What does STAT mean to your Lab?

To our lab it seems to mean anywhere from 20 mintues to 1 hour from the original call order. This is crazy. I know they can be there fast(see it for ER)but from the ICU or the floor I noticed they take longer than acceptable.Maybe they are understaffed, don;t know, but I know that when I have a stat H/H on a bleeding post-op in PACU I want it drawn within 10 minutes.
AM I being too harsh?
Where I work there are scheduled lab times. 6A, 10A, 2P, 8P. They only draw stats after 10:30 at night, weekdays only. If you want a lab at any other time, you draw it yourself or have the resident draw. Actually, it's faster if we do the draw as we can tube it and have results in 30 minutes.

Stat means nothing to them. If something needs to be drawn stat, I draw it myself, send it in the tube system and call them to tell them it's on its way and ask when I should call back for results. A bit pushy maybe, but it gets the job done.

Quote from fergus51Stat means nothing to them. If something needs to be drawn stat, I draw it myself, send it in the tube system and call them to tell them it's on its way and ask when I should call back for results. A bit pushy maybe, but it gets the job done.

I'm in NICU too, but the only labs nurses have to draw are venous samples or if the kiddie has lines. Still, I'll do heel sticks or whatever if it needs to be done fast. It isn't worth the aggravation of having to call the lab and waiting for them to come.

Our lab is pretty good about STAT draws.........when I was in the hospital earlier this week, no sooner had the doc written the order than the lab tech was at my bedside! Of course, that was sort of unusual, but they're usually there within 5-10 minutes.

We are a small hospital . . .stat means stat . .. they are there quickly. It is the running of the labs that takes time .. . I've run CBC's and chem's myself as a supervisor at night when we have no lab and the CBC is maybe 3 minutes. The chem is longer because you have to spin it down and then put it in the machine. Probably 20 minutes in all. I also draw my own labs on the floor if I need it stat and in the ER we draw all our own labs. steph

30 minutes, but on my previous unit, we RARELY & I do mean rarely had the necessary equipment to do a draw, so we either had to call lab to tube us stuff, or page them... it was quicker & easier to go snag stuff from our neighboring unit... NOW, employee turned pt... ASAP means 5 days!!! (my personal experience)

Quote from stevielynnI've run CBC's and chem's myself as a supervisor at night when we have no lab and the CBC is maybe 3 minutes. The chem is longer because you have to spin it down and then put it in the machine. Probably 20 minutes in all.

All I know is we draw the blood ourselves, put on the preprinted barcoded label, haul it down to lab ourselves, sign it in as STAT, holler out to the lab techs, "Got a STAT here", go back upstairs and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait.Somedays it'll be done in less than an hour and other days it takes 4 phone calls and 4 hours. And if the pt is a labstick, hang it up. They come draw it when they danged well want to and STAT be d*mned.

Quote from begalliI hope someone learns something from my post.

Quote from Angie O'Plasty, RNThe only beef I have with our lab is that they call all abnormals--except troponins. Which I think is illogical.

I appereaciate all the responses. Begali, I never have slammed lab and have been nice to them(they never lost my specimens yet!), I just was irritable about the actual draw time. I understand how it can take some time for results(I worked as a tech in a small MD office for a stint). Our manager flipped yesturday because labs were ordered STAT and not drawn an hour later for a pre-op.Happy Friday all, they just conned me into working relief on my day off, grumble...