The Insanity of Doing Math
Calculations
in an Emergency Situation
An Open Letter to Leaders:
Now, let’s look at this from the
customer’s perspective. Patients place their trust in the providers and their
expectation is nothing short of excellence. When it comes to medication
administration, the patient’s only expectation is that you give them the right
dose of the correct medication, at the appropriate time, in the manner it should
be delivered, period. They expect perfection and so would you.
Set aside for a moment
everything you have been trained to do and consider from a common sense
approach: What is the most efficient and safe manner to meet the customer’s
expectations? A clinician performing multiple math calculations and attempting
to mentally recall the information they need to accomplish this task? Or, the
clinician simply looking at a chart designed to confirm their knowledge base
with the exact answers and information they need?
The answer is obvious if it is
you or your family member. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that these types
of solutions are neither offensive nor degrading to a clinician’s intelligence
or competence. Tools are simply designed to make the provider more effective. A
man can be trained to break a cinderblock with his bare hand but why not use a
hammer? Medicine continues to evolve; the volume of information to absorb and
the understanding of how to appropriately apply it is staggering. Put any human
in the right circumstances and errors are inevitable. Why not set yourself up
for success by using the best tools available?
You’ve heard it said that the
definition of insanity is continuing to do things the same way you always have,
yet expecting different results. Stop the insanity! The best clinicians are
willing to break old paradigms, think outside the box and set themselves up for
success.
Michael Wallace, BSHS, CCPM
Founder / Spokesperson / Patient Safety Advocate