"Infusion practice and the fear of patient complaint ramifications"

I returned (still feeling sick at the time of writing this) from hospital recently, and the first thing I have done is research on the internet about the technology of IV infusion, as my experience was so horrific.

I am a mechanically minded person, who understand concepts of hydro dynamics, dilution ratio, SOP = standard operating procedures, Specialised competency, assessment evaluation etc. in many ways different industries are similar in my opinion.

As a child I grew up in a loving animal husbandry family business, and had a lot of constructive veterinary exposure. However one of my earliest overwhelming psychological traumas was of a vet injecting air into animals to put them down. Ever since then I watch for air bubbles and have become used to on the fly to saying "Hey! Look Look" if I see one so it does not go in my veins. Often I have saved air bubbles both overseas and locally. Even on my last visit to hospital a student ended up with a 5mm long one in the tube, I complained and the supervising nurse took over and removed it and we all carried on, no damage done. Hopefully the student will now question why it's important and learn from that.

But not even I was ready for my next experience, that happened so quickly I could not even have time to mentally contemplate and or react, and subsequently was left traumatised by the experience here after. A nurse who I felt was so skilled and confident in their ways they are able to administer a saline flush, antibiotics, and a flush all within less than 20 seconds, and they were gone. I cannot believe my body could take it as I sat swinging my arm, waiting for the blood dilution ration to hit my head, and trying to differentiate between that's side effects and shock in the range of emotion and dizziness that over came me. I was expecting to need to:- do what in self aid?

- Was my brain going to compline at the sudden exchange of blood for raw chemical

- Was raw chemical dilution level going to burn

- Was back pressure on my veins going to burse valves

- Was the cholesterol calcification in my system going to be hydraulically water blasted off to cause complications down stream? 

All this in 20 seconds and I don't have a solution until now.

At the time of writing this I lay in bed angry with sleepless night reading my phone's documentation on how to set it up for one touch video recording so as to get some proof.

Thankfully the next morning a really nice nurse came and we built a repour with each other quickly. I whispered to them quietly my problem, and a solution was found where by my medical records will be updated to administering antibiotics via the dosage pump meter saline set up = ok thank you. Additionally I believe that nurse informed their supervisor who was to educate all staff without singling out the nurse in question. But my sippers were over heard and I believe other patients came forward with their identical stories to the nurse.

Next thing I am woken from sleep and a saline wash directly injected via same nurse. Before they put the antibiotics I begged, you will inject slowly slowly please. At which point I felt they reeled back and exclaimed in full voice in front of the whole ward, so it was you who complained! Taking off to the nursing station.

Boy I lay there feeling embarrassed and thinking, total back fire. Well I had to do something did I not. I had to go catch them at the nurses' station away from patients and luckily in the presence of another nurse. I know we have to have a good old confrontation of egos and blame shedding, in impatient voices and can I speak now exclamations of exchange domination and you know it that inter personals dynamics, where no one actually wins. Both end up apologising to make peace more than any constructive gain, and walk away secretly angry but defanged via apology.

I have learned for the future that drug can be metered via digital technology through the IV line as an option. There should be a procedure to managed patient complaints. I feel lack of the implementation of such resulted as in this case with

1) Patient / nurse confrontation

2) Job protectionism

3) inter nurse politics

4) no documentation of incident

5) No SOP of Direct IV policy remains the norm

6) what about others? Please take my story and do measurable / annual assessment evaluations please. It is why I have written this to you.