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Patient sues Hospital in federal court after receiving a double dose of a sedative during a 6 a.m. shift change. No one remembers who scanned the medication barcode that morning. The medication-administration system was working, but the electronic log contains only the final dose entry.
Hospital offers testimony from Nurse Lee that, in more than 200 prior administrations of controlled sedatives, she always scanned the patient's wristband, scanned the vial, read the screen aloud, and waited for the green confirmation box before injecting the medication. Hospital also offers testimony from the pharmacy supervisor that nurses on Lee's unit are trained to use that same four-step process and that monthly audits showed 97 percent compliance. Patient objects that the testimony is inadmissible character evidence that Lee is careful and that the hospital generally follows good practices.
How should the court rule on the proposed evidence? Discuss the distinction between habit, routine practice, and character, and explain how the foundation affects admissibility and weight.