You observe a novice nurse leaving the room with unlabeled specimen tubes after a blood draw. What should you do next?

The most appropriate action in this situation is to re-educate the nurse and redraw the labs. Proper labeling of specimen tubes is crucial in ensuring patient safety and test accuracy. Unlabeled specimens can lead to misidentification, incorrect results, and potentially dangerous clinical decisions.

By taking the time to re-educate the novice nurse, you not only address the immediate issue of the unlabeled specimens but also provide an opportunity for learning and reinforcing proper protocols. This helps to instill good practices and promotes accountability in clinical settings. Redrawing the labs ensures that the correct specimens are collected and handled appropriately, maintaining the integrity of the lab results and ultimately supporting patient care.

Informing the nursing supervisor, while sometimes necessary, doesn’t directly address the immediate concern of the unlabeled specimens and may not provide the novice nurse with the guidance needed at that moment. Labeling the specimens yourself could be seen as taking over the nurse's responsibilities rather than empowering them to learn from the situation. Ignoring the error is not a safe or responsible choice, as even small mistakes in healthcare can have significant consequences.