delegation

Speculating · Jan 28, 2004

Originally posted by vedm
when you go to management about things and nothing happens, has anyone ever thought of filing a civil suit against a nurse that delegates new patients to a nurse that already has 5 patients and some of the other nurses on staff have only 1 nurse because of discharges. Then the nurse that still has 5 patients, gets an admit before the one that only has one patient left? please respond. even if you don't want to file a civil suit - this is not safe patient care. i would like to know your take on this. it is important. thank you.

Have you been dipping into the narc cabinet again? How new of a nurse are you that you can't handle five stable pts. You do know that you can't work for someone that you're suing. I'd be willing to guess that no one will ever hire you again as well. I don't think I would want to work next to you either for fear of being sued by you for something stupid. You'd have a better chance suing the pt. for getting sick. You're a professional act like one. If you think it's dangerous to take on another pt. then refuse, that's your right, yours is the only license the state will take.

vedm · Jan 28, 2004

no, i am not a NEW nurse. And I would like to add that I was giving blood to one on my patients, another was in restraints and was able to get out of all of her restraints, no matter what you did, and another was on a heparin drip because of a DVT even though he was post surgical and had a very large abdominal incision that was leaking blood and bleeding profusely. What kind of nurse are you anyway? Whoever you are that responded to this. You must be a super hero nurse and can handle all. No, I am NOT A NEW NURSE. I am a seasoned nurse. And I know that if I have a patient load like this, and another nurse only has one patient, they need to be the one to take the new admit. Gosh, I would not want you to take care of me. You think you are it, don't you. Get a grip guy or gal, you are not above the rest of us. Sounds to me like you are the one that is the new nurse. Whatever, wait till your day comes.

Originally posted by Speculating
Have you been dipping into the narc cabinet again? How new of a nurse are you that you can't handle five stable pts. You do know that you can't work for someone that you're suing. I'd be willing to guess that no one will ever hire you again as well. I don't think I would want to work next to you either for fear of being sued by you for something stupid. You'd have a better chance suing the pt. for getting sick. You're a professional act like one. If you think it's dangerous to take on another pt. then refuse, that's your right, yours is the only license the state will take.

RNPATL, DNP, RN · Jan 28, 2004

Well said! There are proper methods and channels you can go through to voice your concerns. Following your chain of command might be a helpful thing to do if you are concerned that caring for more than 5 patients is unsafe. There are times when 5 patients are so time consuming that it would be impossible to take a 6th patient. This is the time when you need to keep your charge nurse alert to how you are doing and whether you can handle another patient. As the previous poster said, refuse the 6th patient if you feel it is unsafe.

Talking about a civil suit might not be in your best interest as a nurse. If the job you are working provides you with that much frustration, perhaps you need to look at doing something different other than working in a hospital. That is one of the wonderful things about being a nurse, we can do so many things.

Good Luck.

unknown99, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2004

:rolleyes:

Alright, you two, play nice!!!! If you can't play nice, then you do not need to play!!!!

SmilingBluEyes · Jan 28, 2004

civil suit?

wow this IS a sue-happy society. even NURSES getting in on the action........

I don't think that is the solution to your problem hon.I think it will make your life much more difficult. JMO....

jeanna · Jan 28, 2004

on my medical floor we are dealing with an issue like this. But ,of course, not the idea of sueing!!!!!! we have been having a problem with pt. assignment. at first we made assignments at the beginning of our shift about who gets 1st, 2nd, 3rd.... admit and or transfer. But we have been finding that it has been turning out that one nurse will have 5 pt. and no discharges and another nurse has only 2 pts. left after her discharges, but the nurse with 5 pt. gets the next admit. How we have been handling that problem is that the charge nurse quickly does a quick pt. count per nurse and then assigns the admit . So far it has been working alot better. If you have a very difficult pt, if you just let the charge nurse know she can figure that in. Many times our nurses check to see if any of the other nurses need help, so that no one is behind or overworked, while others are doing nothing. It takes a team effort.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2004

Uhh, I have had to work with much higher numbers and more severe acuity than that. And, no, I have never considered suing.

If you have a problem with assignments, you speak to the individual that made them, and perhaps his/her supervisor. If you do not like their actions on the matter, you can leave and make it very clear why. If management can't get nurses, then they will take corrective measures.

To quote sjoe,"We will get as much crap as we get".

That, and posting the same topic under several headings is a bit......gauche.

cheryldoug · Jan 28, 2004

While I am just in the beginning field of my nursing career, I have a seasoned legal background and worked years on workplace issues. While I am not a lawyer, I am a certified paralegal and I can tell you right now, that you would have a weak case unless you have been specifically abused by way of race, gender or merit. My advice to you would be to talk to your charge nurse, his or her supervisor or another trusted managment personnel, if any, about the situation. It is likely that management is not aware of your woes. I've found that 9 out of 10 times, issues can be resolved by meeting, talking and resolving. A good idea may be to come up with a resolution and suggest it be implemented to help your team handle patients more effectively. This would not only help you, but would also prove that you are a problem solver.

You can *try* to go the civil suit route, yes, you can work for your employer while doing this (depending on what outcome you are asking for) however it usually doesn't work out in your favor. For frivolous cases, most employers have roundabout ways to make your life as horrible as possible without violating any laws..... so that you end up quitting your job and losing the case. There are many ways that employers can retaliate without truly retaliating in "legal terms" --- check out your employee handbook.... your employer can pretty much do whatever they want (shifts, breaks, micro-managing, write ups, etc). You don't want that. You're a good nurse who is stressed out and fed up. If you can't resolve the problem, it may be a better idea to go elsewhere for work....you have a flexible degree.....

Any suits you may pursue will not be shared by employer to future potential employers, however, civil suits are public information and will remain on public record and a future employer could look up this information easily by your name and yes, could impair your future career.... background checks often search for this type of information. If a case is deemed frivolous or thrown out, it is likely that another reputable employer would choose another candidate, likely out of lawsuit fears.

I understand you are very upset and angry, however, maybe talking it out will really help you.....

Hope this helps!

cj

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2004

So a nurse has one patient. You have five. An admission is coming and they are giving the admission to you.

Stand up for yourself and refuse. I can understand your anger and the desire to sue. But don't accept the admission. As a charge nurse I've had a lot of nurses refuse admissions when they've been busy. I appreciate the feedback as I might be clueless if I myself have been busy.

nursemaa · Jan 28, 2004

Does this happen regularly or was it a one-time thing? Who on your shift determines which nurse gets the admission? Did you talk to that person in a professional way, pointing out that you still had 5 patients while the other nurse only had 1? If you did and still had to take the patient, did you involve the shift supervisor (if you have one)? Refuse is a strong word, it's usually good to approach it as a collaboration with the chage nurse first. When you went to the unit manager, did he/she have any suggestions for how you should handle it? Did you go prepared to give some ideas for resolving the problem? It sounds to me like you, the charge nurse, and the manager need to sit down together and try to work out the problem. Or have some team-building sessions to try and work things out. Maybe you could suggest that to your manager, especially if this is an ongoing concern.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2004

Originally posted by nursemaa
Does this happen regularly or was it a one-time thing? Who on your shift determines which nurse gets the admission? Did you talk to that person in a professional way, pointing out that you still had 5 patients while the other nurse only had 1? If you did and still had to take the patient, did you involve the shift supervisor (if you have one)? Refuse is a strong word, it's usually good to approach it as a collaboration with the chage nurse first. When you went to the unit manager, did he/she have any suggestions for how you should handle it? Did you go prepared to give some ideas for resolving the problem? It sounds to me like you, the charge nurse, and the manager need to sit down together and try to work out the problem. Or have some team-building sessions to try and work things out. Maybe you could suggest that to your manager, especially if this is an ongoing concern.

You're sounding just like a manager. "Team building". Puleeze. LOL. Sorry, just picking in good natured fun because I know you're a manager.

I agree that we should try to solve problems professionally at the level that they started.

The op first indicated that they did go to management. Obviously management is not responding the op's liking. Where do go from there if it's still unfair/unsafe?

Sounds like the manager and charge nurse, and favorite nurses are destroying the team. What do you do then? Quit?