Inquiring Minds Want To Know: Outrageous Orders!

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IVE RECENTLY HEARD SOME FUNNY AND SOMETIMES DISTURBING STORIES IN REGARDS TO PHYSICIANS ORDERS.SO I WAS JUST WONDERING:

WHATS THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS MD ORDER YOU EVER HAD TO TAKE OFF OR WERE EXPECTED TO IMPLEMENT? AND WHEN YOU REFUSED TO IMPLEMENT OR TAKE THESE ORDERS OFF,WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES?

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW,THANK YOU.

Our RT dept. used to keep a logbook of the funniest and/or most outrageous orders. My personal favorite: "Place pt on 15% O2"

And another: "RT's don't question, just do"

This one is apocryphal, don't know if it's actually true or not--supposedly given by a sleepy intern in the middle of the night: "Place foley cath to wall suction"

Edited to add this one on a post-op pt: "Pt NPO until awake"

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"Give 40 meq KCl++ IVP stat." Say WHAT? I refused, got my ADN, the Nursing Supervisor, etc. Supervisor finally called the hospital attorney. Attorney says, can't you dilute it in something?

Pt on fluid restriction. Finally administered sloooooow IV from Pig Bag in 50cc NS. I was applying hot towels to the arm to dilate the vein-somehow the pt was able to tolerate it!

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Another favorite of mine ..you call a doc with a problem and he says "Well, keep an eye on 'em".

As if???

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once called one of our best mds for orders when a patient came up from er (midnight shift). pt had ng dt nausea and distended abdomen. well, he said 0.9 alternate nares. :chuckle poor guy. when he came up to the floor that morning we all had a good laugh.

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15% O2!:roll ........Per craniofacial pillow compression maybe?............Hyperbaric at 460 mmHg maybe?:chuckle .................LOl

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Hee hee. The RT's suggested piping in some nitrous or helium to dilute the room air. :D

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July 2 years ago, new residents in the ER. JUly becomes the most popular moth to take a vacation. Anyway, a copd exac. admitted who consequently is iddm. New MD writes admission orders and writes "humulin R insulin 20u am and 5pm ivp. So I gently ask him ," you didn't want her rout. insulin given iv did you?" He says "Oh thanks," takes the chart from me and scribbles out the order, hands it back and says "I meant PO". He actually wrote it. MD=Mighty Dumb?

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my absolute favorite:

nursing as tolerated

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LOL! That could mean a lot of different things, couldn't it?

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nursing as tolerated!!! :roll

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I did some time as a unit secretary, and can't remember all the crazy orders I saw, but there are a couple that stick out in my mind.

"Please make clear liquid diet more appealing" - The nurse wanted to know if we should put a picture of a T-bone at the bottom of the cup of broth, hehe!

From a doc that usually struck fear into the hearts of new grads (and some seasoned RNs too) because of his tendency for outbursts, regarding a pt with dementia that despite being in wrist restraints still managed to keep pulling out her IV - "Please put on mittens, my dear little kittens" No one had even suspected that he had a sense of humor until then!

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Order on a CHF pt: (The unit had about 30 pts and 1 RN, 1 SN and an aid) "Watch Patient" My colleague said "I watched him---run down the hall, out the door and down the street", dressed only in a hospital gown. Security caught up with him about 3 blocks away.

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