PTs involvement with PCAs and a noble colleague

The other day I assisted in standing a patient up from bed for the first time since they underwent a total hip replacement. Those involved in the transfer included my supervisor, a fellow Curtin PT student, a ward nurse and myself. I was positioned at the top end of the bed closest to the patients PCA. We initially asked the patient if they required a bolus of analgesia and they declined. However as they began moving they requested one. As the patient had one hand on a hoist and the other on the bed, I fetched their PCA for them. The patient asked me to give them a bolus, so I pressed the button.

The transfer continued as per normal and nobody mentioned anything about what I had done. After we exited the room, the other Curtin PT student took me aside and noted what I had done. We discussed the liability I had caused myself by administering an analgesic. At the time I had not realised what I had done as the patient had asked me to do it. However my fellow colleague was correct in saying that as a qualified physiotherapist, I would not be permitted to administer analgesics nor would I be insured if complications arose.

What I learnt from this scenario was firstly, never to administer an analgesic, even upon a patients request. In the instance of PCAs, the patient is the only person permitted control. If again asked by a patient to control the PCA I will decline the request and allow them to do it. In the wider spectrum of analgesics in general, we can only advise them to contact their GP for pain control.

I also greatly appreciated the way in which my classmate approached me aside of the other professionals. This was very noble of him. He had the opportunity to look good in front of our supervisor, but chose to approach me in private so not to embarrass me. I hope to use this approach in identifying colleagues mistakes their in future clinics or workplaces.