A nurse ate me as her young and I'm still paying for it

RNnewgrad · Sep 4, 2006

I see several issues that you could consider, ASAP. First, have no further discussion of this incident with the RN that complained about you... at least not w/o a witness. Second, talk to the Charge RN [that thinks highly of you] to give your side of the situation. BTW, I don't understand why in the shift report you were not told this patient was on a hep gtt protocol? Anyway, as soon as you realized the patient was on a hep gtt protocol you took the appropriate actions and so happened to find out all was good. Since no harm came to the patient this turned out to be a good learning experience. So, don't go tripping out on self-doubt, or stay PO'd at yourself... drive on!
Last, are sure you want to do agency work as a new grad LPN & while going to RN school?
Hang tough & Good luck!

Thanks! Actually, I have decided to chill out on agency a bit. It is hard to not have the stability of guaranteed shifts. That, and the fact that I don't want to mess up again. I will make many more mistakes in my career, I'm sure. but I would rather have the weeks of training usually given to nurses on a unit.

busyernurse, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2006

Hey RNnewgrad -- just wanted to say keep the faith that all nurses will treat you like that! I would make sure that you have a witness if you stay at that facility and do have to deaL with that troll. Been there, done that, as far as getting bit in the seat by someone like that nurse!! I also work part time agency, and occasionally find that unfortunate staff nurse with the "we don't like agency" attitude. Just know that at the same facility others do appreciate you!!

awilhelm · Sep 5, 2006

So, are you any good at softball?

serendipity05 · Sep 6, 2006

THat is so sad...............I feel like that nurse could have handled the situation better. She should know how hard it is to be a new grad. What was she thinking? She must be a very angry and unhappy person. SHame on her. You know what, good things will happen to you. You should be proud of yourself because you handled it well, you are not a failure. Trust me, more nurses who have worked 15-30 years have mistakes worse than what you did. I don't understand why she did that to you but like I said, good things will happen. Keep your chin up!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 8, 2006

Three things came to mind as I was reading your post. First of all, I don't like the phrase "eating their young". It's just a euphemism for plain, old nasty behavior on the part of someone. I think that it has become fanciful to say "eating our young" than to face what the real problem is which is bad behavior that people do not know how to confront or deal with, or don't want to take the effort to learn to deal with. We are not taught this skill in nursing school. However, having been in the position of being an agency nurse myself I understand that one feels like a "visitor" and it is hard to stand up to someone who starts ranting and seems to be directing it in a personal way. Secondly, where was this charge nurse and all of the rest of these wonderful nurses that love you and wanted you to work on this unit when you graduated? And why didn't any of them step up to your defense? Third, the fact that they, according to your post, knowingly gave you patients that should have been given to an RN should be a red flag that they were also taking some advantage of you as an agency nurse as well. And, none of these wonderful nurses who you seem to think loved you, picked up on that and defended that position when this incident happened either.

Either you have been misinterpreting their praises or they are not the standup sort of co-workers that you would, ideally, want to be working with. These wonderful people left you high and dry to stew in a mess! Are you still sure you want to work with them? Better to have found out now that they would let one bully in the crowd walk all over their efforts to cultivate a prospective worker for their unit. I say that based on that alone I would thank my lucky stars to be out of there. I think they were willing to take advantage of you all along and because things were going along well and everyone was smiling you just assumed it was all OK.

When you are working agency, you have to make sure you know the rules for the agency nurses that both the agency and the hospital has imposed AND STICK TO THEM. They are somewhere. Go through your agency paperwork again or ask the agency to clarify this with you. When you go into a hospital you should always check with the nursing supervisor when you go in for your assignment just what you can and can't do. In one hospital where I worked as a supervisor that used agency nurses, we had a written set of guidelines for agency nurses that clearly spelled out what procedures they were allowed and NOT allowed to do. Don't take on any assignment that is beyond the rules or you are cruising for a bruising. Call the nursing supervisor for back up if the staff nurses try to put more responsibility on you than they are supposed to. If, as an LPN, you are not to take patients with Heparin drips or handle any IVs, you should point this out from the beginning at shift report and let the RNs on the staff handle any Heparin protocols. If you are looking for an edge to get a job, do it by making friends and getting addresses and phone numbers of the nurses you've become friendly with so you can use them as personal references on applications when you start applying for jobs. Later, you can always say at an interview, "I worked with Melissa on Tower 3 when I was doing some agency work here, so she knows my work." By the way, most agencies have you sign a contract that says you agree not to accept employment at any facility they send you into for at least 3 months--sometimes longer, or they can file a lawsuit against you for loss of income. Read your copy of the contract you signed with them again.

EMAILRN · Sep 10, 2006

I have been working agency LPN (new grad) through RN school. I have had the pleasure to work on a wonderful unit for the last six months that loves me and wants me to work there when I graduate. The charge nurse even went to far as to walk my resume down to HR.
I was giving report to the next nurse and she knew the patient was on Heparin protocol b/c he was on a drip. I didn't know he was on hep protocol. It was not on the MAR or the Kardex. The heparin order was on the MAR, which I was following. But nothing about an actual protocol was there. She knew b/c she had recieved the info in her orientation there, which, with agency, I don't get. Not that that is an excuse. I just thought he was on a heparin drip b/c he was post-cardiac surgery. Not to mention, as an LPN, I'm not even supposed to touch heparin drips and should have tried to give the patient to an RN( even though they never actually take pt's from me--which is another story).
She completely flipped on me. I took it with a smile in silence and fixed my mistake by checking the protocol sheet against the PTT. No changes needed to be made per protocol. The patient was recieving the correct amount of heparin. The patient was safe. I understand she was worried he wouldn't have been. But I honestly didn't even think the hospital HAD a hep protocol. Potassium I know and use appropriatly. And what if she were right?? I could have killed someone! I'm seriously freaked.
She ended up tearing me a new one. I acted professionally and expained that I was unaware of the protocol but will always be aware now.
Found out this am when I was supposed to go in, she complained about me and got me on the "black list" of the hospital. I can't work there anymore. I am so shocked that this honest mistake has erased 6 months of hard, mistake-free, work. I got along with everyone on this unit. They even wanted me to play for their softball team. I am so angry!
Does anyone understand this?? Does one mistake mean I am such a failure as a nurse that I can't even get another shift to prove myself again?? My confidence is shot and I'm about to grad RN school and start a new grad program.I feel like I don't even want to work b/c I might screw something up. Any suggestions--aside from hunting that old stale nurse down and beating her with a rubber hose!

Well you should not have been touching it, remember scope of practice when not followed it can bite you in the butt........as it did...your not dumb so stop it!!!!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Sep 10, 2006

Ooh, that might be a bit harsh. Might we remember we're here to help each other? Could we all try to be supportive?

oramar · Jan 1, 2008

I remember be new and getting confused about protocols of one sort or another. It is going to happen to everyone sooner or later. In every case it was just explained to me the correct way to do and I never made the mistake again. Of course failure to follow medication protocols is a med. error and the usual forms have to be filled out. I keep hearing these stories about these extreme reactions to errors. It has been proven that this is not the correct way to deal with these error. It just guarantees that the next newbee will make a similar mistake because they are not being correctly supervised either. I really think that the person who made such a issue is more concerned with roasting you in order to direct attention away from possible guilt on their part. Guilt steming from the fact that a new person is not given proper support.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jan 2, 2008

... I keep hearing these stories about these extreme reactions to errors. It has been proven that this is not the correct way to deal with these error. It just guarantees that the next newbee will make a similar mistake because they are not being correctly supervised either. I really think that the person who made such a issue is more concerned with roasting you in order to direct attention away from possible guilt on their part. Guilt steming from the fact that a new person is not given proper support.

I agree, oramar. Do they really think that eliminating the offender will eliminate mistakes?

Maybe they all need to take a hard look at the definition of insanity - "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

*As this is an old thread and the OP has probably moved on, the discussion is moot and I will now close the thread.