is it ok to call a dr even if not your patient

Published

Ok i have a question. I've only been a nurse for a little over a year. But in a situation where i know something is not right with a patient, and i continually tell the patients nurse and she doesn't listen, and this patient keeps declining is it ok for me to step on her and call a dr????

Ok another thing, surgeon on call doesn't return phone calls, who do we call then, my theory was call our supervisor her supervisor someone, we needed a damn surgeon. Anyway, no returned phone calls, nurse not paying attention. Patient actively bleeding, very low output, long story short hypovolemic shock and death. I can't sleep, keep thinking i should have threw a fit, i should have this i should have called the freakin ceo if thats what it would have took. But no one would listen to me. I guess i'm going to answer my own question and say should have picked the phone up myself. This is driving me nuts. Yes this is the first death i've dealt with. I guess the first one i've taken care of and been there whed died.

Anyway is it ok to take over???? This other nurse been a nurse for 30+ years

Specializes in Telemetry.

Wow! How terrible!

Honestly, it sounds like you were trying to tell everyone and anyone, and the fact that they couldn't get a surgeon is completely and totally unacceptable. I hope you documented like crazy everything you did.

Next I'd be looking for a new place to work. No way in hell I'd be staying and working for a hospital that lets a pt die because they can't get thier sh*t together. How completely and totally unacceptable.

I'd be tempted to report this to every governing body I could get ahold of. Complete and total negligence.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion