Communication

The other day at work I learned how important communication is. I work in a blood bank at the Christiana Hospital as a clerk and I really enjoy my job but it requires me to be alert at all times. One mistake and I could put someones life at risk. I really enjoy my job and when I first started working there I thought it was going to be a piece of cake. However, the other day I found myself in a dilemma. A nurse had ordered blood on the floor for two patients. It was an extremely busy day in the blood bank and when i distributed the blood, there was some miscommunication on where it was going. I was told by the nurse that it was going to one floor, but in my computer screen it had said another location. I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and call the doctor himself to figure out where this blood would be going. Once I called the doctor I had found out that the blood was going to a completely different location all together. I ended up calling the nurse back to tell her where the patient had been transported and she had no idea that he had even left her ward.
It was crazy to think that this is someones life we have in our hands and no one was able to keep tabs on him properly. Everything ended up turning out just fine but it was very scary to not know where this patient was, knowing that he needed a massive transfusion. But I think she learned her lesson that communicating with the "big" boss is always important and you shouldn't always take charge without knowing what is going on first.