I’m a brand new nurse on a very busy Med surg unit with a 6:1 pt ratio. I’m currently freaking out and worried I’m going to lose my license.
Last week, I had a patient that lab called and said they had MRSA. When they called I was dealing with 3 pts who had Systolic BPs of 180-210. As I was dealing with that, I totally forgot to call the doc about the MRSA and it completely slipped my mind until my next shift which was 2 days later. I didn’t have the pt again so I let the charge nurse know and she said she’d look into it. However, I don’t know if she ever did and the pt was discharged.
I’m freaking out because I don’t know if the doc was aware the pt had MRSA and lab put my name in their report. I don’t want anything bad to happen to the patient but I’m unsure what I can do at this point. Is my license at risk?
This is relatively minor. However, other lab results may require immediate attention, so try to get in the habit of calling the physician/provider as soon as you take the call to get that off you.
Another thing to consider as a brand new nurse: even though this was minor, you don’t want to create a running tab of minor incidents, as they may add up to the ‘not-a-good-fit’ conclusion and a trip to the front door before something major happens.
So be sure to give this minor incident the respect it deserves and proceed with caution in the future.
NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN
2,690 Posts
This is relatively minor. However, other lab results may require immediate attention, so try to get in the habit of calling the physician/provider as soon as you take the call to get that off you.
Another thing to consider as a brand new nurse: even though this was minor, you don’t want to create a running tab of minor incidents, as they may add up to the ‘not-a-good-fit’ conclusion and a trip to the front door before something major happens.
So be sure to give this minor incident the respect it deserves and proceed with caution in the future.