Disclosing Medication Errors During Interview Process?

[MICCU-RN]

Hello,

I have a question I am hoping a manager/supervisor could help me with. I graduated in May 2009 with my BSN and have been working for the last year in a 14-bed MICU/CCU. I had a medication error at the beginning of May which resulted in a warning and 6 months of probation. I then had another medication error at the end of June which resulted in the last level of warning (if anything else happens, I will be immediately fired) and 1 year of probation. I was also suspended from work for 4 shifts while it was decided what sort of penalty I would face. I am also required to see a work counselor through our employee assistance program and comply with her recommendations. There was no disciplinary action taken against my license. Both medications were non-ICU specific.

I just received a call from the hospital I have been trying to get a job with since the beginning of the year regarding a position I applied for in their MICU. I interviewed with them at the end of April for a different unit before all of my issues at my current hospital but didn't get the position because they wanted somebody with more experience. Now that all of this has happened, I am unsure of how to proceed in disclosing this in the interview process with the new hospital. Do I come out and tell the new hospital right out about the errors? Do I wait until they inquire about it? How many details should I or shouldn't I give about the situation?

I am required to give them my current manager as a reference so I would rather tell them outright about the errors in case my current manager says something. Although I am unsure about my manager even being allowed to disclose the errors when they call for a reference.

Any manager/supervisor perspective on this would be wonderful. I am really unsure of how to proceed.

[VeronicaWileyRN]

If you were interviewing with me, I would not necessarily ask about medication errors. Unfortunately, medication errors are an expected problem because we are human. Was a patient harmed? What I would do is ask for a written letter of reference from your nurse manager. This way you will have an idea of what he/she will say. Normally on checking with references I ask 1. dates of hire, 2. attendance, 3. attitude, 4. other problems. Technically in NC where I live the only thing a reference can give is date of hire. I really haven't given you a direct answer. If you feel that the nurse manager may talk about the medication errors, then talk about the errors, but don't dwell on them.

[Kyasi]

I am only allowed to verify position, date of hire, and when employment ended. Nothing about whether I would rehire the employee. When we check references, most places have the same policy. So I would not volunteer the info. If asked, you should answer honestly in case they know but try to concentrate on the positives... what you learned from the situation and what you now do to prevent it's reoccurrence. If I find out someone lied to me on an application, I won't hire them. But I have hired people who tell me the truth about any problems they have had with employment if I ask about them.

Kyasi

[kayern]

In my institution I am not permitted to give references and must refer the inquirer to our Human Resources Department. I believe the only information they are permitted to share is date of hire and years of employment.

You don't say what the medication errors were and if the patient required increased monitoring, was the error self-disclosed? You should be practicing in a non-punitive environment. We don't counsel for medication errors, we provide education and strategies to help the nurse not to make the same error again.

During interview if asked be honest and as another respondent wrote, emphasize what you learned and strategies put into place to prevent further errors.

Hope this helps.