Another nurse got fired because of me.

[arelle68]

I discovered a pretty serious medication error last week, (Signed, but not given. Involving blood pressure.) and had to file an incident report. I called the resident's family per protocol. The resident's daughter told me something like, "Well, I'll take care of it. I can guarantee you this won't happen again!" Apparently she did, because I got to work today, and found out that the nurse had been fired. It's a tough economy, and I hate to see anyone lose their job right now. I know I had to do what I did, but I feel bad for this nurse. Anyone can forget to do something sometimes. How am I supposed to feel about this?

[arelle68]

thankyou for clarifying that you didn't tell the family who it was. my apologies for my comments earlier, i read some posts further back and assumed you did.

anyway i personally would have confronted the nurse and told them about the error, would say to her that this has to be reported but i think that it's better for you to admit to it rather than me. this is showing professional courtesy to them by giving them change to fess up to management (possibly saving their job) and letting them know that your not going to lie to cover their orifice.

maybe i should have done it that way. i'll talk to some of my mentors about it, and see what they say. i didn't think this nurse would get in any trouble at all after some of the things i've seen people get away with. i was shocked anything at all happened to her. i was trying to fulfill my responsibilities in the situation in the most honest way i knew. i couldn't have known what the consequences would be. i didn't get this lady fired on purpose. i like her. i'm not happy this happened.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

e have a similar med error report policy but no way would one of the floor nurses be the one to call. even tho the policy doesnt specify, a med error should always be immediately reported to the supervisor. at that point, she takes over and does the notifying. at no time should the nurse making the error been identified to the family. the point of reporting it to the family is to say "we" (as in the facility, not the individual nurse) made a med error and are working to correct it.

not a happy situation for me, either.

who in their right mind actually reports every med error, no matter how innocuous, to the supervisor? that was the first mistake on the part of the op!

[arelle68]

who in their right mind actually reports every med error, no matter how innocuous, to the supervisor? that was the first mistake on the part of the op!

you don't report med errors to the supervisor? wow! i thought i was doing what i was suppose to do. what should i have done, ruby? i didn't think it was innocuous. it wasn't a tylenol, or artificial tears. this is a bp med.

[ChristyRN2009]

Well given what you have said in this thread all I can say is there but by the grace of God go you sister. I hope someone is more forgiving and courteous to you in the future.

[*ac*]

I have not read all of the responses here, but want to jump in anyway.

At my facility, med errors are definitely treated in a punitive way, despite lip service to the contrary. I have been written up for a med error which caused absolutely no harm to the patient. I was still on orientation, and my preceptor was checking me, and she did NOT get written up. This write up is a permanent part of my file.

THEREFORE, I would never self-report or write an incident report on someone else for something that did not cause harm to the patient. That's the result of this punitive stance. Yes, maybe it's a system error that needs to be investigated, but I can't take the chance of another write-up.

I have covered many mistakes for other nurses, as long as there was no harm to the patient. I don't like it, but that's the way it is. I do always mention it to the nurse involved, for her edification, and I expect the same courtesy in return.

Now, as far as whether or not there was a pattern of mistakes? It would not matter at my facility. The policy is that false documentation is a terminable offense. Period. However, this is enforced depending on the mood of management at the time, and whether or not the nurse in question is popular with management. I have seen the EXACT same offense (false documentation) cause one nurse to be fired and another one to get no action. It's not about patterns, it's about popularity.

One last thing: the concept of calling the family about an error that caused no harm, is mind-blowing to me.

[pinksugar]

You don't report med errors to the supervisor? Wow! I thought I was doing what I was suppose to do. What should I have done, Ruby? I didn't think it was innocuous. It wasn't a Tylenol, or artificial tears. This is a BP med.

Not Ruby here, but no, I don't automatically report med errors to the supervisor. Technically you would be supposed to report a nurse for giving a med one minute late. That is just silly. You are a newbie, so you didn't know that. What many folks here are trying to say is that it isn't always in your best interest to run to the supervisor with everything. If you discover a med error, assess your pt. Are they in immediate danger? Has any harm been done? Can the problem be easily remedied? These are the thought processes I would go through before even thinking of reporting a co-worker to management.

Here is the deal - my co-workers are the ones that have my back when I need them. They have helped me, guided me, taught me everything I know. One of the last things I would want to do is alienate them. That is why I wouldn't automatically report an error.

[StNeotser, ASN, RN]

I've made med errors, we've all made med errors. Every single one of us. If we all got fired for them there wouldn't be a single nurse working.

Which is why we don't report every single one I suppose.

[kanzi monkey]

Arelle, it sounds like you got thrown under the bus--by your institution.

Punitive measures have nothing to do with patient safety. What has the fired nurse learned from this experience? What have you learned? I'm guessing, in the future, cover your orifice. I hate the CYA approach to nursing. It's a foolish way to assume patient-care. It limits a nurses ability to use his or her own judgment.

You did the right thing--according to your institution. It doesn't sound like you feel it was right in your heart though. You've got to listen to both.

[NursePamela]

I found this post interesting. I think I read all the posts but I did not see anyone questioning - How did you know she signed and did not give the drug???

I was talking with a patient once and during our conversation I gave her an insulin INJECTION. When I was done she swore up and down I did not give her her meds. I know for fact I did give it.

I would not beat yourself up for telling on the nurse - learn from it. Investigate. Learn what really happened. We are all human and we all need to help each other from new grad to well seasoned veteran.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

personally i would have called the nurse before taking the situation any further, i know we are nurses; which means we don't make mistakes but lets be realistic we are only human.

I have done this; I have found that people have done the same for me because I know there are moments I have been distracted and oops...

Unless it is something that couldn't have been given at a later time (even people at home skip doses by accident) I would've let it go.

Sad that we don't watch each others' backs..

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

The OP did what she was supposed to do. She reported a med error. She did not intend for the other nurse to get fired, and feels badly about that. She has learned a hard lesson. Why keep beating her up over it?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

you don't report med errors to the supervisor? wow! i thought i was doing what i was suppose to do. what should i have done, ruby? i didn't think it was innocuous. it wasn't a tylenol, or artificial tears. this is a bp med.

was there harm to the patient? if yes, report. if no, don't.

have you noticed that this nurse consistently signs off medication patches without giving them? if not, just give the patch, sign it and re-time the subsequent doses. if yes, talk to her about it. if nothing changes, then start writing them up.

whatever you do, sign what you did and don't try to cover for anyone by false documentation. but unless there's harm to the patient or it's a pattern, no reason to report. and if it is a pattern, investigate. could be she's always late because the med doesn't arrive from pharmacy (or wherever yours come from) until two hours after it's due. or the patient is always playing bingo when it was do and she signed it off meaning to give it after bingo and forgot. could be the admin times need to be changed because the patient only wants the patch on her back and doesn't want to take her shirt off until bedtime.

but please don't go running to the supervisor over every little thing. and if i were you, i'd apologize to all and sundry for your part in this nurse losing her job.