I have written various articles about my thoughts on the term “STAT”. And how this term is one of the most abused terms in the hospital setting. It is in my humble opinion that it is rarely put to good use.
When I started as RT, I was jumping every time I heard “STAT”. I would immediately stop whatever I was doing and rush to where I was needed. And then I would walk into a patient’s room and see that the patient was perfectly fine and didn’t need immediate intervention.
To me, this is how the term STAT should be used.
Then, over the next year, reality hit. I would be doing respiratory therapy and I would be called STAT to do an EKG. And I’d stop right in the middle and walk to the other side of the hospital, and I’d walk into the patient’s room and find that he was fine.
“Do you have chest pains?” ยป
“No. I feel fine,” said the patient.
And you were asking the nurse, “Why was this STAT ordered?”
“Oh,” said the nurse. “It was because we needed a preoperative EKG and one hadn’t been done yet.”
Ugh! And so you had to order it stat. You made me run all the way here for a pre-op EKG.
The worst part is when you rush to do something and the doctor says he wants it so he can look at it before you go on vacation. Like what, it’s an abuse of the system.
Today, things have changed.
Today I was called to do a STAT ECG. And I finished eating my breakfast. Then I went to the bathroom. Then I arrived in the patient’s room to do the EKG and he was sound asleep. I don’t know why the procedure was ordered. And I really don’t see why it was stat. As soon as possible might have been good. But STAT?
What do you think of the term STAT? Do you feel abused? Please let us know in the comments below.
sdfs