Did you ever "neglect" a patient???

Nurses Safety

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While we were in nursing school, our instructor informed us one day that if you are working at a current job and quit without giving a notice or walk off a shift, it is considered neglect and they can report you to the boards.

Is there any truth to this??

Debbie

While we were in nursing school, our instructor informed us one day that if you are working at a current job and quit without giving a notice or walk off a shift, it is considered neglect and they can report you to the boards.

Is there any truth to this??

Debbie

I believe we are very responsible people.A nurse should not leave work before handing over report to in-coming staff(nurse).No kind of emergency allows for abandonment coz what if wherever you or your NOK seek assistance you get none and that is the explanation?

Remember F.Nightingale!

Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Very interesting question, I hand never thought about that :) (Always god to know though).

This is something the facilities love to hold over nurses' heads.

If you leave a hall on your shift without getting fired or told to go home that is patient abandonment and you'll lose your license...

BUT what they don't want you to know is that (in this state, at least) if you show up to work and announce out of the blue, "this is my last day," they are NOT supposed to be able to hold this against you.

No kind of emergency allows for abandonment

I once had to float to a unit because the nurse suddenly disappeared. Everyone was in a panic at the time. Unfortunately, it so happens he had either a mild CVA or just a TIA; I think it is reasonable that he didn't think to tell anyone, rather going straight to the ER.

I don't think anyone should leave his/her nurses without giving report to a supervisor. However I think employers and BON have taken this over board. IF a nurse ask for help doesn't recieve it, tells the supervisor he she refuses and then she states I am done here is my assignment. She didn't leave her patients without properly handing them over.

If a nurse has a legit emergency...yes then the supervisor should relieve him/her or get someone to relieve.

Again this is just one more thing that BON/employeers take to beyond the limits...But hey remember we don't pay them for us!!!

i was always told that it was only abandonemnt if you 1) left without notifying anyone and 2)there were no other RN's around. so, as long as you tell the charge, who is an RN, you are not liable because you 1)gave notification and 2) there is another nurse present who is able to assume care

I believe if u are sick,that cannot be abandonment.If the in-charge rubs you the wrong way and you leave while he/she is there:THAT is not abandonment.They like holding that against us because we do a lot.Who else can multi-task as well as a nurse?

That's why where I come from nurses have been sacked for joining other public servants in a strike!OUR absence is easily noticed.

In IL we are employed 'at will', which leads to my question:

If you are employed in an at-will state, and your NM gets a burr up her backside or staff reductions are occurring, if you get the boot does the following apply:

-- If you have received report, and are terminated on the spot for whatever reason or (sent home) are you theoretically liable? I realize that it is up to the nurse manager to cover your assignments, but what if s/he isn't on the unit at the time?

-- I was involved in just such an incident. One of my fellow co-workers came on shift and was receiving 4 of my 5 patients.

I was giving her report when I noticed she was weeping quietly. As it turned out, her husband was hospitalized in severe CHF and was in the ICU. She was unable to begin her shift, but we found coverage. I stayed an extra 4 hours/4 patients, as this was creating a 12-hour day for me, something not 'recommened' where I worked at the time for new grads. Another nurse was willing to come in 4 hours early.

The charge nurse -- really took the 'leadership initiative' and was amazing. Our unit experienced an all too rare moment of teamwork and cohesiveness.

When I reported back to work for my next shift, there was a 'request' from the NM to come see her.

I went to the office at 0900. She said "Close the door" (always a sure sign of a dressing-down). She asked for my version of what happened (!!!??????!!!) and I told her that I offered to stay.

Apparently I had run into the holy grail of 'unauthorized' OT by about 4 hours.

I told her that Nurse X was not able to concetrate on report, so she didn't receive report entirely. The charge nurse was cooperative in our shift-covering. "But what about this OT? If you go home now I have no one to cover your patients and you will be in violation of your license and facility policy -- patient abandonment."

:eek:

I told her that as far as I knew, if it was OK w/the Charge nurse, it's OK to switch assignments or change staffing. It's the Charge Nurse's unfortuante responsibility to get coverage for sick calls, etc...The Nurse Manager said that I was still in unauthorized OT.

:chair:

At that point, as I was getting tired of the circular argument. I said "Mary (not her real name), you can pay the OT, change the schedule or fire me. But we did the right thing at the time, so please explain the problem to me, because I don't see it".

The other nurse (Nurse X) was fired for patient abandonment the next day.

The general consensus was that Mary, Nurse Manager, was looking for a reason to fire an experienced, good, and (probably expensive) nurse.

So much for team work.

Thanks for reading a long post. Sorry if I rambled.

If you do not give proper notice to your employer that you are leaving you can be reported to your State Board of Nursing. I have seen it done where I work. My thoughts is that Nursing is a Profession and if we wish to be thought of as Professionals then the least I can do is to give proper notice that I am leaving. If you don't give notice and the hospital is left short it's the patients that will suffer not the Hospital.

I had just arrived in the ICU when the secretary said that I had an Emergency call. My nephew has just been flown into Shands. My sister was driving in(she was 75 miles away.) I called the NM in her office and she said get out of here. Well our unit had one of those nurses that is she did not know a story she made one up.

Shands is a ten minute ride if you stretch some the laws.

My nephew was in an insulin induced coma. He was up here visiting his biological father. He thought that my nephew would sleep better with a little extra insulin. It took two days for my nephew to come around.

My next shift at work, my NM called me in her office. Straightfaced she handed me a three page letter documenting my deriliction of duty and endangerment of Pts. If my nurse manager had not been laughing I would of had a stroke. The nurse who wrote the note was involuntarily moved to day shift and lost her charge postion. The charges were beyond ridiculous. I had never taken report. I was actually 20 minutes early. The assistant NM was there as well as the NM.

Stitchie,

That is ridiculous...not only to yell at you for stepping up to help a co-worker but then for her to be fired???

Where is the protection for nurses??? Can we not hurt??? Can we not be human and have human loved ones??? She didn't leave her patients out there...the NM left her.

We are to be proffessionals and act as such, however we are not allowed to be treated as proffessionals, let alone human.

I am so sorry for your co-worker and I congrat. you for helping her out. Did anyone ever hear if she was reported or prosecuted??? Just curious.

Annette

Annette,

Thank you for reading my long post and story. I hope it wasnt' boring; I was trying to keep to the pertinent details. Illinios is an at-will state, so if they dont' like your fingernail polish you can be fired. Or for no reason whatsoever.

The last I had heard, she was pressing th company for owed wages, vacation and benefits In the midst of all of this he husband did pass away, so as an employee she was still allowed some death benefits.

The general consensus was that she was making alot of money and the NM wanted her to transer to ICU or ER, but she was comfortable on the unit and had no desire to change. I think the company went a little easier on her after her husband passed but certainly didn't make her whole.

As for the other's parts in this, the NM is a jerk and the ones who split her shift would do so for anyone. To do it all over again I'd do the same thing. Expect that as a manager I would congratulate the covering RN's and give them some special recognition.

Unfortunately, I left the unit shortly after this happened (new grad doing the requisite 6 months on a rotten floor!). I think the fired nurse in question went to a different hospital and was highered, on the spot, at a better salary, better benefits, and they allowed her to push back her start date (at 66%, or short-term disability rates) for 6 weeks while she got her house sold and moved.

Life works in mysterious ways.

Thanks for asking.

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