When my mom was going for chemo I was told that bringing my then 4 month old baby into the room was "dangerous" for the baby because of the toxic drugs they were pumping into my mom's body - a policy that seemed to be specific to this hospital. I "appealed" to the director and she graciously gave me permission to bring him. She said policies are meant to guide.
But not everywhere. From what I can tell from the anxiety coursing through my home, nurses are constantly threatened with their license if they don't have exactly the right paperwork for dispensing medications.
For example, once Christian was home the doctor wanted him to be on alternating doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen following surgery, which is the most standard of drug cocktails. However, the orders were not written correctly, which was realized sometime in the middle of the night. Christian did not receive the medication because the order wasn't correct (and some wires were crossed so I didn't know until the next afternoon).
Doctors seem to think nurses are OCD on this point and brush them off. Nurses seem to think doctors are laissez faire. But I'd like to point out who suffers.
Immediately after surgery Christian was in more pain that his paperwork could handle. The nurse did not have the authorization to administer the medication he needed and had to insist that the doctor come bedside to witness his writhing, which took five hours.
I also can't help but wonder why a parent is considered capable of administering medications in their home, but not in a hospital. When Matthew was sick we had gobs of narcotics I was trustworthy enough to not sell for a little extra income, but I can't give my child the most basic of medications in a hospital.
Which is all to say that Christian has suffered quite a lot at the hands of paperwork. I wonder if maybe it's time we give a little power back to parents.
