Hospital Glitch

Purpose This activity gives participants the opportunity to explore how glitches in procedures are handled.

Risk Level Moderate

Time 30 minutes

Number of Participants Thirty maximum (divided as evenly as possible into five groups)

Materials/Preparation

• Index cards with the departments written on them, one per card as follows: Patient Advocacy, Physicians, Pharmacists, Nurses, Couriers

Directions

1. Divide the participants into five groups.
2. Explain that each group will be a department of a large hospital. The hospital has identified a problem with giving patients their prescribed medicine in a timely manner. The normal procedure is for the physicians to prescribe the medicine and give the prescriptions to the nurses. The nurses then send the prescriptions to the pharmacy via courier. The pharmacists fill the prescriptions and send the medications back to the appropriate nurses' stations. The nurses then administer the medications to the patients. Patients often wait more than 24 hours for their medication. The time lapse is especially unacceptable for patients in pain, suffering from infections, or in critical condition. Family members have become involved.