Fired for giving Med late

[Beaubou]

I am a new nurse, graduated May 2010. My first job was in home health, I was then offered a job at the local hospital 3 months later and I snagged it. I work on the cardiovascular/telemetry unit for 4 months before my husband received orders to move.

I started my new job on the PCU in December. I just got off orientation 2 weeks ago.

The day of the incident: The day was going great, I had four Pt's I had the day before so I was fairly familiar with them. I was actually caught up with all of my documentation (for once!) by midday. I was then told 2 of my Pt's would be transferred. As I was finishing giving report, the ED was beeping in to give me report. Anyways, one Pt came in at 1700, the other at 1800, this is where it all went to chaos.

I should have prepared early and gave my 5 o'clock meds at 4, but I didn't. So after admitting the Pt's and doing their assessments, answering family member's questions (you know the drill) it was 1830, the night shift was starting to come in and I haven't filled out the report sheet yet. After I do that, I give report and it's now 1925. I have completely forgotten about the 5 o'clock meds, and I start working on my admission paperwork. I then see that I didn't give my meds. The night nurse asks me about it and I tell her I haven't given them yet, it is unclear whether she says she will give them or not. So I wrap up my paperwork (Which I shouldn't have done...putting paperwork ahead of care). I notice on the MAR that the night nurse didn't give the meds and she is very busy with the Pt's I gave her. I head to the pyxis, double check to see if she has taken out the 5 o'clock meds and she hasen't. So I take them out and give them to the Pt (klor con, long acting insulin). I then head home, making sure my cell is by me all night in case the night nurse has any questions, assume everything is ok when I went to bed that night.

The next afternoon I receive a call that there was a "medication situation" and my floor manager wants to talk tomorrow morning. She says she is concerned about my errors, lack of time management and critical thinking, and suggests the possibility of putting me on orientation again. The nursing supervisor then comes in and says that I would be better off on a med/surg floor. I asked if I was getting fired and she said not yet. They will meet with the HR and the VP and let me know tomorrow.

I am quite sure I am getting fired though because the nursing supervisor was set on it. I have never even received a warning. I know I ended up giving the meds 4 hours late, but it was long acting insulin (note: his sugar was 409 that AM, and he's a diabetic that just had limbs amputated b/c of his DM) and PO klor con. THe big issue was the night nurse gave short acting insulin a half hour later.

By no means do I not feel completely accountable for my actions! But I think half the reason I was fired is because I am too passive, I didn't put up a big enough fight for them to keep me. Quite frankly, I wasn't expecting to have to fight to keep my job, I thought I would get written up. I am so confused, hurt and disappointed and I don't know what to do next. Should I put this job on my resume? Have any of you been fired before?

[MomRN0913]

Depends what state your in, if it is an "at will" state, then you can be fired for any reason (except discrimination, which you would have to prove)

Good luck. I do not believe you should have been fired. It was a med error, your first one, and you should have been remediated.

[Beaubou]

I live in NY

Yeah I am absolutely sure it was Lantus...

Oh and update: I was able to resign before they fired me. I actually think that's what they were trying to do because when I asked if I was fired they said "no, not yet." and told me they would call me tomorrow afternoon.

Now the question is, do I put this on my resume, I was employed there for 2 months?

[darlink]

Best thing that helped me make sure I was on time with all medication was setting timers on my phone. I would stop all paperwork and go do the med when the timer when off.

[darlink]

I'm sorry to read you resigned. You should have waited and talked to them. Explain your day to them, give them an action plan on how you would avoid this in the future. They might have given you more training as this was your first error. I would try to unresign and do just that.

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

If I read your post correctly you transferred two patients out so you could take two new ones from the ED? This would have buried almost anyone. Your assessment of time management, prioritization, and possible being passive all played a role. If you are going to fight for your job, and you should, make the point that you see the cause of the problem and state how you will not make the same mistake in the future. You could have asked for help, informed your charge you needed more time, or told the ER you weren't ready to take report. They can't force you to take a patient when safety is in question, and that's exactly what happened (the safety part I mean). Next, if you are allowed to continue, on your next shift make "big picture" thinking and time management your focus. Good luck.

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

I don't really have any input on the resume question, but I have a couple more tips that haven't been mentioned yet. First of all, where was your charge nurse during all of this? On my unit, part of the CN's job is to help settle new admits, or help with med passes if needed. Sometimes it simply is impossible to do everything by yourself, and one of the limitations of many new grads is that you don't always know when to ask for help. A solid work environment works as a team. I will also reiterate what someone else said. If my new admit is still breathing and their vitals are stable, then I will always let them know that I need to do a quick med pass, and that I will be back to go through a few questions with them and get them settled.

I'm very sorry to hear about your resignation, and wish you the best in finding a new job!

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

it's now 1925.

i have completely forgotten about the 5 o'clock meds

this was the pivotal moment. you knew a bad situation has arisen and you should have sought out your charge nurse and/or coworkers immediately for guidance. in this type of situation, you need to make a lot of noise. ask your charge nurse, page mds, but get people involved.

instead, it looks like you tried to cover it up (i know you didn't try to cover it up.)

the critical thinking aspect you missed is that you tried to manage the mar instead of take care of the patient.

i hope you don't get fired because you sure as heck learned a lesson from the incident.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

I live in NY

Yeah I am absolutely sure it was Lantus...

Oh and update: I was able to resign before they fired me. I actually think that's what they were trying to do because when I asked if I was fired they said "no, not yet." and told me they would call me tomorrow afternoon.

Now the question is, do I put this on my resume, I was employed there for 2 months?

I just saw this. It doesn't make sense.

It was your first med error and your superiors told you they were looking into more orientation or possibly transfer to another unit, and you jump the gun and resign??? Further, asking someone, "Am I fired? Am I fired?" over and over again is likely to get you fired in an of itself.

If you are fired, they will let you know.

Your problem is not your resume, your issue appears to be making snap decisions without counseling more experienced people (I mean real life people, not internet message boards).

Please consider changing this aspect of your outlook.

[mtngrl, ASN, RN]

I would have notified the charge nurse or someone as soon as u realized how late it was, BEFORE giving the meds. It sounds like you did not let anyone know except the next nurse coming on.

I myself would not list this on a resume. It was such a short time and a lot of that in orientation.

[Beaubou]

At the beginning of the meeting, it was only me and my floor manager going over the events of the day in question. She and I were discussing what would be best for me like going back on orientation again, but with a different preceptor. It's when the house supervisor came in and started talking about working on another floor or another facility that might be better suited for where I am at right now, that I realized she was telling me I was going to be let go. That's when I asked if I was being fired and she said "no, not yet." That they have to meet with HR and the VP and call me tomorrow afternoon to let me know.

[Beaubou]

best thing that helped me make sure i was on time with all medication was setting timers on my phone. i would stop all paperwork and go do the med when the timer when off.

this is a great idea darlink! i will definitely do this as soon as i find another job

[Isabelle49]

It would seem to me that your charge nurse could have stepped in and helped keep you up to date with existing patients while you got the new ones settled. But, then again, when I was charge nurse I did help other nurses keep up she things got busy, and I was NOT considered a team player because of this! It is ridiculous that you get fired for something like this. Sounds like a job you don't need. Let them find someone who never makes a mistake or who never gets behind and I'll guarantee you that person is covering their tracks and not necessarily getting the job done!