False testimony

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Any help on this subject would be appreciated.

New order came in for pt at 1300. Nurse put the order in the MAR but did not arrange for stat delivery. Overnight nurse didn't pass info onto day charge nurse. 0800 med was not passed and not in stock. Pt suffered a seizure. Charge nurse, in front of five witnesses said the pts seizure was most likely because of the missed am dose, which made absolutely no sense and made me feel guilty and it caused others to doubt my professional ability.

Two days later charge nurse decides to write me up for the missed dose and completely lies saying she never said the missed med most likely caused the seizure. Said she would never say such a thing.

What should my recourse be. I feel targeted and bullied.

Appreciate any advice.

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Specializes in Hospice.

What were you written up for and what does the charge nurse's comment have to do with the write-up? What was your role in the delay?

Is the report being used punitively or as evidence of a system failure?

Do you want to challenge the write-up or get back at the charge for saying something dumb and making you feel bad?

I'm not understanding what you're asking for here.

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Your response says quite enough. Thank you for your input.

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Specializes in Hospice.

Don't mention it :rolleyes:

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Welcome to allnurses.com

Thread moved to General Nursing forum.

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

Which nurse are you? Also, I would think abruptly discontinuing a seizure medication could definitely cause a seizure.

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Ok, now that I've allowed myself to macerate over the situation I can answer your questions.

I was wrote up for not making sure the med was there and not pass within a reasonable time.

It's obvious what the charge nurses comment has to do with the disciplinary action. The comment was an obvious attempt to qualify herself and her expertise as she disclosed the results of her clinical assesment that the missed dose caused the seizure.

The report is being used punitively, solely as a disciplinary record against me as no other personnel have been educated based on the information revealed. There has never been even an inkling of a suggestion that there is any issue with the system.

I want to use the nurses incompetent statement to challenge the write up while opening the necessary eyes to see the gaps that exist and plan and implement a system that can only result in better resident care.

I was clear on what I am asking for. I am only seeking the perspective of experienced personnel regarding my future dealings with this nurse.

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Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.

Dmann, From your recounting of the events, I am not sure what time period you were present for. The initial order at 1300? Overnight? Or when the seizure happened?

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Specializes in Hospice.
Ok, now that I've allowed myself to macerate over the situation I can answer your questions.

I was wrote up for not making sure the med was there and not pass within a reasonable time.

It's obvious what the charge nurses comment has to do with the disciplinary action. The comment was an obvious attempt to qualify herself and her expertise as she disclosed the results of her clinical assesment that the missed dose caused the seizure.

The report is being used punitively, solely as a disciplinary record against me as no other personnel have been educated based on the information revealed. There has never been even an inkling of a suggestion that there is any issue with the system.

I want to use the nurses incompetent statement to challenge the write up while opening the necessary eyes to see the gaps that exist and plan and implement a system that can only result in better resident care.

I was clear on what I am asking for. I am only seeking the perspective of experienced personnel regarding my future dealings with this nurse.

Without spending time on your unit with you and the charge nurse, none of us can say with certainty what any future dealings between the two of you would be like.

It seems that you started this thread knowing exactly what you wanted to hear, and any opinion that differs from yours is going to be rejected out of hand.

You don't want information, you want validation.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.

Let's see if I understand this. The nurse who got the order was supposed to arrange for it to be delivered so it could be given in the morning, and because that didn't happen it wasn't there for you to give. Pt had a seizure. You got written up.

Personally, I don't think any good will come of going after the charge nurse. What she said and whether she lied about it doesn't change the fact that a dose was missed and the patient had a seizure. Her personal theory on the cause is irrelevant to the patient. You were written up for missing a scheduled med, right? And you did miss a scheduled med. It sounds like the angle here is to talk about why the med was missed (it wasn't ordered the day before to be delivered stat), rather than what the charge nurse thought about the seizure.

Side questions: Is there anything anyone else could have done, had they known it wasn't ordered to be delivered stat, to have the med arrive on time? Could the night person or the day charge have done anything? Could you have done anything? Was anyone notified that the med wasn't available to give?

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

The situation is a little confusing but going of the info given it appears you are in the wrong. If the order was on the MAR why was it not given? Stating the previous nurse did not ensure it was in stock is not a good enough reason. If it was on the MAR then you were responsible for ensuring it was given or if not in stock the appropriate steps were taken to ensure your patient was ok. I have gone on shift many times with new orders and the medicine is not there. If it had been me and I was preparing meds I would have stopped what I was doing and verified the order, called my charge nurse, the doctor, and assessed my patient for signs of seizure activity. Those are appropriate actions to take in the case of missed doses or out of stock medication. You can not help what happened the day or night before but if you were in charge of 0800 meds and it was placed on the MAR as stated then you are in the wrong. You will always run into nurses that don't follow through, miss things, or give a poor report.

Without knowing the details or being there I probably would have written a nurse up in a similar situation if I were charge nurse.

However I do agree that your charge nurse should look at the situation as a whole to see areas that could use improvement. If the order was written the day before at 1300 did the doctor order a stat dose or did the intend for it to be started the next morning? Why did the nurse not ensure it was in stock (sometimes you have those nurses that are lazy they think if it doesn't effect them or their shift then they don't have to do it)?

Hopefully you can look at the situation and find ways to improve yourself. I would also work hard to keep a good relationship with your charge nurse. They are in that position for a reason and can make you or break you.

Good Luck!

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I'm guessing you were the day nurse for this patient the day after said medication was ordered.

What did you do when you realized you didn't have the medication?

If you followed through to the best of your ability with pharmacy, then I would guess you're in the clear.

If you did not, you can be held responsible insofar as any nurse who didn't follow up on an unavailable med could be.

Yes, the nurse who took the order initially should have put in a stat order. Yes, the night nurse who came in next should have followed up on it. None of that necessarily absolves you (or anyone else in a similar situation) of responsibility.

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