Falls

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I worked at a retirement home for 18 years. I was since terminated. One of the reasons is that I had two falls happen at the same time and apparently didn’t handle it up to standards. I quickly assessed one woman and moved her and got her up. I then brought her to her room for further assessment by which I saw a cut on her head. I then sent her out to the hospital. I didn’t get a chance to take her BP or do a neuro assessment. I moved her and got her up without doing them first. Would you say that was negligent? I sent her to the hospital where they could do all the tests?

Weight bearing, mobility, ROM and pain. I will find out in a couple of weeks if I will be reinstated. If not then hopefully severance. I have been reading up on things and it seems that there is some hope. There isn’t much more I can do than that. I just know I am a good nurse and to me they made a mistake. Yes I know I made some errors but I do deserve a second chance. They have treated me unfairly. They certainly treated me different than my co workers.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

It is very very possible that you assessed the neuro status of the patient and didn't realize it. Did she respond when you said her name? Did she feel you touch her? Did she recognize you? Did she follow commands? Did she have full strength in extremities? Did she speak clearly? All of these are assessments and should be documented!! I think termination is extreme and does not leave room for employee improvement, and if that's the case, you do not want to work for them!

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She was acting normal and responding etc. We just have a “new” form that includes BP and checking pupils. I didn’t do those things as I didn’t bring the BP monitor or flashlight with me. There were some minor issues that I have on my record prior to this. Our new manager added a letter every week since she started. It just shows me that I was a target and they were looking for reasons to get rid of me. It’s beyond my comprehension their reason why. I think it’s based on my disability but they are saying it was something else. That’s my guess. I don’t really want to work for them but I was comfortable there and confident in my abilities there. I just was not the perfect nurse that’s all. This was nothing more than “not being perfect” . And an unsafe work environment. This woman should have been in a nursing home way back when. It became unsafe for her to live there. She needed more supervision.

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Were you getting close to retirement and they didn't want to pay?

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I took a few sick leaves due to anxiety and depression but also stress from them. They probably didn’t feel like paying for that anymore!

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They created the stress for me, took my leaves, then they fired me! Welcome to nursing life! The gratitude and appreciation is overwhelming! ?

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3 minutes ago, Marija1 said:

They created the stress for me, took my leaves, then they fired me! Welcome to nursing life! The gratitude and appreciation is overwhelming! ?

Not saying you should have had two jobs but this is why people have a fulltime and prn posiiton. I have personally had people tell me to always try and keep a 2nd position. It isn't easy to do though.

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Yes people told me that too but I didn’t listen! Yes kinda hard if you only have the energy for one job!

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OP, I’m not sure why you even posted. Or let me rephrase, posted the question the way you did. You should have asked for only people who would agree with you.

I absolutely did not insult or criticize you. I explained why you were fired. You did not follow company policy. Any elderly person that falls and hits their head is at a terrible risk of death. That’s why a Neuro assessment is important. Vitals are important as well.

The facility you work may indeed be terrible. None of us know. But as a nurse for however many years you have been one, you obviously know how to do a Neuro assessment. You may not have an in-depth understanding of everything, but you should understand what a stroke looks like.

Range of Motion was not your priority. A neurological assessment was.

I’m sorry for the trouble you have had with this facility. But nursing is about prioritizing. This wasn’t about the facility. This boils down to your patients.

Not one person insulted you on here. Nor was anyone negative. You were given constructive criticism. If you are to learn and grow as a nurse, you should always be open to constructive criticism.

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I smell politics. Considering the circumstances, (usually looking after 35 to 40 older residents in eldercare), two falls happening at the same time, many times quite a distance to cover before getting to a second patient fall at same time.

I think firing a nurse with 18 years (!) experience over failing obtaining vitals in a unusual circumstance situation is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. Do nurses with near 20years experience grow on trees?? I wonder how many lives/complications you have saved by your experienced 18 years old nurse eyes.

Knowing how managements think to a degree, its seems its all about money, were they hoping to hire a lower wage grid nurse, were they hoping to chisel you out of pension? Yes, I am suspicious, lots of agendas out there.

The solution would not be to fire, but to retain experienced talent and go over "what can we learn from this"?: ie have an extra nurse to cover/step in when unusual circumstances take place. That shows respect for the nurse and the patient. I don't think you need to have a lengthy "training course" in how to take vitals etc. Perhaps management needs a training course in how to focus less on profit and remembering who is actually doing the work in the hospital.

Too much politics, too much administration, too much bureaucracy, too much lawyer involvement in health care, too little care. Some how the money seems to go to the upper echelons rather than the people doing the actual work. We need some rethinking here.

I will stand up for a fellow nurse, support a fellow nurse, back her/him up. We need to be united, conquered and divided we will be mere slaves. Unless we as nurses get on board on this, there will be a shortage. And that is not good for over all health care, is it?

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They hired personal support workers to replace me on night shift. So yes I would say they got rid of me so they could pay the psws less $$. And to the message before the last one, you don’t have to agree with me but get all the facts before you pass judgement. Yes it is all about the $ there. They should have re education opportunities when things are not done up to par. No I don’t need retraining for neuro vitals but maybe some training on how to cope with two falls at the same time and being the only nurse available!

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Ps. I like to add a note to this.

I read some of the replies to this discussion, and will take the opportunity to Thank You, those who gave constructive feed back, I will thank the poster for bringing this issue up as well. This is an opportunity for all of us to learn something from.

Wishing you all a good and safe day.

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