Annoyed, venting, am I too sensitive?

[anonymous1919, LPN]

Okay, I don't want to be too specific on anything, so if something seems like it doesn't make sense, or something, it's because I'm not going into detail.

So the other day a resident had blood in his stool, we sent him out twice, and he kept coming back with no blood in his stool. The first day he went out, I wasn't there. I was there the second day he came back and he still had blood in his stool. Except, there was no blood. I had a light bulb moment and realized that this persons family brings him a snack that is red, and told the charge nurse who was going to call his Dr about this bloody stool. In the end, I was right about it. It was because of the snack.

So the charge nurse handled the situation and called the Dr, charted, etc. When I read her charting it said nothing about me discovering this, in fact it stated "floor nurse was giving resident red snacks, Dr notified". I felt almost like I was being blamed. I don't care if I am praised, or get credit, but it bothers me that her charting was worded as if it was my fault this confusion happened.

Am I being too sensitive?

Edit: I mean, the charting could have been worded "floor nurse discovered residents family bringing red snack, Dr notified" or heck "charge nurse discovered red snacks, Dr notified"

[indigonurse]

First of all the nurse just stated "the floor nurse" the nurse did not use your name. You can write up an incident report a long the lines of a charting error and mention exactly what snacks the dietary dept. provides pointing out that none of them are colored red or contain an ingredient that discolors the pts. stools. You can call the family and ask their name and to tell you give you a list of the food this pts. been eating. Then include this in an incident report. You can also go to medical records and fill out a charting error form. Where I come from even if a nurse allegedly caused a problem that type of info. is recorded on an incident form and the only thing that is recorded in the residents MAR is the problem, and how it was solved without accusing anyone. I just do not understand why a hem-occult test wasn't given before a decision was made to admit the pt.

[anonymous1919, LPN]

First of all the nurse just stated "the floor nurse" the nurse did not use your name. You can write up an incident report a long the lines of a charting error and mention exactly what snacks the dietary dept. provides pointing out that none of them are colored red or contain an ingredient that discolors the pts. stools. You can call the family and ask their name and to tell you give you a list of the food this pts. been eating. Then include this in an incident report. You can also go to medical records and fill out a charting error form. Where I come from even if a nurse allegedly caused a problem that type of info. is recorded on an incident form and the only thing that is recorded in the residents MAR is the problem, and how it was solved without accusing anyone. I just do not understand why a hem-occult test wasn't given before a decision was made to admit the pt.

He also had a temp to go along with it. He had recent surgery, etc. It clearly looked like blood. So he was sent out, the second time he came back we did a hem-occult and it was neg, this is when the "light bulb" went off and I realized his family was bringing in red snacks. Again I'm not giving great detail, which is why it might not make total sense. I was just mostly concerned about how the charge nurse charted it, as if I was the one giving him these snacks that caused his stools to be red.

[nursynurseRN]

I wouldn't take it personal... It doesn't sound like she was blaming anyone. I have seen examples of trying to blame someone in charting. It goes more like "Nurse X gave wrong snack/med/procedure". So I wouldnt think it was on purpose.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Way too sensitive, plus you don't get mention on your good deeds; it's called documentation. Should she have written so and so discovered that she had a light bulb moment and informed etc... etc... and on and on..........

BTW; you have the hem kits right there; seriously, next time check. You people need to find out what the food/foods were that turned the stool red.

Good charting is succinct; her charting was appropriate IMO. If I were you I would move on to bigger fish.

[anonymous1919, LPN]

Way too sensitive, plus you don't get mention on your good deeds; it's called documentation. Should she have written so and so discovered that she had a light bulb moment and informed etc... etc... and on and on..........

BTW; you have the hem kits right there; seriously, next time check. You people need to find out what the food/foods were that turned the stool red.

Good charting is succinct; her charting was appropriate IMO. If I were you I would move on to bigger fish.

Okay thanks, I felt like I was being too sensitive. I just didn't like that she charted I gave him the red snacks. I agree that they should have done with hem kit before sending him out, too. Like I said, I was only there once he came back, suggested they do it, that's when they said they did and it was neg and the "light bulb" moment happened for me about the snacks. But this Resident also had a temp that would not go down, so they sent him out for that and the bloody stool. I'm not going to make a stink about her charting to anyone at work, I just wanted some input from here, so thank you! :)

[greenfiremajick]

I wouldn't take it personal... It doesn't sound like she was blaming anyone. I have seen examples of trying to blame someone in charting. It goes more like "Nurse X gave wrong snack/med/procedure".

Are they allowed to do this? It seems like there should be some sort of generic quality to things like that, but I'm not experienced, so.......

[johwiklundRN]

maybe a bit too sensitive,

the patient is okay, and you have your own peace of mind. Lots of time thats all your going to get.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

maybe a bit too sensitive,

the patient is okay, and you have your own peace of mind. Lots of time thats all your going to get.

This is very true; we do so many things for our patients and never get credit. I like to think of it like a lab where there are multiple students and one professor. When there's a break-thru or discovery it's the professor that gets the glory even though it was the whole team; same with nursing, not everyone gets the credit they deserve.

Was it fair how she documented the red food thing; personally I didn't have a problem with it. She had to say something about it and I don't believe she was attempting to be difficult or point fingers. If there ever was an investigation into the matter about the red food they would break it down, find out who was the floor nurse that day, and interview you. Well I think that's great since you have knowledge about the incident and can supply first hand information. In the end it all works out.

[AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

The bigger question is why wouldn't you do this guy a favor and do a more involved assessment before sending him out twice! How bout questioning him or his family about foods and quiacing his stools!

[shaas, ASN, RN]

I don't think you're too sensitive. I'd be annoyed as well because it is documented. But, don't give this too much of your time and emotional investment. There are bigger fights to be had and won, and, hopefully, someday, someone with integrity would give you the credit that you earn and deserve.

In the mean time, I'd like to share with you all a story of a doctoral student named Shucks.

Shucks was doing a very important research in the dept. of biochemisty under the preceptorship of three professors somewhere in Chicago. Keep in mind that the broad area of research may be determined under collaboration of the faculty, but the specific scope of research is mainly determined by students in these doctoral researches. Shucks, one day, found a pathway of a strange protein that leads to protein, hence, cellular degradation, which is pivotal in cellular physiology (think, apoptosis, neoplasms, cancerous growth, etc.).

Shucks initiated the research, determined its scope, and found this pathway after spending countless hours in the dreary lab. The professors published the research article and the doors to new research opened for the countless numbers of biochemists and their doctoral fellows, leading to new drugs and medical treatments.

Fast forward to 2004, the Nobel Prize Committee contacted the professors and informed them that they had been nominated, and, consequently, been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery. Luckily, Shucks' professor is a conscientious guy who, from the beginning did not forget to mention Shucks in this research. For the acceptance speech, Shucks was invited to Sweden to give a speech, because, it was made known by the professor that he was the primary doctoral research fellow who made this discovery. Shucks gave a phenomenal speech, as rightfully so because it was his research and his findings.

All in all, set aside the fancy trip to Sweden, the speech, the credit given by the three laureates to Shucks, the glaring fact remained that the actual prize only went to the three professors who were supervising his research at the time. Only they will go down in history as the innovative Nobel Laureates. The transcription of the acceptance speech of the Nobel Laureates was written something in the lines of...grateful for Shucks for his dedication and research that led them to their today.

Without being named a Nobel Laureate, Shucks still remains a dean of a medical school today who still loves biochemistry to his core, and still devotes himself tirelessly to his research. Of course, he was initially saddened and disappointed for all of his hardwork, his own findings, and sleepless nights culminating into just a brief line in someone's acceptance speech. Who wouldn't? It was so close, he could almost taste it.

But, in the end he wouldn't change a thing, he felt, because, to him, the discovery itself meant more than anything, that he was able to do it, paving the way and ushering in the new era of research that ended up saving millions of lives down the road. However, it would be a complete lie if there was not a moment of disenchantment and disappointment, not in the field of science, but in all things illogical called 'human behavior.'

[Scrubby]

The bigger question is why wouldn't you do this guy a favor and do a more involved assessment before sending him out twice! How bout questioning him or his family about foods and quiacing his stools!

If you actually READ you'll find that the OP wasn't there the first time the patient got sent out.

I too would have a problem with the way this was documented. I would approach the nurse who wrote the note and ask them to change it because it wasn't the floor nurse who gave the patient the red snacks, it was the family.