Emergency code phrases are essential in hospitals to alert employees about various situations without alarming patients and visitors. Each hospital may have its unique code phrase. These code phrases extend to situations like a violent patient, visitor, employee, or fire.
Knowing these code phrases can mean the difference between life and death, and hospital employees are drilled on them to ensure they can respond quickly and efficiently to any emergency.
If you have to be a medical secretary in a hospital, there are many rules that nobody tells you about. You can't wear perfume or nail polish to work and can only drink the coffee provided by the break room because it's not safe for them if anyone else makes it—even if they swear they washed everything.
And always expect to hear Code Blue over the PA system while at your desk! Suddenly, everything is calm, peaceful, and quiet…then someone screams, “Code Blue!” over an intercom. There's no time for fear when everyone races past you.
