Logically Illogical is Logical (Nursing Roles)
Category: Filipino Nurses, Filipino Nurses' Stories, Nursing Industry in the Philippines, Posted on February 1st, 2010 by adminNo Comments
Back when I was still a Nursing student, we were asked to go to the training hospital a day before our scheduled duty to make prior assessments on our assigned patients. We would usually wear our laboratory gowns inside the premises as regulations require that we wear it so the staff may identify us as students.
One time, as I was talking to my patient for an assessment, a relative of another patient who might have mistakenly identified me as a doctor, asked for my help regarding a consumed IV bottle that was still hooked up. I, without any tinge of doubt, immediately closed its flow regulator. Waking up from a delayed confusion, I realized I was not on duty and I should not have done that. The best course of action would have been to report the concern to the on-duty nurse. I was almost tempted to open the regulator back and let the patient’s blood fill the IV tube, but that’s utterly foolish. Well, my point is, I’m not on duty and I wont be liable if something happens to the patient. It should be clear to the nurse on duty to monitor his/her patient’s status regularly.
I’m not being shrewish about the incident; it was a plain and simple task but the rules says no, I should not be doing it. Ironically, asking an on-duty nurse, busy as they are, to close an intravenous regulator is also ridiculous. I guess this is one of the simplest forms of dilemma that envelopes nurses as to when their duty and role stop. Essence says it is, while the regulation says it’s not. Well I guess sometimes, logically illogical matters are indeed logical.