Jeremiah Otiso: Durham VA Patient Safety Week Champion

At the Durham VA Health Care System, the safety and well-being of our Veterans are top priorities, which means our margin for error is razor-thin. That means, in a patient-care environment, everyone is responsible for patient safety, from the seasoned Nurse Practitioner to the rookie student nurse. 

Enter Jeremiah Otiso, a Post Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency (BPRNR) nurse who comes to us from North Carolina Central University. During one of his routine assessments, he encountered a potentially serious patient safety issue. 

“I was assessing a patient's IV, after which I was going to do a routine IV flush,” Otiso said. “I then noticed the IV was inserted upside down.” 

Otiso recalled a recent training event he attended. During a presentation, Sue Paras, Nursing Professional Development Practitioner, highlighted the dangers of incorrect IV insertion. 

“I knew that this could create a life-threatening situation for the patient,” Otiso said. “An upside-down IV could cause swelling in the vein or even worse, a punctured artery.” 

Otiso immediately went to his preceptor, who wasn’t sure that the IV was incorrectly inserted. To get a second opinion from another colleague. That other colleague wasn’t sure, either. 

“IV’s and the processes of inserting them are sometimes updated or revised,” Otiso said. “It would be easy for even a seasoned nurse not to notice a mistake had been made. But I knew something wasn’t right, so we called in a third set of eyes.” 

Luckily, the third colleague agreed with Otiso’s assessment and commended him for not pushing anything fluid through his IV. They were able to avoid any potential harm to the patient if anything had been infused in that arm.

“As a nurse, you’re going to have very heavy rotations, but always make sure you are thorough with any patients in your care,” Otiso says. “Take your time and remember you’re working with someone’s life.”