You are an RN on a surgical unit. MJ is an orthopedic surgery patient

Question You are an RN on a surgical unit. MJ is an orthopedic surgery patientwho is 2 days postop. Her physician has ordered patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) using morphine as well as prn intramuscular (IM) injections of Demerol every 3 to 4 hours. The patient has continued to verbalize a significant amount of pain. Today, Dr. Jones writes an order for you to give MJ an additional 100 mg Demerol IM now, even though she had 100 mg less than 1 hour ago as well as her PCA. The dose he ordered is contraindicated in your drug handbook. You approach Dr. Jones with your concerns about the safety of such a dose as well as your questioning of the patient’s pain level. Dr. Jones interrupts you shortly after you begin and says in a curt, hostile tone, “I am the doctor and I write the medication orders. You are the nurse, and your responsibility is to implement my care plan. Give the medication now.”How will you handle this doctor-staff conflict? What conflict strategies might you use to try to resolve this conflict? Avoidance? Smoothing? Accommodation? Competing? Compromise? Collaboration? Would the use of a mediator be helpful in this situation? Health Science Science Nursing NURSING 025 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)