Terrified in the OR

Specialties Operating Room

Published

:imbar I've been in the operating room for a little over year now. When a patient started to crash last week, a seasoned scrub technician that was not scrubbed in began drawing up anesthesia meds at the direction of the anesthesiologist. I was stunned but everyone else acted like it was business as usual. What should I have done????

Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

That is true, but you still need to look out for yourself and not assume anything. It takes along time and effort to obtain your lisence but only takes a minute to put it into jeopardy. This whole subject reflects back on legalities and not really what you have to work with. Practice safe and wise!

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Specializes in Adult Cardiac surgical.
I have a real problem with a tech drawing up any drugs even at the direction of anesthesia because they are not a licensed person. I know some places "allow" their techs to draw up some drugs for on field use such as Lidocaine, marcaine or? Where I work we as nurses give the techs what they need and just verify the drug to them. It doesn't really matter if the tech is working under an MDs license, because this isn't really true just like MAs working in MDs offices aren't working under their license. Our techs, in this situation, can only do one thing and that is compressions. Don't all hospitals have code teams or are they just for larger hospitals? If this is the case then you should have plenty of people that can legally give drugs and draw them up. I see no reason at all for this tech to draw up anything. The anesthesiologist should know better.

You know I would have to agree with this post! I mean there have been serious errors in the heat of the moment with LICENSED personnel drawing up meds.....so I can imagine what can happen with someone not licensed drawing them up, having said that--if the MDA or surgeon was asking for the meds--then THEY should have made sure what they were giving, especially if this was a sterile field situation.

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Specializes in NICU- now learning OR!.

I personally don't feel comfortable in that situation. My first response would have been to call for either (1) another CRNA to the room or (2) another MDA I do not care that the MDA was instructing the ST to do this....UNLESS the ST was also an RN. I also do not care that the ST draws up meds on the field. When a pt crashes...we normally have AT LEAST 2 CRNAs and 1 MDA in the room until they are stabilized. (you need people for meds, blood, etc.)

my .02

Jenny

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Specializes in CST in general surgery, LDRs, & podiatry.
you know i would have to agree with this post! i mean there have been serious errors in the heat of the moment with licensed personnel drawing up meds.....so i can imagine what can happen with someone not licensed drawing them up, having said that--if the mda or surgeon was asking for the meds--then they should have made sure what they were giving, especially if this was a sterile field situation.

so, (not to cause a firestorm of controversy by any means), but to use that logic, then being licensed is no guarantee of being error-free. and if that is true, then being unlicensed - but perhaps certified - wouldn't be a much greater risk. seems to me that being able to listen, follow directions, read labels and keep a cool head under pressure would be just as important if not more so.

like i said - not trying to "stir the pot" as it were - just to make sense of the situation as it is presented here.........

we do get pharmacology in st school, and have to demonstrate skills in calculating and drawing up proper dosages of medications to pass the course. and reading is of course a basic skill to get in the course to begin with........at least, in my course, we did.

my ........:twocents:

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Specializes in NICU- now learning OR!.
to use that logic, then being licensed is no guarantee of being error-free. and if that is true, then being unlicensed - but perhaps certified - wouldn't be a much greater risk.

i have to disagree with you. simply being human means there is no guarantee of being error free. the issue is more legal and ethical than anything. even with a pharmacology class, that doesn't mean that an st can pass meds....especially a paralytic! (the op mentioned succ) and in a court of law the st has no license to go after...it will be the licensed personnel in the room that will be sharply criticized and will lose their license and possibly have other penalties.

it's not that your logic is incorrect, it is just not the law.

jenny :twocents:

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