Forced to Chart using another employee name

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hi, I am a LVN. I have been working at a clinic for over two weeks now and I still have not received my user credentials for there EMR system. I have not been formally trained in using there software either, yet I have been working independently since my first day on the job! When I arrive to work I have to ask another employee to log in me into the system. And to make matters worse, it's The medical assistants that have to log me in. The nursing supervisor refused to allow me to use her log in info, she told me "ask the medical assistant to log you in".

I have asked them numerous times when will I get my own login and their response is that due to them switching to a different software in 2020, they are backed up and can't give me a date at this time. An employee told me that it took them over a month to give her own log in. This makes me feel really uncomfortable and I know the best response is to leave this circus of a job but I have mounting bills. I am so stressed and unhappy there already. I work with a doctor that is very demanding and quite unreasonable giving the circumstances. The doctor knows that I didnt get much orientation and no formal training using their EMR system, yet the They are so demanding.

I just feel like there is no one to protect nurses from employers who put them in very precarious situations. I know this can't be legal charting using someone's name?!? But what am I to do when I need a job to pay my bills?!? And yes, the nurse managers and supervisors all know and agree to this. It seems like it is common practice for this company.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

Find another job. Seriously. That is SO not okay.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Agree with klone. It is standard practice in each place I've worked for orientation to include the documentation system. It is also the policy everywhere I've been that we are forbidden to allow anyone to use our sign on. Run. Bills may pile up, but better unemployment than loss of a license. You can always find another job (it may take effort and relocation), but you only ever get one license.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

I'm a clinic nurse. We go through EMR training and get our own log in the first week of hire. Typically we have general orientation on Monday and EMR training in Thursday so you paired up and shadow a coworker on Tuesday and Wednesday so that by the next week you are ready for full on training and starting to do simple things in your own. Training lasts 6-8 weeks.

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Specializes in school nurse.

It does sound fishy. I was in a somewhat similar situation for less suspicious reasons once, for a day. I typed in my name and credentials as part of the free text part of the entries. I don't know if that lessened the legal quandary or not, but it made me feel a little better...

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I have been a nurse for over six years and never experienced this. Every job that I've had I would get my EMR training ang log in within the first week of employment. And I would have to shadow someone until I was able to get access on my own. It has always been forbidden to let anyone use your name to sign in. That is why I am so perplexed by this company encouraging this to take the place. This is clearly illegal. I am just so shocked and disgusted by this. I feel like an accomplice to a crime. No one should have to be forced to jeopardize their license for a job! I am in such a tough situation. I've literally been crying for days because of this. I was out of work for six weeks before I got this job. I take care of myself completely. I have no spouse or parent to help me out financially. Being out of work for those weeks have completely depleted my savings. I can't take another month or even two weeks without an income. Sigh!

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Specializes in Pedi.

I would be more uncomfortable being the person whose login/name you are using. No way in hell would I have someone else document under my name. If their system is this bad that they can't get everyone unique usernames they should have a generic one like "Nurse" with a password like "password" that new hires can all use while they wait for their own and sign their names at the bottom of every note/assessment.

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I would work double shifts flipping burgers or cleaning toilets before I would work one more minute there.

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I would work double shifts flipping burgers or cleaning toilets before I would work one more minute there.

It's easier said than done. It's a very difficult decision to walk away from a job without securing another one.

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Specializes in Retired NICU.

Is there any way in the electronic charting to note that the charting is being done for you? I know with ours, we can click on a button and note the person the charting is being done for.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
Is there any way in the electronic charting to note that the charting is being done for you? I know with ours, we can click on a button and note the person the charting is being done for.

Except no one is charting for OP. It is another person signing in and OP doing the charting. So many red flags.

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Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.
It's easier said than done. It's a very difficult decision to walk away from a job without securing another one.

I would not leave but I would stop documenting under someone else's name. If this person is a MA and you are a LVN this could get ugly real quick. Do you have any access to email, if so I would send the Manager an email ASAP and let them know you are extremely uncomfortable doing this (if you have no email use the MA's but make it clear in the text that you are using the MA's because you don't have access), once you get this in writing to them they should have your user ID ready pretty quickly. Can you figure out who does the IT, maybe they can help. In the meantime I would try to see if you can somehow document (while using the MA's) that you are the one writing the note etc. What a mess, but yea, it needs to stop yesterday. Good luck!

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