Caught a Near-Fatal Medication Error

I switched his IV bag at 3 AM and nobody knows. The attending ordered potassium for the

patient in 402. I grabbed it from the med room. But when I scanned the barcode,

something felt wrong. I checked the chart again. Different patient. Different room.

If I had hung that bag, he would have coded in minutes. My hands were shaking.

I caught it, but barely. The attending never double checked his own order.

He just walked away. Now every time I see him in the hallway, I wonder how many times he's been

this careless. How many nurses have caught his mistakes without saying a word.

Do I report him and risk my entire career, or do I stay silent and pray it never