Almost fired for med error

[mellybelly27]

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.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

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.

-

or she has friend/family looking for an ED job...

[quazar]

Why did you write it up if the doctor changed the order? Why do people insist on hanging themselves?

Probably out of a deep sense of morality/duty. I know that's why *I* have written myself up for a small error that I could have let slide when others told me to not bother with the incident report. I did it because it was the right thing to do, and because not doing it felt like lying by omission to me. To the OP, I'm so sorry this happened to you, and that crappy CNO is the EXACT reason people DON'T report med errors when they should. Ugh. Behavior like that actually leads to MORE errors because the near misses and smaller errors that could have been caught and lead to changes in the system to make things safer are punished and there is fear of reporting. Straight from the dang research:

It can be concluded that the first and foremost step toward a better reporting system is to create a reliable environment for nurses to feel safe to report errors without fear of consequences and repercussion. In other words, it is essential to build an environment in which it is safe for nurses to admit medication errors, learn from the error, and understand the nature of the error.

Medication Error Reporting Rate and its Barriers and Facilitators among

Nurses

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

We didn't have to write it up if the doc wrote the order for it. Sorry you are being treated like that. As if the DON never made a med error. RIGHT.

.

Probably not. Managers these days fast track, so they have little, if any, floor experience. What is really going on here is an excuse to get rid of an experienced nurse that pays more. OP didn't offer if this is the only position s/he has had in the ER. Hospitals like the cost of nurses with less than 5 years experience.

[VANurse2010]

Probably out of a deep sense of morality/duty. I know that's why *I* have written myself up for a small error that I could have let slide when others told me to not bother with the incident report. I did it because it was the right thing to do, and because not doing it felt like lying by omission to me. To the OP, I'm so sorry this happened to you, and that crappy CNO is the EXACT reason people DON'T report med errors when they should. Ugh. Behavior like that actually leads to MORE errors because the near misses and smaller errors that could have been caught and lead to changes in the system to make things safer are punished and there is fear of reporting. Straight from the dang research: Medication Error Reporting Rate and its Barriers and Facilitators among

Nurses

I hope you enjoy your moral superiority on the unemployment line.

[quazar]

I hope you enjoy your moral superiority on the unemployment line.

Lol. Okay. Whatever makes you feel better. Bless your heart.

[JBudd, MSN]

Lol. Okay. Whatever makes you feel better. Bless your heart.

I was about to post something similar, only you backed yours up with the study!

VAnurse: it is called honor.

[Libby1987]

I hope you enjoy your moral superiority on the unemployment line.

There was nothing pretentious in quazar's post.

I've noticed something out of character in your recent posts, I hope everything is okay in real life.

[MrNurse(x2), ADN]

VAnurse: it is called honor.

This is lacking in today's society. Integrity is laughed at.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I did an incident report and talked to my director. This went up to the CNO and she wanted me fired!

Overly punitive action is one of the reasons many nurses are tempted to not disclose any medication errors they may make.

Reporting a medication error should result in systemic changes to enhance patient safety, not draconian discipline.

[grizun]

Serves you right for reporting it. Snitches get stitches, even if you snitch on yourself. The doc changed the order. No harm no foul.

[LessValuableNinja]

I find it interesting how an organization can ignore the massive amounts of evidence that creating a nonpunitive culture of reporting improves patient outcomes.

I think your CNO needs an intervention with some EBP CBT.

[159Nursesrule, ADN, BSN, CNA, EMT-B]

Wow lots of assuming going on here, unless you spoke personally with the CNO, this could be a "he said, she said" situation. Could there be conflicts between CNO and ED Nurse Manager? Is there a written policy of how the hospital will handle medication errors and types? Near misses are medication errors also and learning from mistakes is crucial. Don't run from your mistake, learn from it. We are humans and all humans make mistakes.