This can't be right!?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So I work in LTC and State recently came to our facility and one of the things we got "tagged" on was holes in our MAR's and TAR's. My facilities plan of action recently has been to add a sheet in the MAR that the incoming nurse must sign off that all holes are filled in the MAR's and TAR's by the offgoing nurse. If for some reason you sign off that all of the holes are filled in and the Unit Manager finds the hole the ONCOMING nurse gets written up!! So now you have people just filling in holes with other peoples initials in order to avoid getting written up. So basically I am responsible for the prior nurses medications and treatments being signed off, even though I wasn't even there to know if this has been completed!! WTH!?!?!?

Someone please tell me I'm not crazy and this is so wrong!

Specializes in hospice, HH, LTC, ER,OR.

My LTC has the same policy. I don't sign those sheets nor am I filling in someone else's holes. I have enough things to do like vitals, skin sheets, bolus feedings, dining room duty, med pass, monthly summaries, and charting. A few weeks ago they were supposed to write up every nurse who left holes in the MAR. It was nearly every nurse that works there. So basically nothing happened :)

You may want to send an anonymous letter to the DON and all of the highest ranking administrators (the letter should note all the parties that are receiving copies). Include some board members who are removed from the day-to-day operations. In the letter, set a deadline by which the policy must be corrected. Tell them if it is not fixed by then, both Joint Commission as well as the state board will be notified of their policy and the indimidation being used to pressure nurses into false documentation. By very careful how you create and send the letter so you don't give yourself away, and don't mention it to anyone. Then follow through with reporting them if needed.

Specializes in Home Health.

Uh, that would be fraud!

Specializes in Home Health.
this is a dangerous, illegal, and STUPID plan.

the DON (or whoever it's delegated to) needs to find which nurses were scheduled for what day/shift, and get them in to initial their holes.

that is the only way to do this correctly and safely.

sorry op, but i can understand why your facility would get dinged.

and they have it coming, too.

leslie

They are going to get more than ' dinged ' if the law finds out what they are doing by 'filling up the holes'.

Specializes in OB, ER.

I think the point is not to fill in the other nurses holes but to look at the books together before the off going nurse leaves and make her accountable. It's a double check. If its not done then the oncoming nurse gets dinged...motivation for her to do it!

Sounds like a pain but I see the logic. If each nurse would do her own work then it would not be an issue and this wouldn't have to happen.

Whenever management comes up with hare-brained schemes like this, I always like to follow their instructions to the letter, and then let them see how problematic the actual implementation of their ides is. In this case, I would insist on checking the MAR's before giving your on-coming report, and making sure that you and the off-going nurses get paid for the overtime it takes to accomplish this. Let your supervisor know how much it is costing to satisfy the new rule. The ONLY thing management understands is money.

Also, do you have a union? Unions are helpful in deflecting such crazy work rules before they get atarted.

Dave Dunn, RN

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