Have you ever fixed a Doctor's mistake?

[midwestRN]

Have you ever discovered a mistake made by a doctor, but fixed it before it affected the patient. Like prescribing a med they are allergic to. Wrong med, dose, test, patient, etc. I know you have. But did the patient ever know? I bet not. Because the Dr is All-Knowing. I wish the general public could see how they rely on us to keep them straight. Maybe a few minds would be changed about the All-Knowing.

[Sleepyeyes]

Yep, I have.

And that's scary, 'cause i'm no expert.

[ptnurse]

I have from time to time. My facility is a teaching hospital so I don't have much problem with the docs thinking they are all knowing. They are mostly interns and residents They move between multiple hospitals from month to month with mostly learn as they go orientation. Not to mention the sleep deprivation. If they don't get it right the first time I try to get it fixed before it gets to the patient.

[JonRN]

So many times I can't begin to remember how many. I worked at a teaching hospital too, and if some intern tried to do something that would have dire consequences for the pt., I called the chief res. and refused to do it until we talked it over with him/her.

Pappy

[shannonRN, BSN, RN]

i think the majority of us have caught md's mistakes...i'm also pretty sure that we have caught some fellow rn's mistakes as well. we are all human, we all make mistakes. i don't think that not telling the patient has to do with affecting the "all-knowing" perspective. i just don't know how professional it would be to "tattle" to a patient about their doctor or their nurse.

[BadBird, BSN, RN]

Yes, too many times to remember. I work in a large teaching hospital and those interns can be very scary.

[Brownms46]

As said before..no one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes...no matter how much they know or think they know!

And the person that says they don't make mistakes, and or that it is possible to never make a mistake...I want that person no where near me:eek:

[SmilingBluEyes]

Better to catch and fix than to miss it. And I agree, we ALL make mistakes. The thing is to CATCH em and bring them to the attention of whomever needs to know so it does not happen again. I hate to see this become a dr versus nurse thing...cause we are ALL human.

[sjoe]

I used to work in a VA teaching hospital where the nurses taught the interns a lot and kept them from making mistakes when possible. This was always done OUT of the patients' hearing. (In one instance, I called the Doc from the hallway door and told him I needed his help RIGHT NOW with another patient, to get him out in the hallway and gently explain the problem he was about to create.) I think that is only expected in such a situation.

And the interns were happy to explain things to us that we didn't know when we asked them to.

The interns were most receptive and glad for nurse input and were nearly always grateful. I think it would have been a poor idea to point out to the patient the near-misses. They have enough to think about without worrying about possible mistakes by healthcare providers.

We nurses usually got along much better with the interns and residents than we did with each other, for that matter. IMHO.

[shay]

I have and no I didn't tell b/c I didn't want to get drug into the middle of a lawsuit. It had nothing to do with the all-knowing part.

[RyanRN]

Sure, and they have caught plenty of mine! Goes with the territory of working as a TEAM!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Fixed more doctors incorrect orders than my age!