Do most LTC facilities fire for mistake on orientation?

Nurses General Nursing

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I started orienting in LTC facility. But I made a mistake of starting wrong G tube bottle on a patient. He was not hurt at all.

In my whole nursing carrier, I never made such a mistake. I do not know how I did it. I told management about it.

However, they fired me for that.

I hope I never make such a mistake again.

However, do most LTC facilities fire for this mistake?

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I am guessing that you mean that you administered the wrong feeding for the patient? Most likely nothing will happen from management.

Review the rights of medication administration and triple check everything before you administer. Take this lesson to heart, luckily no one was harmed.

Good luck.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

I would think most places would take note of it, and just make sure it wasn't indicating a pattern. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. I'm in orientation at a new place too, and it is amazing how having to learn new routines sets you back a few steps. I've made a few minor mistakes that I normally would never make, but I'm still getting used to all the new charting, supplies and so on, and it throws me off.

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Yes, I administered wrong feeding. He wasn't harmed.

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Specializes in LTC.

How is the patient? What type of reaction did he have, if any? When discussing with management acknowledge the mistake, explain how it happened, and how in the future this could be avoided. If anything management will look at how, or if you will take responsiblity for what happened and how you learn from it.

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No, "MOST" LTC facilities don't fire nurses because they have a hard time getting them to come to work there to begin with... :twocents::twocents:

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Your mistake (absent an allergic reaction) was the equivalent of serving a patient on a low fat diet a pat of butter. And they FIRED you for that?

Either they had "buyers remorse"after hiring you and needed a "legal" excuse to let you go (and so grabbed the first thing they could), or they suck as an employer. Actually, no good employer would do the former, so they are by default the latter.

Sounds like you dodged a bullet to me. Go buy a lottery ticket--it could be your lucky week.

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I was fired for not documenting in one of their MARS or TARS on Thanksgving Day. I guess I didn't document that day- I was my holiday off. Guess I have really long arms. This is what ass***** are running those places. How can you be so stupid as to wwrite some one up for not documenting on their day off?

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Specializes in Professional Development Specialist.
No, "MOST" LTC facilities don't fire nurses because they have a hard time getting them to come to work there to begin with... :twocents::twocents:

While this was very true once upon a time, it's no longer true in my state. When we interview we have dozens of qualified and eager people to choose from. A mistake during orientation may or may not be reason to terminate. But if they know they have plenty of great people clamoring for the position there isn't much reason to give a second chance to someone on orientation.

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Specializes in Home Health.
I was fired for not documenting in one of their MARS or TARS on Thanksgving Day. I guess I didn't document that day- I was my holiday off. Guess I have really long arms. This is what ass***** are running those places. How can you be so stupid as to wwrite some one up for not documenting on their day off?

Did that firing hold up? Hope you were able to go back at them! Stupid is as Stupid does! I can't wait to retire.

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Specializes in Home health was tops, 2nd was L&D.
I was fired for not documenting in one of their MARS or TARS on Thanksgving Day. I guess I didn't document that day- I was my holiday off. Guess I have really long arms. This is what ass***** are running those places. How can you be so stupid as to wwrite some one up for not documenting on their day off?

You were not really fired, where you??

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Specializes in Home health was tops, 2nd was L&D.

Orientation used to mean you were being watched, helped to avoid making mistakes. Seems like I just keep reading thread after thread of nurses getting fired for nothing, or making mistake with preceptor watching and not stopping it..

If it is a big mistake and someone gets harmed then I can understand LTC or anyone else for that matter terminating someone.....but it seems like all the employers have gone looney since the recession.

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