for whos benefit?

[frustratedRN]

on my wonderful unit some of the nurses are having a field day with writing each other up.

oh yeah ive been written up. more than once. and in once instance it may have been justified, at least the intent...ill give her that much.

ive not written anyone up. i think its backstabbing. if i have a prob i address it up front with that person.

my question is, who benefits from the filing of the incident reports?

the purpose is what?

[ValWai]

It may be jus one side of the story.

[lpnandloveit1]

yes it may be one side of the story but there is always a place on the form to respond.

[frustratedRN]

not where i work.

they wouldnt even let me see them

[lpnandloveit1]

if you cannot even see a write up how do you know that you have been written up and for what? How can you correct something that is a mystery to you? I would complain to the labor relations board in your state because this does not even sound legal to me.

[kaycee]

Frustrated, I agree with lpnandloveit1. If it is an official write up that would go on your file you should be reading it. Anything that goes on our file we have to read and sign and we are given an opportunity to tell the other side of the story. Anything disiplinary that goes in your file they have to show you. If it's not official then it means nothing. Check with HR or request to see your file. Don't let them intimidate you!!

[frustratedRN]

oh im well aware of the legalities of them not showing me those reports. they are trying to protect the nurses that wrote them as tho i couldnt figure it out.

without seeing them i was able to name the date and time and patient name and doc of every single occurance. this had to blow their minds.

im thinking that not letting me see them is my ace in the hole here.

when my review comes up they will probably try to use them and ill bring it up then.

[RNforLongTime]

I try not to write any fellow nurse up--even if they made a med error. Last week, I found the wrong IV fluid hanging and it had been up since 6pm and I was making my rounds at midnight when I found this. The next night, while on my rounds, I found that an 1800 dose of IV med was not infused because the tubing was still clamped on the piggyback.

I was told by several older nurses that if you start writing people up then people will, in turn write you up. Our hospital has a policy that if you make three med errors in a 6 month period then you will be counseled..after that if you make another med error then they make you take some kind of class.

I find that most med errors are made due to haste. I'll be willing to bet that the RN who hung the wrong IV solution, grabbed the IV solution out of our supply pyxis and thinking that it was the correct solution hung it up. I have found the incorrect IV solution in the wrong "slot" in the Pyxis machine many times. She should have checked it before she hung it up, sure but, in a rush, probably forgot.

I am not perfect. There is probably not ONE nurse who can say that she or he has NEVER made a med error. Luckily for me. my mistakes have not harmed the patient.

I try to use the "five rights' each and every time that I give a drug but when you have 6 patients to care for(eight now that I am on night shift), you sometimes forget.

I blame part of the problem on the system that our hospital uses. We use a computer generated MAR. We write orders on a Kardex and compare the kardexes with the MAR. Sometimes a nurse will cross out the times on the computer MAR and re-time things. This has caused a few med errors.

Unless it is a serious, serious error, I won't write a fellow nurse up and will leave her or him a note. I have had the same courtesy extended to me