
    At least your lab still calls you. Where I work, there was a memo that told nurses that lab was no longer going to call us if they discarded lab samples (not labeled, hemolysed, lab mishap), we would simply have to check the computer and figure it out.
    I asked why, and was told that the lab spent too much time on the phone communicating with nurses about these things.
    I guess that shows whose time is considered more valuable.
    aboucherrn, canoehead, Ayvah, and 6 others like this.
  4. Guide
    Nov 13, '12 by
    Why do you have a problem with this? Isn't it normal for a lab to know what the numbers mean? Our lab always calls us with critical values.
    kakamegamama likes this.
  5. Nov 13, '12 by
    Hahahahahha.....that's good stuff.

    I got a phone call about a "critical high" INR for a pt on coumadin. INR was 2.5. LOL
    T-Bird78, barbyann, and nhnursie like this.
  6. Nov 13, '12 by
    HAHAHA and to lori.....do you think K+ of 4.8 is high? Do you think creatinine of 4.1 is a contraindication for dialysis? I dont have time to waster on stupid phone calls........
    Skips, redhead_NURSE98!, Nascar nurse, and 4 others like this.
  7. Nov 13, '12 by
    Lab has to call for critical values, but they don't interpret them for us. Our critical high K starts at 6.
    ChristineN, Sinman, and Crux1024 like this.
  8. Nov 13, '12 by
    This makes me love our lab. We get our criticals called, but they do use common sense, like in the INR or dialysis pt example. Thank goodness, that would drive me nuts to get those phone calls.
    DizzyLizzyNurse likes this.
  9. Nov 13, '12 by
    We don't get a call from the lab unless K is over 6.0 And isn't normal K 3.5 to 5
    Sinman, merlee, and nhnursie like this.
  10. Guide
    Nov 13, '12 by
    The two examples you cite, OP, seriously warrant some communication with your manager regarding this. This is either a new lab med tech who is misunderstanding normal ranges, or a glitch in a computer system which is spitting out erroneous notifications of "critical" values ... or something else gone wonky.
    GrnTea, barbyann, CrufflerJJ, and 5 others like this.
  11. Nov 13, '12 by
    I would be talking to risk management about this!
    Quote from RNperdiem
    At least your lab still calls you. Where I work, there was a memo that told nurses that lab was no longer going to call us if they discarded lab samples (not labeled, hemolysed, lab mishap), we would simply have to check the computer and figure it out.
    I asked why, and was told that the lab spent too much time on the phone communicating with nurses about these things.
    I guess that shows whose time is considered more valuable.
    merlee and DSkelton711 like this.