Bullies at the work place.. vent

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

I am so angry .. I turned a nurse in awhile back for a med error .. she confronted me and I told her that I had to do it because the pt did not receive the medication that was ordered .. she got mad and yelled "I would never throw anyone under the bus the way you did me."

I explained that we are here for the pt's and it was the right thing to do .. she got mad and said "next time you find something i missed have the courtesy to talk to me first."

I thought what the heck?

Then someone found mistakes she made during a audit she got angry and said I'm sick of people throwing me under the bus .. I'd never do that to any of you. She went onto say I do alot to help you guys and all you do is throw me under the bus.

I have never heard anyone so angry. I tried to explain we all make mistakes.. and she said "I would never do what you do to people."

Has anyone ever worked with a co worker who got mad because you threw them under the bus? It's the pt's who lose out not her.. grrrrrr and thank you for listening to my vent...

[MoopleRN]

Of course we're there for our patients and their safety but we are also there to support each other and be a mentor if need be. I may or may not "throw someone under the bus". It would depend on the situation/their experience. Maybe they just need a little coaching when there's no harm done to the patient.

[boggle, ASN, RN]

Whoa! I hope you are working in a facility that is emphasizing a culture of safety. (I thought that was part of the national reform of healthcare and safety?)Please ask your supervisor or nurse educator to talk to this person, Soon, about errors, that med errors are usually part of a multi-system problem, not just her error. This is not a blame thing anymore, or at least it's not supposed to be. Nobody "writes some one up". They report "safety or medication occurrence" where the system didn't work. (I've written a few occurrance reports about my own errors myself. It doesn't feel good) There are usually many, many factors that lead up to a missed dose or med error. If you don't identify these factors, MARs never get improved, med delivery never gets improved, data supporting importance for more nurses per shift gets missed,...you get it. Apparently the nurse you work with doesn't though. Good luck

[squatmunkie_RN]

Everyone can blah blah blah about pt safety, but we've all missed something. It really just depends on how bad it is...I found a TPN bag hanging on the wrong pt during my 1st AM rounds. I immediately told everyone I needed to (the bag was hanging for 13 hrs and it didn't belong to him!).

Miss an ABO for and it gets started late...meh...all depends on the circumstances. Give us a bit more info :)

[Davey Do]

A lot of us have a Tendency to take the Identification of a Med Error as a Personal Affront or a Challenge to our Abilities as Professionals, so we react in an Emotional Outburst.

It is difficult to Own Up to a Mistake, especially if that Mistake, whether it be due to and Action or Inaction, has caused Harm to the Patient. We don't do Our Job to Inflict Harm.

Boggle has stated the Essence of how Reporting an Error should be percieved:

This is not a blame thing anymore, or at least it's not supposed to be. Nobody "writes someone up". They report "safety or medication occurrence" where the system didn't work.

And we, as a Part of the System, are Fallible to Human Error. We don't have to like it. We only have to accept it, learn from the Experience, and move on from there.

[sweet~revenge]

So why didn't you talk to her about it before you ran off and tattled on her?

How do you know she didn't give the med? Are you one of those people who pours over someone else's charting in hopes of finding something to get them in trouble for?

[rita359]

Maybe, after seeing her reaction, you should review how you handled this. What was the med? Where you following this nurse? Was the drug some critical drug which HAD to be given at that specific time? What did you do about the med except report the nurse? Did you actually talk to the nurse about this missed med or have supervisor call to be sure med was not given?

I would be upset too if I had no idea someone were reporting me for any little thing. Some critical med I could see but others she should have known about.

[Aurora77]

Based on the info in the OP, the bully is the poster, not the nurse who made the med error. Every single one of us has made errors. I would be furious if one of my coworkers ran off to turn me in rather than approaching me about it. Unless it is something completely egregious, why not discuss it first? Med errors are serious and need to be addressed but the scenario described is not the way to do it.

[PalmHarborMom]

I too have worked with people that get upset at finding their errors. No one wants to make a mistake but I am grateful if I can learn from it. That being said, when it comes to patient safety, there is no way that I would expect the supervisor to NOT be called. Yes, I would like a heads up about the error. But if no one ever lets the supervisor know that the nurse gave a med in error, then he/she can not give this nurse the training and monitoring that they need. Sadly, the next med error could turn into a life threatening situation and that's not the outcome that anyone wants. I would much rather have someone look over how I do my job to prevent an error in the future than to unintentionally hurt someone.

We as nurses have to put on our big boy pants when we come to work. Throwing a fit is uncalled for and unprofessional. Ignoring mistakes leaves no room for learning from them.

[JailRN]

I think there's one like this in every facility. I wouldn't tell her anything! She sounds like she'd cover it up or just lie. Your responsibility is to your patients and yourself. You don't want to get involved in some sort of conspiracy! Keep doing what your doing, if she harasses you, go to H. R, don't let her bully you

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

I believe you did the correct thing to fill out an occurrence report. The patient did not get the medications as prescribed and that is a PROBLEM. Of course, there is a difference between a missed dose of Colace and a missed dose of Coumadin but that is not the POINT. The point is an error of omission occurred and it needs to be reported b/c if it is happening a problem exists, Yes.... it is true most errors like this are a systems problem with many layers to them and systems cannot be corrected unless we report.

The nurse was reporting the incident not necessarily the nurse that made the error. There are times that going directly to the individual when there is a problem is a wise course of action. That is when the problem is one of an interpersonal nature. I think you would not find any policy that states you need to go to the nurse that made a med error instead of or before you fill out an occurrence report.

Instead of the nurse freaking out and misinterpreting the situation as"throwing her under the bus" she should first learn to grow up and take responsibilities for her professional actions or inaction. Perhaps that way she could actually take in the error so she can learn from it and try to prevent any in the future because that is what a wise mature person would do. I would also tell her that as well.

If the problem was of another nursing nature such as something that could have been better or differently..well than yes I would go directly to the nurse BUT not a medication error.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

you don't need to talk to her before you write her up. What good does that do? Allow her to talk you out of it? The purpose of write-ups is to ID mistakes and see if there are any trends that can be identified to PREVENT future errors. If you feel threatened or harrassed I would contact HR