Errors

Discussing with my colleagues, the answer was always the same. “Never assume”, there are certain protocols that you must always maintain regarding the administration of chemotherapy or radiation.

1. Ask the patient his first and last name, birthday and make sure that it is correct on all orders.
2. Know the patient’s allergies and medical history
3. Inform the patient the side effects of the medications that they will be receiving or radiation.
4. Check the order for time, date, clear meaning of what is written, is the order appropriate to that patient and who wrote the order.
5. Check the BSA and the calculations to the order that is written.
6. Know the correct name of the chemotherapy agent that you will be administering to the patient.
7. Know what proper route, dose and quantity that you will be administering to the patient.
8. Know the side effects of the medications.
9. Check the Intra venous site to see good access, blood returned and patency.
10. Instruct the patient to what they are supposed to feel while the patient is receiving chemotherapy or radiation.
11. If you have any questions regarding what you are administering always ask before you administer. Never assume.

These are excellent suggestions. I would add that if you are a BC survivor with lymph nodes removed on one side, I'd go so far as to wear something on that arm that says 'No I.V. in this arm'. Nothing fancy, you could even just use one of those rubber bracelets, with a colored piece of tape attached. This may sound over-the-top, but as mentioned above - tired staff forget things, or do not inform the next shift.

Also - this may sound odd - but make sure you have an i.d. bracelet on right away. This past fall, I had an entire 8-hour surgery without a bracelet. Five hours after surgery, I had to ask someone to get me a bracelet. It's possible for charts to get mixed up, so you want them to know who you are...especially if you're allergic to anything.