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Nursing Students CNA/MA

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Okay, so I just need to ***** for a second. Last night my charge nurse gave a double dose of Ketamine and a benadril to a pt. I'm not saying she gave him 2 when he gets one to 2. She gave him twice the dose he was supposed to get. I witnessed all of this because it took place at the nurses station. So, because I don't like calls in the morning asking me what the hell happened and why the pt was over sedated, I reported what happened to the oncoming charge nurse. (And yes, when stuff happens at night and they want to know what is going on they call me; not the charge nurse.) She also had me write down what was given and when so that she could give it to the ADON. Then at 2 I get told that the ADONs response was "Tell him to mind his own business." Now we don't get along real well anyway because of past issues, but I would think that when something like that happens the people in charge would want to know. Ketamine isn't a tylenol or antacid. This is heavy duty stuff. I just don't know what to do anymore. The nurse that I work with has already killed one person and it's been close calls on a few others and every time I tell them the stupid crap she does I get in trouble because of it. She doesn't even get told not to do it again it's just completely ignored. I just don't know what to do anymore.

And just to add to my fun I just found out the ADON will be my charge nurse on Tuesday. ***. Is it to late for my mother to abort me? cause I'm thinking I could convince her.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I'm also a CNA but I'm not just a CNA. My nurses love me and respect me and are thankful for me. You are making some serious accusations, and I also am skeptical. You are claiming this nurse killed someone with no proof of your own. That's pretty serious. You have taken it upon yourself to say she made a med error but even if you saw what you saw how is it your place to be looking at the mar anyway? You reported it and she doesn't work there anymore. I think there could be a lot more to the story than you know. As someone else said how can you be sure it wasn't a verbal order etc. Yeah she probably did make an error but the way you attacked her in your op and the things you've been saying just seem really accusational. My advise is to worry about you.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.

In no way was I trying to down anyone , and I'd never refer to someone as "just a CNA" . I was a CNA for three yrs. I worked with great nurses& not so great nurses. Same with my fellow aides. I never once looked in a pt's chart to see what medication they were on. Who are we to say that this nurse gave the wrong dose is all I was trying to say in my previous post. When I was doing my med surg clinicals for school we were at a nursing home & the medication dosages changed often. The nurses would highlight the old ones as a way to say discontinued (or sometimes just write d/c). That is a possibility of what could have occurred in this case.

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I know she made the error because the pt came to the nurses station for the medication. I was there doing my paperwork. I witnessed him ask for the med and her administer it.

I checked the MAR and the pts chart.

Two questions...how exactly could you tell she gave a the wrong dosage strictly by sitting at the nurses station and watching her give it? How do you know it was the wrong dose pill?

And why were you even looking in the MAR or the chart? You have absolutely NO business looking in the MAR. Some facilities allow CNA's to chart in the charts but not many allow you to just paruse though it at your leisure or because you think someone make a mistake.

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.
In no way was I trying to down anyone , and I'd never refer to someone as "just a CNA" . I was a CNA for three yrs. I worked with great nurses& not so great nurses. Same with my fellow aides. I never once looked in a pt's chart to see what medication they were on. Who are we to say that this nurse gave the wrong dose is all I was trying to say in my previous post. When I was doing my med surg clinicals for school we were at a nursing home & the medication dosages changed often. The nurses would highlight the old ones as a way to say discontinued (or sometimes just write d/c). That is a possibility of what could have occurred in this case.

I agree. I didn't mean you. As a cna I would have no business looking in a mar for the purpose that the op did. Sure sometimes I look stuff up for the pt to save the nurses time such as when they can have their next med but I'd never question something like dosages..... way out of my scope of practice. especially in Ltc with a paper chart things Are not so black and white.

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I think the OP just feels frustrated because they were looking for some emotional support. If you read back on the posts some of the replies can look a little judgmental. That's sort of the reason I haven't been posting too much on this site. There seem to be a collection of nurses who like to reply to the CNA section, like well if you knew what it was to be a nurse you wouldn't say this or that. Maybe you all don't mean it like that, but that is how it sounds.

In reply to the OP, I guess what the others are trying to say is that as a CNA we have a limited scope of practice. It would be hard to accuse a nurse of doing their job improperly because we don't have the training to know the difference, technically. Accusing a nurse of what you're saying happened sort of opens up a can of worms on yourself. The others are right, although I think their replies could have been a little more diplomatic.

Think about what the admin will investigate when you report a nurse for stuff like that. I've seen the nurses do what I thought to be a little unorthodox too. The patient didn't die or anything crazy like that, but I have to think to myself, is it worth it to be the known as the CNA snitch who will report a nurse for every little thing? Unless I see a nurse slap a patient across the face, or never answer patients' requests for medicines, regardless if they are needed or not, or not do wound care even when attention has been drawn to it, stuff like that, there is no reason for me to report them. I don't know what the patients' medication care plan is, and it's wayyyy beyond my scope of practice to know or make it my business.

And by the way, I've seen CNAs moved to a different unit or station at work because they kept trying to get nurses in trouble.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

The OP stated that they looked in the patients chart and MAR. Correct me if I am wrong, but as this person is a CNA and not a med tech, it would be a HIPAA violation and therefore the CNA could be reported to the BON...

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Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.
I agree. I didn't mean you. As a cna I would have no business looking in a mar for the purpose that the op did. Sure sometimes I look stuff up for the pt to save the nurses time such as when they can have their next med but I'd never question something like dosages..... way out of my scope of practice. especially in Ltc with a paper chart things Are not so black and white.

Oh I didn't direct that towards you. It was for the OP. I think they were trying to imply I was downing CNA's which I would never do in a million years!

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Alexcna is waaaaaaay outta his league.....I agree with anyone on this forum questioning the validity of his post. Where I'm from he wouldn't last two days on a job. NOTE TO ALL CNA'S. DONT ACT LIKE alexCNA! !!!!

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I'm a PCT and I don't babysit the RN. The RN is responsible for any med errors and I'm responsible for noting any unusual signs and syptoms in the patient. Even if the patient codes, I'm not going to assume that the RN made a med error. I'll save all of that critical thinking for nursing school and being a RN.

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Alexcna is waaaaaaay outta his league.....I agree with anyone on this forum questioning the validity of his post. Where I'm from he wouldn't last two days on a job. NOTE TO ALL CNA'S. DONT ACT LIKE alexCNA! !!!!

Ya we know already. You don't have to yell.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Has anyone notice the medicine? Why is a patient in LTC getting Ketamine? It is extremely uncommon to have long term Rx po especially in the elderly population. wow ....ketamine.

OP I understand you dilemma and I know you are trying to be a good patient advocate. But, looking at the patients MAR is, technically, a HIPAA violation. Unless you have a need to know that information and it falls withing the scope of of your practice to do your job.....you can't look through a patients record. I understand that you have good intentions but "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" .

Ketamine has a wide range of effects in humans, including analgesia, anesthesia, hallucinations, elevated blood pressure, and bronchodilation. Ketamine is primarily used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia, usually in combination with a sedative. Other uses include sedation in intensive care, analgesia (particularly in emergency medicine), and treatment of bronchospasm

I am sorry you are feeling so frustrated I would try to talk to the DON but you were also in the wrong. At least she is gone now. This facility may need some serious intervention but I would get another position first for even though there are whistleblower laws they don't always protect the one blowing the whistle.

I wish you the best.

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Has anyone notice the medicine? Why is a patient in LTC getting Ketamine? It is extremely uncommon to have long term Rx po especially in the elderly population. wow ....ketamine.

Esme

I was also wondering about the ketamine. I even posted my questions about giving ketamine in the LTC setting. However due to my computer being all wonky that day, I was having a hard time posting before my system 'dropped' me offline. I just finally gave up and condensed to my two main questions before I lost my connection. But the ketamine did raise a red flag with me. Thats some pretty potent stuff in general let alone to be used in a LTC setting.

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