Can I get fired from signing the MARS a night before my next shift

drowningdaily · Mar 25, 2013

I would think that if you were going to be fired you would have been fired by now. Good luck!

SuzieVN · Mar 25, 2013

OP: Don't think, based on your reviews in here, BTW- that you're the only nurse that has screwed up. I've been suspended, fired, written up, etc. It happens to everyone, with and without cause. I hope you don't get canned, and I hope more so that you are not being prepped for a report to the BON. I think something is up, however- you were already suspended, then put on alternative duty, with a meeting planned for a future date with the DON. I think your DON needed time to explore her plan of action. I always tells people: Expect the worse possible outcome. Since it doesn't usually happpen, you'll be out of your mind with relief, and will never forget this period of your life. If unthinkable does happen, you will not be emotionally devastated, just accepting of what you already planned for.

Also, the urge to sign off meds/txs prior to completing them, to 'save time', is for some reason compelling, but not logical: Whether you sign your initials into a box before, during, or after your med pass, or on a Monday or a Thursday, or in the morning or at night? It takes the exact same amount of time to put your initials into that box. . .

Good luck.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 25, 2013

I'm not going to pile on and chastise you for doing this. You know you did wrong, and you seem willing to take responsibility for it even if it does cost you. However, you should also be aware that you shouldn't sign the narc count book ahead of time, not even for the end of the shift like a lot of nurses do. Honestly, how do you KNOW for certain that you'll be there at the end of the shift? As the saying goes, defecation eventuates, and careless nurses sometimes find that it eventuates all over them!

I learned this the hard way myself years ago, when I fainted at work and had to be taken to the ER in the middle of a night shift. Like most of the other staff with the same bad habit, I'd already signed in both 11-7 spaces and was still at the hospital when day shift came on at 0700. Obviously, I wasn't there to count narcotics in the morning (the other night shift nurse had taken over for me) so when I went back to work a couple of days later I was called into the DON's office. Luckily, I received only a verbal warning, and of course have never done it again; but over the years I've noticed a lot of people do it out of habit, and I'm always cautioning nursing staff members not to. The time saved isn't worth one's license!

Off my soapbox now. :sneaky: OP, I wish you well.

SuzieVN · Mar 25, 2013

"You are your own god". -The Buddha

youngheartoldhead · Mar 25, 2013

i would have said oops......mistake

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Mar 25, 2013

There are at least 2 LTC nurses who have said that they too have documented early on meds. I am wondering if OP you were shown that this is "not right, but we do it or you will NEVER get your med pass done in time" in your orientation?

I have not ever worked LTC, but seems to me that one nurse medicating 50 plus (and sometimes more) patients in a time frame is mind boggling. Perhaps this is the time to advocate for a second med nurse, or a computer on wheels, or some other documentation process, although what else is something I have no idea of. My point is that with all the safety priority line of thinking evident in today's nursing practice, it is sad that LTC facilities still have 1 medication nurse per a huge amount of residents.

txredheadnurse, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2013

I am glad you seem to grasp the seriousness of your decision to pre chart. Now comes the really difficult part of dealing with the fallout from your decision. You need to use the lesson learned from this situation the next time you are faced with a choice of deviating from standard practice or facility policy because you will face those choices many times over in your career regardless of the practice setting. Remember the feelings that ran through you when your bad decision was discovered and the anxiety over possibly losing your job or having to go before your BON and attempt to justify or defend your decision. In other words please take this entire thing to heart and remember how even the seemingly simplest thing can turn around and bite you in the posterior and shoot your career right down the drain.

Move on, learn, remember and let this incident make you a better nurse in the future. We have all made bad choices in our careers; hopefully this will be the worst one you ever make.

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Mar 25, 2013

I'm not sure why she should seek asistance. She clearly made an egregious error. It was done knowingly with the hope she would not get caught. Any union rep who tries to bury that or make it go away should be ashamed of themself. :devil:

joanna73, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2013

Hopefully you've learned from this incident, since you've taken the time to reflect. I would suggest reviewing your BON and your facility policy regarding documentation, just so there's no future doubt concerning expectations.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Mar 25, 2013

I'm not sure why she should seek asistance. She clearly made an egregious error. It was done knowingly with the hope she would not get caught. Any union rep who tries to bury that or make it go away should be ashamed of themself.

You clearly don't understand the point of union representation.

Should only those who claim innocence seek representation?? Her representative will be there to ensure that the agreed upon policies and procedures are followed. This isn't some sort of guilty or innocent court trial, for crying out loud.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Mar 25, 2013

“If we judge ourselves only by our aspirations and everyone else only by their conduct we shall soon reach a very false conclusion.”

― Calvin Coolidge

In other words, we tend to overlook our own transgressions while seeing nothing but when it comes to others.

The OP made a bad judgement call, but is not a "bad" nurse. We've all, every one of us, done something we're not proud of in our nursing career. The anonymity of the Internet just makes it easier for the self righteous to stay firmly on their high horses......

SuzieVN · Mar 25, 2013

I still say she must have been influenced by the culture in that place, to presign all those meds. Ten months post LPN school is not enough distance (time) to have lost the paranoia of doing anything wrong, to check every med 16 or 20 times before giving it, or to even think about doing anything off kilter. I think she ought to claim temporary insanity, and also to name names of everyone else who is operating on the sly- sort of like receiving immunity from prosecution? Worth a shot, after all- she did infer that a fellow nurse instigated her disciplinary process.