1. This study on obedience examined how nurses complied with orders of medical doctors, even if they broke rules of the hospital. 3 hospitals in USA were used ~ both public and private In this study, a medical doctor who was on the staff list, but not known personally to a nurse, called her when she was alone in her ward in the evening; he says through the telephone...... Hofling et al. (1966) ~ Obedience of Nurses to Doctors

2. Obedience of Nurses to Doctors "This is Dr. Smith, from Psychiatry, calling. I was asked to see Mr. Jones this morning, and I‘m going to have to see him again tonight – I don‘t have a lot of time, and I‘d like him to have had some medication by the time I get to the ward. Will you please check your medicine cabinet and see if you have some Astroten? That‘s [spells] ]A-S-T-R-O-T-E-N.“ The nurse looks in the medication cupboard and finds a pillbox with the following label from the hospital…..

3. Obedience of Nurses to Doctors "This is Dr. Smith, from Psychiatry, calling. I was asked to see Mr. Jones this morning, and I‘m going to have to see him again tonight – I don‘t have a lot of time, and I‘d like him to have had some medication by the time I get to the ward. Will you please check your medicine cabinet and see if you have some Astroten? That‘s [spells] ]A-S-T-R-O-T-E-N.“ The nurse looks in the medication cupboard and finds a pillbox with the following label from the hospital….. ASTROTEN 5 mg capsules Usual dose: 5 mg Maximum daily dose: 10 mg

4. Obedience of Nurses to Doctors After the nurse returned to the phone, the doctor said.... ‘You have it? Fine. Now will you please give Mr. Jones a stat dose of 20 mg – that‘s four capsules – of Astroten. I‘ll be up within ten minutes, and I‘ll sign the order then, but I‘d like the drug to have started taking effect.“

5. Obedience of Nurses to Doctors By giving Astroten, a nurse would violate several rules of the hospital: (the nurses would have been aware of these rules)  The ordered dose was higher than the maximum daily dose;  Medication orders should not be given by phone  It was not permitted to give a medication that was not on the hospital stock list and cleared for use.  The order was given by an unfamiliar voice; the nurse had no chance to verify the true identity of Doctor Smith.

6. Obedience of Nurses to Doctors Astroten does not exist as a real medication, and the capsules were harmless placebos. The nurses were observed by a medical doctor, who interrupted them at the moment they wanted to give the medication. What do you think: How many of the 22 nurses who were tested would have given Astroten?

7. © POSbase 2005 Obedience of Nurses to Doctors Twenty-one of 22 nurses – or 95% – complied with the order of Doctor Smith and began with the administration of the medication, until the observing doctor interrupted them. Other nurses were given a detailed description of the experimental situation and asked whether they would have given the medication

8. Obedience of Nurses to Doctors 10 out of 12 graduate nurses– or 95% – said that they they would not have given the medication, and 7/12 said that they believed that the majority of nurses would not give the medication (Questionnaire group) All of the 21 student nurses questionned said that they would not have given the medication. This is in line with Milgram‘s (1974) findings that students could not predict other students‘ obedienceMilgram‘s (1974)