I wonder if she still has her job. That's scary stuff.

Donna, the article says the nurse was fired also.

Why would a doctor treat benzo-withdrawal seizures with a sodium channel blocker, rather than good ol' diazepam? To this non-doctor it seems a bit like treating a muscle cramp with curare.

I'd call the pharmacy if I needed 3 vials of a medication to give the ordered dose. I simply cannot imagine why this nurse would gather 32 vials and NOT check with anyone. It makes no sense to me at all -- and goes against everything I've been taught about medication administration.

I can't help but believe that there's more to the story if the physician was also fired, though. I'd love to be able to actually see that order sheet.

1. Giving that much medication was criminal negligence on the part of the nurse. To give 32 of any dosage form (pill, capsule, bottle, vial) with no questioning of the situation is just plain wrong. No high school dropout mother would give her kid 32 of anything. Even if the doctor mistakenly wrote for 8 grams, nurses are (appropriately) trained to question unusual orders. This was a very unusual order.
2. Firing the doctor will cost them big time. Unless there is evidence that he insisted on the humongous dose, there may be grounds for a wrongful termination lawsuit. If this occurred in an "employment at-will" state, the termination may have been legal, but the hospital my find it difficult to keep its ER staffed with ER physicians.
3. Dilantin generic is 30 cents each at retail. Enough with the "Lack of health insurance kills" already. This is not to excuse what happened. As presented, this was 100% the fault of the nurse who administered the drug. Spreading the blame around by saying it's "America's fault" because we don't want to wait 6 months for a cardiology consultation like the Canadians will not bring Mrs. Plass back to life, but it will add to the considerable confusion that these types of claims engender.

So it's everyone else's fault that a health care professional didn't do their job, Anon 5:35?

Have you ever taken responsibility for anything?

re: "So it's everyone else's fault that a health care professional didn't do their job, Anon 5:35?

Have you ever taken responsibility for anything?"

CJDlite when do you ever have anything constructive to say? Is being anonymouse devil's advocate how you get your rocks off? Have you ever been a health care professional? Have you ever even bothered to look at what is wrong with the system and how the present system of law does nothing to correct it? The nurse rightly lost her job and probably will never work in this field again. A husband lost his wife and and children lost their mother. The sad fact is if this did go to trial (it didn't) you can bet the ER doc would have his ass sued...even though he did nothing wrong. When will YOU ever be anything more than a fly on the wall?

about what I expected nothing ever constructive to say. You wouldn't know "responsibility" if it bit you in the ass.

For starters attitudes need to change. When I was hospitalized I was given the wrong medication at 3:00 in the morning. When I looked at it I knew it did not look at all like the previous meds of the same kind. Before taking I questioned the nurse if this was really my medication. She asked me my name, I told her, she then grabbed them from my hand, glared at me and told me "Hell No" they aren't yours. Her actions and remarks implied i did something wrong instead of her refusing to double check things.

Nurses really need to have more discipline that what they obviously receive. They blame everyone except themselves when they make a mistake.

Anon 11:34 -- The doctor ordered the correct dosage, the nurse gave 10x the correct dose.

I suspect the employer fired the doc for contacting the family directly. for our ER group, that would be a serious violation of our risk management procedures. A meeting with the family can be arranged for a disclosure or discussion (or apology) but a personal, out-of-channel phone call would *not* be a good idea. I doubt I would fire a doc for it, but if I told a doc not to, and he did anyway, it would not be beyond the pale.

He may win his suit by playing the whistle-blower card.