Tuesday, November 29, 2016

About Last Night

Last night, I have experienced God's grace once again. I am a pediatric emergency nurse working in a government hospital here in the Kingdom. We each have our respective assignments at the start of the shift. I was assigned for counting the equipments. That is actually good. I have no patients to be responsible for. I was definitely ready for my shift that night. Just after a few minutes after endorsement, things changed. I was designated to another area because one staff took her sick leave. I was assigned in the Fast Track area and was due to receive a patient who is on Diabetic Ketoacidosis. My world suddenly crumbled. Every nurse on the floor knows that a patient with that case is a toxic patient with frequent bloodworks and monitoring, but what am I supposed to do? I accepted my ill fate and went on to receive that patient. I left my post as a nurse who is assigned to count the equipment and also responsible for the medications of Resus patients. I leaned on to the faith that as I pray before the shift starts, I know God is with me.
I have proved it last night.
Something happened last night. A narcotic medication was given 32 times its intended dose. The receiving nurse did not notice it as she did not have time to process all the data upon receiving the patient. When she saw that the infusion of midazolam was almost consumed, she asked the medication nurse to prepare another one. The medication nurse together with the primary nurse prepared the infusion based on the dose and computation done by the previous shift. Minutes later, they have found out that the dose was 32 times the intended dose for the patient's weight. They have already signed and hooked the medication before finding it out. They stopped the medication immediately, informed the physician, and followed the protocols. Nothing happened to the patient and the patient was transferred safely to the ICU. However, it was a great error, and the people involved are due for investigation.
If my colleague did not take her sick leave that moment and I was not reassigned, I would be the one carrying out that same medication and my head would be on the chopping block. My Lord saved me. He always has and I am very thankful. It's hard to say I'm thankful of something when I know that my colleagues are suffering, but just the thought of God saving me from all of that is just overwhelming. I do not know what to feel but I know that He is with me.

by jiL at 5:25 PM |