A Patient Fell, I Almost Didn't Report

Emergent, RN · Oct 10, 2022

You are making a mountain out of a molehill here. So what if you were thinking of skipping the aggravating hassle of reporting a non-injury fall. Lots of people have felt the same.

Daisy4RN · Oct 10, 2022

Agree with Emergent. There is no need for even a teeny tiny panic attack. If anyone says anything later just state what you said here, you felt like skipping it but of course did the right thing. I am sure by now you realize how stupid some of the paper work is and I don’t think I ever knew anybody who didn’t skip some steps. That said make sure it isn’t anything important (and IMO fall paperwork is for a number of reasons one being you may not see an injury right away). Don’t beat yourself up about it. And now you also learned that it sometimes is easier just to do the aggravating paperwork if for no other reason than you don’t have to worry about it later. If you do decide in the future to skip something I would advise you to keep it to yourself, loose lips…

summertx · Oct 12, 2022

Don't worry about it. When this happens, and they're AxO x4 and no injury even if there was a slight bruise, just put in a progress note to acknowledge it.

Googlenurse, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2022

14 hours ago, summertx said:

Don't worry about it. When this happens, and they're AxO x4 and no injury even if there was a slight bruise, just put in a progress note to acknowledge it.

You still have to call the doctor and family, and write an incident report no?

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Oct 14, 2022

Give yourself a break. Everyone has been tempted to let it go when the patient is clearly fine. It's a pain and some of the busy work paperwork is just a massive waste of your time. You ended up reporting it, you did absolutely nothing wrong!

Lynker, LPN · Oct 14, 2022

Thank you so much, everyone. I'm glad my feelings are valid. I will let it go, and move forward with the right mindset. ?

HiddenAngels · Oct 14, 2022

Okay I’m gonna be honest here. I read the headline and am dyinggg! ???. I don’t know why this made me laugh. I guess it’s the kid in me that’s like oooops oh no, I don’t want to get in trouble. But okay let me go back and read what happened and take this more seriously. Be back shortly..

HiddenAngels · Oct 14, 2022

On 10/10/2022 at 8:28 AM, Lynker said:

I know, weird title.

My CNA came to me last night saying that my patient was on the floor. I went in with the vital tower and took her vitals, everything was good. No outstanding injuries per the patient. We got her up and back to bed, bathed, changed and everything.

Part of me didn't want to report the fall, and told the CNA this. She agreed to whatever I wanted to do. I then went back on my word (about 5 minutes later) and reported it the proper way, without missing a thing. My heart, conscious and license couldn't handle the possibility of not reporting it properly.

I'm having a HUGE panic attack right now due to this. I haven't told anyone, and I called my CNA from home. She says I ended up doing the right thing, and won't tell anyone and has my back.

What should I do? Should I just take it as an okay thing, since I did end up reporting it like a proper, prudent nurse? I'm so on edge right now. I'm so ashamed of myself for even thinking and saying of possibly not reporting it.

Help! ?

Okay so I initially laughed at your title and I see you did too LOL!

Will you relax. You did the right thing! Noone cares about the underworld of buried thoughts you are allowing to eat you up inside! You reported yourself to yourself, you are golden now. Good job!

summertx · Oct 14, 2022

On 10/12/2022 at 10:20 AM, Googlenurse said:

You still have to call the doctor and family, and write an incident report no?

That's correct, but if she was contemplating not doing it, then a progress note is better than not doing anything.

**CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN** · Oct 17, 2022

One thing I’ve learned in life is that it is a terrible idea to obsessively judge my thoughts!! Of course you had a few moments of thinking “Let’s just hush this up and not tell anyone.” That’s just a thought, and it’s a normal one, you can’t control that. But once the Adrenalin passed, you thought clearly and made the correct judgement. That’s the way it is all supposed to work!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Oct 20, 2022

You ultimately did the right thing. Relax. ? It's important to remember that in the elderly population, even a ground level fall can cause significant trauma that may not be apparent immediately. Our brains shrink as we age and leave extra room for bleeding and swelling. What if your patient had a change in mental status after your shift and no one knew about her fall to connect the dots and provide rapid intervention? This is why it's important to document falls. You knew it was the right thing, and you did it. It's not your fault that she fell. We can't always prevent these things! ?