Published
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.
Originally posted by SmilingBluEyescivil suit?
wow this IS a sue-happy society. even NURSES getting in on the action...................................................................
:chuckle :roll :chuckle Thanks Deb for the early morning wake-up laugh of the day. You cracked me up with this one. :chuckle
Well theoretically, our charge nurses and supervisors have nursing licenses too....so we COULD consider a report to the BON if they completely mishandle complaints of unsafe assignments, ignore staff concerns, etc.
Civil suit...well first question is how were you damaged /discriminated against and can you prove it, etc....kinda tough to do.
I'm with Tweety and others. If you cannot safely assume the care of another patient, why not just say so. Don't get mad...stay professional....just state the facts. As long as this is not abused I've found it works surprisingly well....from a charge and staff standpoint.
I must admit I kinda get off on the idea of nurses using clout: like a class action suit against an entire facility by a group of nurses...for things such as breach of contract, fraud, hostile work environment, etc....
Originally posted by mattsmom81
I'm with Tweety and others. If you cannot safely assume the care of another patient, why not just say so. Don't get mad...stay professional....just state the facts. As long as this is not abused I've found it works surprisingly well....from a charge and staff standpoint.
I agree with this very much (I shouldn't have implied you should get mad at the other nurse with 1 patient). I've had good results with asking for help from those with lighter loads when I'm getting bogged down (and likewise, I try to help out others when my load is lighter). Saying something before things get too overwhelming for you can make a big difference.
Hi..
I agreee with some of the others...... We all know that you can have 5 patients that are stable, not much work, etc. and easily take an admit......we also know that you can have five patients from hell...which require all of your time ...therefore....no time to admit someone. I agree that the issue should be worked out within your facility before you go talking about sueing someone...that's just crazy in my opinion...(sorry , not trying to sound mean or anything). Can you talk to your supervisor, DON, etc. Tell them that this person is being unfair.....or better yet, talk directly to the nurse in question....and like others said too, stand up for yourself. If you are too busy with your other patients...just say...."No, I can't take the admit". If you get yourself too "in over your head".....you will suffer, your patients will suffer...and you increase the likely hood of making a mistake...then someone will be sueing you!! I guess I'm lucky...we don't have that problem in our facility.....first off..they are really good about staffing for the most part...if we are busy..they find extra help...secondly.....we all just get along great....we try to divide the load equally....i.e splitting up new surgicals, confused patients ,etc. With our loads equaled out...if nurse A has 5 patients and nurse B has 6 patients...it is just assumed that nurse A will get the next admit. Sounds like you are having a intra-dept. problem....that needs to be worked out. I wish you luck...and forget the sueing thing....
Luv,
Snoop;)
P.S: I myself ...had 9 patients lastnight...kind of a lot for me...but noone would come in extra to help...
Originally posted by 3rdShiftGuySo 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.
THANK YOU!!!! seems as if someone here needs to grow up and grow a backbone. A suit will only COMPLICATE things MORE....not make it "all right". Lord, what is the world coming to these days? where is COMMON SENSE???? Your money will be much better-spent on assertiveness training/workshops or books, frankly. Good luck.
Originally posted by SpeculatingHave 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.
Well, this wasn't necessary.
Originally posted by SmilingBluEyesTHANK YOU!!!! seems as if someone here needs to grow up and grow a backbone. A suit will only COMPLICATE things MORE....not make it "all right". Lord, what is the world coming to these days? where is COMMON SENSE????
Your money will be much better-spent on assertiveness training/workshops or books, frankly. Good luck.
Totally agree...don't whine or complain, just refuse. If you are truly busy and can't take on another, so be it.
Tweety, you're right, I do sound just like a manager...can't help it sometimes.:) I was trying to figure out if it was a one-time thing or if it happens repeatedly. Also wanted to share some problem-solving techniques to try before quitting.
It's always sad when situations develop that involve favoritism and lack of fair treatment.
If your manager won't help, then I guess you have to go up the ladder. If no one will help work it out, I guess there's no choice but to leave. What a shame that some managers give us all a bad name.
Originally posted by nursemaaTweety, you're right, I do sound just like a manager...can't help it sometimes.:) I was trying to figure out if it was a one-time thing or if it happens repeatedly. Also wanted to share some problem-solving techniques to try before quitting.
It's always sad when situations develop that involve favoritism and lack of fair treatment.
If your manager won't help, then I guess you have to go up the ladder. If no one will help work it out, I guess there's no choice but to leave. What a shame that some managers give us all a bad name.
And a good manager you are. Thanks for taking my ribbing well. You did remind me of the proper way to handle a situation like this. But I'm afraid before I got to the team-building stage I would be in that charge nurses face explaining why I wasn't going to be taking a sixth admission. :)
It's very nice to have a manager's input into these kinds of things. I hope you post often.
BBFRN, BSN, PhD
3,779 Posts
How are you going to even propose a civil suit when you accepted the admit without even communicating what was going on to the charge nurse??? Is he/she supposed to be psychic? And why are you mad at the charge nurse for not being aware of the situation, instead of the nurse with 1 patient that didn't say, "Hey, charge nurse- I only have 1 patient right now, so I'll take the next couple admits?"
Judging from this thread, and the others you started about how unhappy you are with your current management, you sound like you feel extremely powerless over your situation. And you will be, unless you choose to communicate with your managers/ coworkers and take up for yourself. Doesn't that make more sense than filing a civil suit? If you're not standing up for yourself, you're not standing up for your patients.