Failing to carry out a stat order in timely manner

[afteralltheseyears]

I made a mistake in deciding to send an admitted patient to the medical floor (from the ED) and have a stat admission order carried out there rather than seeing that it was done in the ED prior to admission. The patient's condition was not such that I believed the delay would harm them and in fact, the consulting specialist came along before the stat order was carried out and cancelled it stating it was not needed.

I know it was the wrong thing to do (stat means it should be done without delay) but felt it was for a good reason (so the rest of the patient's admission orders would begun to be carried out sooner to the benefit of the patient). If I had it to do over again I would have kept the patient in the ED longer so the stat order could be carried out but it's too late now.

My manager has expressed he has a problem with my not planning to carry out the "stat" order and I'm afraid I'll be terminated for it. If you were a manager, would you terminate a nurse who did this?

[rockabye]

No, this is probably just a warning of concern from your manager, especially if you have a previous good record. No harm came to the patient in the end. All nurses make mistakes sometimes. Learn from this experience and try not to make the same mistake again.

[caliotter3]

Not for the first offense, no. But if there were other situations and this was the last straw, perhaps.

[rn4ever?]

If you are in an employment-at-will state, you can be fired anytime. STAT may mean that it should be done without delay.....but it doesn't mean that all STAT orders are right. If you feel uncomfortable with it, trust your instinct.

[Crux1024]

Does your facility define "stat"? The hospital I work for states a stat order should be carried out within half an hour of being ordered to account for the fact that sometimes it is impossible to drop everything.

[indigonurse]

From what you described I would not terminate some one for one med error that did not result in any harm to the pt.

[sheronep, MSN, RN]

Look at it from the other side. When a patient gets to the floor there is an inherent delay - assessment, getting them settled, etc. You delaying that order may have caused a significant delay in finding out a cause for an effect.

As a floor nurse I get extremely frustrated when a patient is sent to the floor with orders that havent been done. We are trying to get the patient settled.

I don't think you will be fired but remember how you would feel if this was you or one of your family members.

[GHGoonette, BSN, RN]

Ah, duplicated thread...