Do you REALLY ask every patient to state their name and date of birth before every medication that you administer? I was doing it for a while, and I always prefaced it with "for your safety, can you please state your name and date of birth", check against the wrist band and go on. Part of my problem is that I work nights, and sleep is hard enough to come by in the hospital as it is. But, early on, I had a few patients respond with different variations of "how dumb are you that you can't remember who I am?" And I see their point. Once we've done the initial identification, and they haven't even moved out of bed, I am pretty sure that I can identify them accurately- at least for the next eight hours, and especially when I've had them 5 days in a row. Additionally, I've got some patients on antibiotics spaced two hours apart all night- I can scan their bracelet, the IV bag, and start it without even waking them, so the name and date of birth part- not so much happening every time. I've got an orientee now, and I want to set someone else off on the right track, so I just want to know how others practice. And what are your thoughts on balancing common sense with the by-the-book safety aspect.
