Proceed, escalate, escalate immediately
A patient schedule for a umbilical hernia repair states:
"I just got started on a new medication for gout"
Proceed
Patient reports starting a new blood thinner yesterday
Not to have
During the PST visit, the patient asks you to check their blood pressure before drawing their labs. Their blood pressure is 198/110. They stated, "It's always high when I come to the doctor."
What do you do?
Recheck blood pressure and notify the PST nurse/provider
A patient scheduled for surgery tomorrow states:
"My dialysis was canceled today because I was too tired to go."
Escalate immediately
Patient has a syncopal episode during their blood draw.
Have
You have been asked by the nurse to draw labs on their patient, but there are no lab orders in their chart.
What do you do?
Verify with the PST nurse before collecting the specimen
Patient is scheduled for a joint replacement and reports:
"I started antibiotics yesterday for a urinary tract infection."
Escalate
Malignant hyperthermia history discovered during lab draw.
Have
After two unsuccessful attempts, the patient has poor access and is becoming anxious.
Ask another qualified team member for assistance
A patient arrives wearing oxygen, but no oxygen use is documented in the chart. His SpO₂ is 89% on room air when they remove the nasal cannula.
What should you do?
Escalate immediately
Patient states he had a stroke 2 weeks ago while drawing his labs.
Not to have
Patient states that the usually faint when they have their blood drawn.
What should you do?
Lay the patient back before drawing their labs
While obtaining labs, the patient casually states: "I had some chest pressure climbing the stairs yesterday, but it went away after I sat down."
Do you proceed with drawing labs, escalate once you have completed drawing the labs, or escalate immediately?
Patient states they missed dialysis this morning and surgery is tomorrow.
The patient reports fever, productive cough, and chills since yesterday.
What should you do?
Escalate to the PST nurse before drawing labs.