""Is this a state board issue?"" Here's a riddle for you....

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Here is the problem. Two on-duty day nurses decide to go shopping at the mall. For more than two hours... An off duty co-worker sees them. The on duty nurses' work in two different critical care units..One leaves her 2 patients with a nurses' aide "keeping an eye on them". The other nurse leaves her two patients' in the care of another nurse. All of the nurses involved are mature, experienced , staff R.N.'s. The shopping twins do not clock out...or back in.. The nurse who observed them and talked with them while they were shopping reported it to the nursing CNO. So, what is the next step? In your opinion, how should management handle this?....UPDATE: Rumor is that one of the 4 patients went into respiratory distress and was intubated while the shoppers were out. Also, they were gone > two hours. Also, at least 6 nurses were aware of what was going on and "covered" for them. And the CNO is their "friend." They are back at work after being "reprimanded." What's your opinion?

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Perhaps the State Board of Nursing will take this out of the hands of the idiot administrators at this hospital by suspending or revoking the licenses of the nurses involved. One can only hope.

0 Votes

I had a teacher in nursing school who said that people go to work in the units for two reasons. Either they want to give really, Really good, intense nursing care. Or they don't.

Obviously these two were in the second category. Leaving CCU patients under the care of a UAP? Not even giving report to another nurse????

Maybe the CNO didn't want the nurses fired because then the bean-counters might find out about the whole incident and, since nobody died, decide that they don't REALLY need RN's in the CCU?

Love

Dennie

0 Votes

Asta Lavista Babies!!! I sure am glad one of those patients were not a relative of mine. I know there is a nursing shortage but this is what gives nursing its bad name...Maybe they would be better professional personal shoppers for a dept. store...

0 Votes
Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Whistleblower comes to mind. Perhaps the manager has done the same herself and didn't want to rock the boat.

Be a shame if the state board "heard it through the grapevine" perhaps through a local news reporter?

0 Votes
Specializes in Hospice and Palliative Care, Family NP.

I can't imagine this happening!! Guess it does though, both should be fired ASAP, the BON should be notified, let them sort out who abandoned patients. That's awful!

0 Votes

And we have heard the nurses in a couple of other hospitals in town have heard it too...short grapevine in this city. The majority of the nurses' initial response is disbelief. That lasted for a couple of days. Now, anger is the major response...and humiliation "that they would lower our units to that level", one said she was "mad and embarrassed." It is hard to deal with because the nurses are friends of the shopper nurses. The shoppers' obviously had their own ideas re: standards of care as defined by the Nurse Practice Act. The NPA describes a "duty to provide care" and to "follow an acceptable standard of care." Did the nurses breach the standards? What about failure to document or is there fraudulent documentation for the 2 hours? One of the nurses is the day shift manager for her unit. If anything HAD happened to either of the 4 patients involved, it would be grounds for a criminal felony negligence lawsuit. What if something did happen? Who would tell? The hospitals' own policies were breached. To leave the hospital , once clocked in, a policy exists where a nurse has to notify the supervisor and let her know. The nurse who is the manager has a history of "disappearing" for a couple of hours at a time. So , it is now being assumed that she has a history of leaving the building, ....but this is the first time she has gotten caught. Is there any excuse to not fire these two? I think the DON is jeopardizing her own license/position. Where is the leadership?

0 Votes
Specializes in ER, Hospice, CCU, PCU.

To start with I have recently learned that at our hospital 12 hour nurses may choose to take a 90 minute break instead of lunch and a later break. As I understand it this actually happens on some floors (I wouldn't personally know, I work the ER and we are lucky to pee in peace)

That said:

For nurse # 1 who had arranged coverage for her patients by another nurse the only question would be whether this was her lunch break and whether or not her facility required staff to punch out. If she was required to punch out and didn't I would expect a written repremand or suspension.

For nurse #2 who left her critical care patients (or any patients for that matter) in the care of an NA she should have been fired on the spot for abandonment, and reported to her state board.

:o :(

0 Votes
Specializes in LTC/Peds/ICU/PACU/CDI.
Originally posted by debbyed

To start with I have recently learned that at our hospital 12 hour nurses may choose to take a 90 minute break instead of lunch and a later break. As I understand it this actually happens on some floors (I wouldn't personally know, I work the ER and we are lucky to pee in peace)

That said:

For nurse # 1 who had arranged coverage for her patients by another nurse the only question would be whether this was her lunch break and whether or not her facility required staff to punch out. If she was required to punch out and didn't I would expect a written repremand or suspension.

For nurse #2 who left her critical care patients (or any patients for that matter) in the care of an NA she should have been fired on the spot for abandonment, and reported to her state board.

:o :(

I must concur. Without having all of the facts, i.e., were they working 12 hr shifts with a combined lunch/dinner/breaks of 90 mins?:confused: As far as the second nurse, this individual should not only lose her job, but she should have her license, at best, be suspended for two years!:zzzzz

With that said, I would like to know is: where was the nurse supervisor during this shift? Did she have prior knowledge of them leaving the premises & only acted like she didn't know; you know...to cover her own a**!! And where were the docs? With orders changing all of the in CC, didn't the res notice that their patients' nurse was missing? confused: Didn't they have to clairify any orders within that time frame?:confused: How could nurses diappear for that length of time & no one working in authority, beside the other RN who was covering for the one nurse, notice their absence?:confused: Lastly, Why would that same RN who covered for one of the "mall nurses" take-on such a load?:confused: Anything could happen & usually does; for her to do that was also irresponsible as well as dumb!:rolleyes: This sort of thing must have occurred quite often at this particular unit!:mad:

Question: can the SBON & SBOH be notified anonymously or do you have to have a signed complaint? :o If so, why haven't anyone other than the employer write or why haven't a number of embarrished/angery nurses sign a petition?:confused

0 Votes
Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

In light of the possibility that these nurses may have had a legitimate 90 min. break period, one more question comes to mind: Does hospital policy allow staff members delivering patient care to leave the building without prior approval, even during their breaks? Due to tight staffing and the possible need to call staff members back from their breaks in an emergency, (especially in critical care areas), many hospitals have policies requiring staff members to get prior approval before leaving the campus for breaks. I worked one place where we had to take a pager to go OUTSIDE to the picnic area for lunch! It was a pain, but at least we knew that we could reach someone in an emergency.

As for the DON's decision not to fire these nurses, I wonder what her attitude would be if it had been her family member who had been left unattended for 2 hours! It seems to me that this institution will pay the price big time in bad publicity for failing to respond appropriately to this outrageous behavior.

Unfortunately, it is the conscientious nursing staff members who will suffer the most.

0 Votes

I totally agree --- they should be fired. No ifs ands or buts. Not only fired, but lose their license for desertion of patients. Not the kind of people we need in our dedicated field.

0 Votes

Please let us know what happens! So often bad nurses get away with bad care. How injust for all the nurses that never leave the floor for 12 hours. :eek:

0 Votes
+ Add a Comment