I made a huge mistake.. I made up vitals and got caught..

dbsn00 · Mar 4, 2005

Now that I hear what everyone has to say, I am not sure if I should say anything about what happened.. I mean, I have been here in the office all afternoon, and the doctor or nurse has not said one thing to me about it..

If you have time to chat on this website you should have time to actually do your vital signs... :uhoh3: This is serious, you've put people's lives in danger. I think that using your personal problems as an excuse is not legit - employers DON'T want to hear that c**p, it's a cop out. Please admit your mistake and offer your resignation - sounds harsh but you don't sound like this is what you really want to be doing. Good luck.

crb613, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2005

I just don't want to lose my job.. People here have been saying if it was them, then I wouldn't be working here anymore.. I am pretty sure I won;t get fired, but they are scaring me.. So I am thinking I might take the wekend to think about it... Then see what happens on Monday...

Just what I thought you are not worried about anything but your job! The patients it seems you could care less about. You have lied & tried to cover it up & tried get sympathy on this board as well as asking for help, only looking a way out.:angryfire

I am furious & would like to report you myself if I had the info necessary to do so. My father has COPD the vitals ARE very important & someone like you could put his life on the line!! Not to mention babies are you nuts??? These people put their trust in you, & what do you do........ Why not just shoot'em if someone had died/or suffered bad consequences because of your neglect it would be same thing to me. An honest mistake is one thing but there is nothing honest about what you are doing!!

Euskadi1946 · Mar 4, 2005

I made up the vitals cuz in my office, there are about 4, 1pm patients who walk in the door at 12:45. I help check them in, insurance and etc.. Then I get them ready.. Maybe its not every day that I have 4 patients but there were alot tp check in and have ready for the nurses and doctors.. So one day made up some vitals.. And they made me feel like superwoman, for having everything under control and doing everything soo fast.. But in honesty, it was a lie.. Ever since, then i just been making the lie worse, by continueing to make up the vitals.. Its like once you tell a small white lie, it grows into a huge lie, and now look where I am.. I am soo nervous, of someone confronting me on the subject... What can i do now?

There is absolutely no excuse for false documentation of Vital Signs, EVER!!! You really need to find another line of work where peoples lives are not in your hands. To be perfectly honest, I hope your boss throws the book at you and fires you. You're working under his/her license and if God forbid you sent a patient home with normal vital signs that weren't normal and that patient has a big problem or dies, your boss can get sued. What you need to do is be up front with your boss and hand in your resignation before you do some real harm to someone!!!SHEEEEEEEEEEESH!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

LadyT618, MSN, APRN, NP · Mar 4, 2005

I'd have to say that if I were your superiors, I would can you right away based on the fact that it was evident that you lied about taking a patient's vitals. I'm actually hopinh that this is just a hoax and this OP is just playing around. I find it very difficult to believe that the OP is so complacent about her actions. Talking about thinking about it over the weekend, like she's thinking about a job offer. Anyway, you really should fess up or just leave, with whatever dignity you have left, if any.

NJSRN64 · Mar 4, 2005

Hi.. I am a medical assistant. Usually I am really good at this. But for, I am not sure what reason.. I have been making up blood pressures for babies, and children and also the oxygen levels of most patients... Yesterday I got caught. The patient had asked the nurse if someone was gonna take her childs b/p and o2. She said the assistant already did.. The mom was like, NO she didn't ... Then the nurse asked me if I did, I said yeah.. Big mistake.. I am not sure why I lied, or even made up the vitals in the 1st place.. Then today, I did the same thing.. I made up the 02 for a patient.. I put 96% and I guess the patient was admitted to the hospital recently, and needed 02 help.. So he was curious to see what it was.. When I had 96 he was like wow.. Then listening to his lungs, he decided to check it himself.. It was only 80%.. He hasn't said anything to me, but I heard him talking to his nurse, whi is somewhat my boss.. I am not sure what to say or even think... I just feel ashamed.. Especially thinking what are they thinking about me... Like that I am a bad worker.. And questioning my past work. What should I do to make this right.. I am not going to do that ANYMORE, and I will be making sure vitals are done on everyone. But what if I get asked about the situation what can I do or say????? Please help me..........

its nice that you want to talk about this to us, but this is very SERIOUS and i hope you do realize that you can serious hurt a patients life by doing that and if you feel the need to make up things you need to go into a different profession.. just suppose no one came in to check that childs o2 and that child died , how would you of felt then??

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Mar 4, 2005

I made up the vitals cuz in my office, there are about 4, 1pm patients who walk in the door at 12:45. I help check them in, insurance and etc.. Then I get them ready.. Maybe its not every day that I have 4 patients but there were alot tp check in and have ready for the nurses and doctors.. So one day made up some vitals.. And they made me feel like superwoman, for having everything under control and doing everything soo fast.. But in honesty, it was a lie.. Ever since, then i just been making the lie worse, by continueing to make up the vitals.. Its like once you tell a small white lie, it grows into a huge lie, and now look where I am.. I am soo nervous, of someone confronting me on the subject... What can i do now?

I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. Those patient's are being treated based on your falsifications. What if someone had a stroke because you didn't find out their BP was sky high, but you charted a normal one??!!

I would have canned you the second I found out you made up a pulse ox of 96% when it was actually 80%.

Shame on you. Get out of healthcare, you are scary!! I see things like this and Thank God my own doctor doesn't "trust" anyone to check his pt's vitals and does it himself!!!

And this is a power trip to you? You need help! Please get some counseling. It is OK to be human, to not be able to complete all tasks safely if you don't have the time. It is OK to admit you need help, or you couldn't get something done in the alotted time frame. That is acceptable. What you did is completely morally, and ethically unacceptable. There is never a time that what you did would be acceptable under any circumstances!! Take an Ethics course for God's sake!!!

KrisRNwannabe · Mar 4, 2005

By your postings you seem more upset that you were caught and that you lied. You didn't about staying home sick you lied about the health of patients. do you even begin to realize what a O2 level of 80% means????? You don't seem to understand what your lies could. these are not some little kids lies about breaking glass. You are upset because you think the office will think you are a bad worker. well guess what, good workers don't lie about things. I thank god you work in doctors office where the acutiy of the patient is much different than in a hospital. In a hospital we manage more than 4 patients. there is no shame in saying I am busy and I will get to when I can. I feel sorry for each and every patient that you have had contact with. McDonald's is always hiring. I am usually never this judgemental but when patients are involved the patient advocate comes out in me.

NJSRN64 · Mar 4, 2005

I have no sympathy for you whatsoever. Those patient's are being treated based on your falsifications. What if someone had a stroke because you didn't find out their BP was sky high, but you charted a normal one??!!
I would have canned you the second I found out you made up a pulse ox of 96% when it was actually 80%.
Shame on you. Get out of healthcare, you are scary!! I see things like this and Thank God my own doctor doesn't "trust" anyone to check his pt's vitals and does it himself!!!
And this is a pwer trip to you? You need help! Please get some counseling. It is OK to be human, to not be able to complete all tasks safely if you don't have the time. It is OK to admit you need help, or you couldn't get something doen in the alotted time frame. That is far more acceptable. What you did is completely morally, and ethically unacceptable. Take an Ethics course for God's sake!!!

AGREED TOTALLY!!!!

payday · Mar 4, 2005

Taking care of patients is hard work, frustrating work, time consuming but there is no excuse for what you did.

You need to find another line of work. I would fire you in a heartbeat!

Catch · Mar 4, 2005

I've worked with CNA's for years, and there were the ones I trusted absolutely and the ones I was sure were making it up. I caught one CNA giving me a false bp and when I reported her, the manager sent her to a remedial class. I didn't have a problem with her after that.

Even if you don't care about the patients, can you at least care about yourself? Care about your worth and integrity? Care about other people trusting in you? I agree with the other nurses, this is not the right field for you, but you're going to take yourself with you where ever you go. You can change your behavior and start being the sort of person who has integrity no matter who's not looking. You're going to need this attribute to succeed anywhere in life (at any legal job, anyway).

twinbee25 · Mar 4, 2005

somethin is very wrong here! Not once, (through several postings) have you shown any regret over the compromise of your patients health status... you are soley only worried about YOU, and any consequences you may reap for your actions should it get out in the open!!!

The following note to your employer simply stinks!!!

I need to speak to you on a very serious note....

speak??? or slide this note under his door???

...I had a lot of patients that I had to get moving so that everyone would be on time for the rest of the afternoon...

on time??? since when does the medical staff worry about time over the patients care???

but it just seemed like it wasn't a big deal at that moment..

the reason it didnt seem like a big deal to you at the time IS because your patients are not your priority...and IS why you need to get out of this profession!

Then when everyone was done and nurses hadn't asked me if I needed help ...

displacing??? the reason the other nurses didnt ask you if you needed help w/your pts is probably because they were busy themselves getting all the vitals!

because It wasn't affecting my work...

sorry, this really stinks!!! obvious to me it has affected your work in the worst ultimate way!

and the comment about the car accident, and boyfriend problems... again....displacing??? you are shifting the blame where it doesnt belong!

But I didn't want a certain someone, to think that it was affecting my work.

bottom line here is you were obviously worried about a coworker and how they think of your work performance...well geez... wonder what they think now?

I have to admit, that I did it again today... It wasn't my intention.... forgotten his o2 and instead of getting the machine, I just wrote a number down.. Listen, I feel REALLY bad about this whole thing. ...It was killing me knowing and keeping this to myself. I can promise to you that this will NEVER happen EVER again. Please believe that this was a horrible and stupid mistake.. I take responsibility for this situation. I just want to make things right.

you have slipped yourself into a very bad "easy-way-out" for yourself whenever you are over-stressed. You say it was 'killing you' to keep it to yourself... I DO NOT believe that since now you have posted you are just going to "think things over the weekend" ...nor can I believe that it wouldnt happen again... life gets stressful...you are in a rush to get pts movin and bam... you simply write a number in the blank!

You have NOT taken responsibility for "this situation" as you call it. situation??? don't you mean problem??? I am not sorry for being so harsh! If you had any regret for the possible outcomes of your patients, and were totally honest with yourself...you would confess to your employer what you have done and seek help/counseling on how to deal with stress when it arises!

Taking the weekend to think it over is very wrong in my opinion!!! The only thing that would most likely accomplish is you beginning to rationalize your actions...which you have already done by displacing blame on lifes stress! You need help and need to find a new career...one that would not place peoples lives in danger!!!

This is what I wrote to my boss..... GIve me your advice on it.. /QUOTE] you asked, and I replied!

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Mar 4, 2005

If someone did not check YOUR vitals... or your baby's (God forbid).. or your boyfriend's.. and they happened to be really SICK.. and the doc went by the vitals given to him and sent them home.. and YOUR BABY died...

what would you want done to that MA who falsified these vital signs ..out of sheer laziness and the desire to make herself look like the office queen or superwoman? Can you answer that?

Please take a very close look in the mirror and recognize who's looking back at you.

YES, you need to feel shame.

YES.. you need to feel guilt.

YES, you need to feel remorse.

YES.. you need to feel CONVICTION that your misdeeds were not only wrong, illegal, misleading, but DANGEROUS...

Because if you feel none of these.. if you feel only fear for your job and what others might THINK of you...you will not find a need to make the very neccessary changes in your life which lead to personal INTEGRITY.

UNTIL you find a NEED inside of YOURSELF, (independant of all the other external reasons) to confess your actions and/or lack thereof to your employers and coworkers, you will never change.

You need to first feel that conviction that what you did was horrbily and dangerously wrong. Until that happens, you will be a danger not only to those around you, but to your own self in the long run.

You must summon up the COURAGE to recognize your wrong doing and to acknowlege it.. not to "us" who do not know you or cannot "see" you.. but to those you have wronged. Your employer. Your coworkers.. even your patients if need be.

That is the first step to accountability and integrity.

Allow yourself to feel the shame, and allow that shame to sink in awhile, and then to spur you on to turning your life around into doing good, and being responsible.

Not for anyone but YOU... because you cannot live with yourself knowing what you know about YOU, and be content, fulfilled, and honest with yourself or anyone else UNTIL you can acknowlege the wrong you have done..