Need your opinion! Will I be fired over this?

Students CNA/MA

Published

So... I have been having chest pains over this all day because I am SO nervous about whats going to happen and the severity. I'll tell you what happened at my job as a CNA in LTC unit at the nursing home... I left my FALL RISK patient with the bed halfway up, no floor mat and alarm no where to be seen. On top of that her wheelchair was close enough to be reached but no brakes. Long story short, she reached for the wheelchair and fell straight to the ground. A small scratch on her forehead complete with small pool of blood, puffy lip, and one black eye later, EVERYONE knows about it including the boss. This patient thinks she can get up by herself and has fallen MANY times and is non-compliant. However this time, I forgot ANY and ALL safety precautions even though I've had 2 yrs experience. I get to have a talk with my supervisor and boss soon... thoughts on whether I should prepare for the worst? :no:

As a CNA myself and a human being, we all make mistakes. I believe it depends on what kinda nursing home you work in. If its a bad one they may just do an incident report and keep it moving on the other hand if your at one of the good ones they may do all the precedures necessary but doesn't absolutely mean that your fired, more than like you'll get a write up and an inservice on falls and safety. I know this line of work is demanding and time consuming but you gotta take your time. Let me know how it goes.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN

13,952 Posts

Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Since you failed to take multiple safety precautions (bed in high position, no crash mat, wheelchair within reach without breaks on, no bed alarm) and the fact that the patient received several injuries, regardless if the patient has a history of non-compliance you will likely face disciplinary action. Depending on your work history (do you have other write ups for safety issues?) what type of disciplinary action is hard to say. You may get a write up, suspension, mandatory classes/education, or you may in fact be terminated or worse terminated and reported to your certifying agency (if you are a CNA you may be reported to the agency that oversees the certification such as the BoN or department of health) . Since safety precautions were not in place and the patient was injured this may be required to be reported to the local regulatory agency which could affect the type of disciplinary action issued.

Until you hear from management, take the time to make certain that EVERY one of your patients are safe. All beds in low position, alarms in place and on, wheelchairs locked, side-rails up (as appropriate), follow all policy and procedure of your facility. When you are spoken to, take responsibility outline what went wrong and how it can be prevented from occurring in the future. Do NOT try and shift blame to the patient and bring up that they have a history of noncompliance (as that will not work in your favor). A patient with known non-compliance with safety precautions requires a watchful eye to prevent injuries from occurring.

To prepare outline exactly what went wrong (rushed and didn't make sure the bed was in lowest position), and how to fix it (make a safety checklist for caring of patients with high fall risk)

jrgcna

9 Posts

I know injuries are a serious thing, but as MsKeycena said, we all make mistakes. JustBeachyNurse gave some good advice as well.

Years ago, at a new job, I forgot to lock a patient's w/c during a transfer. Big mistake. She fell and had to go to the hospital. I had

to write up an incident report and undergo some additional training. They did not fire me. I can't guarantee anything for you, but termination is not a given.

duskyjewel

1,335 Posts

Specializes in hospice.

Were you rushing because your patient load is too high? (This is LTC, so I will answer for you. Yes!) If they fire you, bring that up.

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