Do you encounter a lot of dishonest nurses?

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I am a recent graduate..In the three months I have been working at two different facilities, I encountered two situations where I got into trouble with the DON and it was not my fault..It was someone else fault but the blame was just put on me.

Situation one:

At my first facility, nurses would have to count narcotics that is locked for every shift..The count was off but the person lied to me saying "How many do you count?" I told her the number and she said, "Yea, that is how many." It turns out that I found out later in the day, she lied just to blame the miscount on my shift..As you can see, I did not last too long after that incident..

Situation two:

There was a missed medication that supposed to be in the medication administration record..The admitting nurse just missed writing it in the medication administration record..Well, to place blame on a person, the admitting nurse accused me of losing the page...The DON also accused me...Now what am I going to do with a page with one drug listed on it?

Now, I have been in the job for three months..And three months is not a long time..Now the situation I see is very bad overall..Is the nursing profession, typically like this or did I end up with some bad apples?

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Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.

i am sorry for what has happened to you .but in 20 yrs of nursing i have only met 2 nurses who lied .1 she diverted narcs but got caught.2 one who disliked me and lied about a statement another nurse supposedly made about me.however when called on it she later claimed she just misheard his other nurse say it.by the way the other nurse was a friend of mine and i know she didn't say anything like that about me.it happens just protect yourself.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I don't know about anyone else, but I generally believe that if ONE person tells me I'm doing something wrong, it may or may not be true; but if two (or more) people tell me the same thing, I have to at least consider the possibility that I need to do things differently.

Just my two pence worth.

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Yep, they are out there. I haven't encounter many, however, the experiences I've had have taught me NEVER to trust what someone else tells me (co-workers)! I have to see it and evaluate it myself whether in writing or personal contact. It doesn't make me a bad person, it makes me a very good Nurse!

I was taught in school to always, "cover your butt."

Don't dwell on your experiences with dishonest coworkers. Instead learn from them and realize/internalize the great responsibilities you carry as a Nurse.

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Yep, they are out there. I haven't encounter many, however, the experiences I've had have taught me NEVER to trust what someone else tells me (co-workers)! I have to see it and evaluate it myself whether in writing or personal contact. It doesn't make me a bad person, it makes me a very good Nurse!

I was taught in school to always, "cover your butt."

Don't dwell on your experiences with dishonest coworkers. Instead learn from them and realize/internalize the great responsibilities you carry as a Nurse.

"Cover your butt" means to do anything to get out of your mess that includes being dishonest..Am I correct?

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

No - it does not mean "be dishonest." You get what you give in this world. If you are up front and honest, you get it back in return. I've been in nursing since 1992 and have worked in several states as well as several types of facilities. Yes, there was the occasional bad apple. However, prior to 1992, I worked in public relations and broadcasting and there was the occasional bad apple there too. It happens. You have to dwell on the positive and go on.

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in the first scenario, presuming you were the ongoming nurse, you are supposed to visualize the recorded number as well as the actual number of pills...so you actually do share responsblity for that one.....the other one is a ...he said/she said situation....good lluck

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.

No, I don't.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
No - it does not mean "be dishonest." You get what you give in this world. If you are up front and honest, you get it back in return. I've been in nursing since 1992 and have worked in several states as well as several types of facilities. Yes, there was the occasional bad apple. However, prior to 1992, I worked in public relations and broadcasting and there was the occasional bad apple there too. It happens. You have to dwell on the positive and go on.

I could not possibly say it any better. Excellent, and truthful post.

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wow, that nurse is nothing but a poison. i cant work in a place like that!!! shame on that nurse, calling herself a nurse!!!!! :trout: :trout::trout:

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I have been a nurse for 12 years now and have worked at both large and small hospitals. When I was new, it was easy for the ones with a bit more experience to "blame the new guy"....At first I was thinking - "Man, what is wrong with ME?!?!?!" - Eventually, I learned - it doesn't matter what area in health care one is in - when something goes wrong, the "finger of blame" will start spinning.....It seems that those who were less experienced were less able to defend themselves and took the heat. - So, what did I learn from this??? Cover your butt!!! Practice "defensive nursing"... - Of course be as diplomatic as possible about it. However, when it comes right down to it, I have seen nurses, doctors, ancilliary staff et al stab each other in the back too many times to shove blame on each other. This is your license and you have to protect it!!! I would NOT take this crap from them any longer....

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I've worked with alot of nurses, ancillary staff. I've caught nurses divertng twice (different nurses). There are several nurses who will find anyone or anything other than themselves to blame for a med error. I've had money stolen, food stolen, stethoscopes stolen.

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