Almost fired for med error

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I've been a nurse for nearly 9 years now, working in ER, Urgent care and NICU. A couple days ago I was working my shift in the ER and I accidentally gave a patient oxy/acetaminophen instead of hydro/acetaminophen. I told the charge nurse and the Dr right away. The Dr made no big deal and changed the order. The patient was fine, thankfully. I did an incident report and talked to my director. This went up to the CNO and she wanted me fired! My director went to bat for me and I'm now on probation for 90 days. I have no history of write ups, unprofessional behavior, NOTHING. I'm so upset over this and just don't want to go to work anymore. Feel like I'm walking on eggshells now and that's not good when you're working in the ER. I'm looking for a new job but that might look even worse. Any input would be appreciated. I don't know what to do.

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Your CNO dislikes you personally for some reason. I can't imagine any

other reason why she would want to make such a huge deal of one

med error that you reported right away and no one was injured.

Either that, or it isn't anything personal, she would just love to replace

someone with so much experience, for a newer nurse.

Or she's just a big meanie.

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Your CNO is really out of touch with bedside nurses like yourself. This is a ridiculously out of

proportion response to a situation in which the patient wasn't harmed. The doctor even covered

your mistake. There really probably wasn't even the need for an Error Report because he

did cover you by changing his order.

Maybe talk to your direct supervisor, who went to bat for you. See what she thinks and advises.

Based on that talk, you might want to talk directly with the CNO.

Are you certain there hasn't ever been any issue? Nothing in your file? Is anyone bad-mouthing

you? The CNO's reaction is just so excessive.

Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Glad you have a great director to speak up for you, as well as the nice ER doc who said no biggie. Management can make or break the unit/floor.

9 years with an awesome work history is no easy feat. Hopefully the CNO comes around and realizes it's better to have a nurse admit a mistake and report it and learn from it. Versus one who would've not reported it, or even realize they goofed. Hearing/being made aware of the disciplinary action taken against employees is why other employees will not report in the future.

Hopefully the probation period goes quickly.

No kidding. Unless she's still nursing in a cave your CNO should know that a punitive approach just means errors don't get reported. Does she want to be blindsided by a lawsuit? Please buy her a calendar so she can see what century she's in.

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Specializes in Psych.

It's sad that your CNO would want to take this sort of action and now had set precedence that any med errors in the future will more than likely go unreported and not only creates poor working relationship between management and nurses but also creates unsafe environment for the patients. These things MUST be reported for safety measures and to learn from these mistakes. Who here hasn't had a medication error. I as management pulled the wrong medication for a nurse to give one day and the nurse who was more diligent than I caught the error. I still had to report it to myself and then escalate it to the DON as they are my next supervisor in the chain of command. I'm sorry but it seems to me as if the CON at your facility is trying to make a name for herself and sadly with these actions that name is going to be mud!

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MellyBelly27, I'm sure that everyone will interpret this situation differently, but personally, I would continue to be the quality employee that I'm sure that you are, all the while formulating an exit strategy. If the CNO is that punitive, has so little regard for their nursing staff, and doesn't understand the 'human factor' that is at play in multi-tasking and providing nursing care for numerous patients, I would reconsider my future at the organization. I, myself, don't want to be a member of any health system that is that intolerant, 'heavy-handed' and treats their staff like so much expendable fodder. In the meantime, don't beat yourself up for such a trivial mistake, continue to take the high road by not 'mean mouthing' the administrator or the hospital and definitely be looking for alternative employment-protect your interests and your career!

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Wow.

If you do not have a target on your back for whatever reason I wonder.

Getting fired for a medication error that resulted in no harm is harsh and actually more unusual since there has been a lot of focus on creating a culture of safety. A culture of safety does not mean that we are not accountable but it takes into consideration that as human beings we will make mistakes and that the system in place to prevent errors is not perfect. You acted the right way and reported and held yourself accountable. I can see how this kind of mistake can happen easily because it "sounds" sort of similar. If you did not follow protocol reflect on it for your own sake. If it requires scanning the medication, please follow through each time because that is in place to help you prevent errors - however - the ER is a crazy busy place.

Sorry that you are on probation now - that seems very harsh and it will prevent you from transferring easily.

If you want to leave the place, start to look for a job but also find somebody who will give you a good reference.

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Most facilities encourage self -reporting by ensuring no penalties are applied.

Your CNO was WAAAY out of line. Whereas you do have a director that could intercede, you are STILL walking on eggshells.

Of course you need to move on, you don't know what could happen in the future with the power crazed CNO.

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I'm sorry to hear about this. I think it's unfortunate that this is sometimes the reaction to an error. I think it should count that you had such a long history of not making errors. I think it's best to look at the entire picture and understand not just what happened but how and why it happened. However, it's not always easy to do that, it's easier to scapegoat someone.

I'm thankful that your coworkers (MD and director/manager) were willing to help you and go out on a limb for you. I'm thankful that your patient was fine. I think the thing to do right now is keep your head down, go about your business, and work through your probation. I don't know what else to tell you outside of that. Since your director was supportive, would they be approachable and possibly agreeable to allowing you to help work on a solution to the problem? You know since somehow this happened, is there something that could be done to prevent it from happening again (or could that be explored even)?

I'm sorry that you're facing the reaction you are. That stinks. :(

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It's lovely stories like these that make me reluctant to write up any medication error where a patient is not harmed or in danger of being harmed.

I'm going to stick my neck out here but I think most nurses do not report low level med errors for just that reason.

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I am so sorry that this has happened to you.

Not long ago, I made the same medication error that you made. I called the doctor and explained what happened. He immediately changed the order and as a result, I filed no incident report.

I have no explanation as to why your facility is taking this action. Most of the other posters have far more experience than myself, so I would trust what they are telling you.

Good luck. And more importantly, take care of yourself.

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Specializes in PCCN.
Your CNO dislikes you personally for some reason. I can't imagine any

other reason why she would want to make such a huge deal of one

med error that you reported right away and no one was injured.

Either that, or it isn't anything personal, she would just love to replace

someone with so much experience, for a newer nurse.

Or she's just a big meanie.

I could think of a better word that starts with an A,:mad:

Sorry OP- maybe give it some time- it's like a fresh wound :(

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Specializes in PCCN.
Your CNO is really out of touch with bedside nurses like yourself.

Aren't they all?

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