The new nurse and a senior colleague are assigned to the same patient room. The new nurse is caring for the patient in Bed B and the senior colleague is caring for the patient in Bed A. While in the room, the new nurse notices that the patient in Bed A is sleeping. On the bedside table, there is a filled medication syringe and an empty vial labeled heparin, 10,000 units/mL. Knowing this is unsafe, the new nurse carries the medication syringe and heparin out to the nurse’s station and states to the senior colleague, “These were on the bedside table.” The senior colleague takes them and states, “Yes, I have to remember to give the heparin to him when he wakes up” and returns them to the patient’s bedside table.

1.

What standard is the senior colleague violating?

2.

Recognizing that the senior colleague did not react to the implied concern for the patient’s safety and the standard of practice, what communication strategy could the new nurse implement to maintain this patient’s safety?

3.

How can new nurses address practice concerns like this from an organization’s point of view to prevent this type of practice?