Getting in Trouble for a coworkers actions

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  1. Is this far

    • 5
      Yes
    • 0
      No

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Something happened at work and I just other people's opinions. So at work (a group home for disabled adults) a resident was having a behavior and a staff member got too physical with the resident. There was one other worker present at the time of the incident. And the worker the wasn't involved in the incident got in trouble for not stopping the coworker. So does any body out there think this is far. How can someone get in trouble for someone else's actions?

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Something happened at work and I just other people's opinions. So at work (a group home for disabled adults) a resident was having a behavior and a staff member got too physical with the resident. There was one other worker present at the time of the incident. And the worker the wasn't involved in the incident got in trouble for not stopping the coworker. So does any body out there think this is far. How can someone get in trouble for someone else's actions?

As healthcare workers, we have an obligation to intercede when a patient is being treated in an abusive manner.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Depends on the details ... but as the previous poster said, if you see something wrong, you are supposed to try to protect the patient as much as possible.

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Is this FAIR? Yeah. Yeah it is. As the mother of a special needs child, and the friend of two parents currently involved in criminal investigations of people who were physically abusive of their special needs children in supposedly "safe" environments, I absolutely think it's fair. It's called being a mandated reporter. It's also called basic decency and doing the right thing. If you see it, stop it. If you can't stop it, report it. Pretty simple.

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Management was notified as the incident was occuring. So it not like the workers were trying to cover up the incident.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Management was notified as the incident was occuring. So it not like the workers were trying to cover up the incident.

And did they follow through with doing what management told them to do? Did they do anything to try to stop it and/or protect the patient?

If they did everything right and did the best that could be done, then no, it is not fair -- and they would probably have legal recourse against their employer if they are punished for something that was totally out of their control. But somehow, I doubt that is the case here.

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Specializes in Oncology (OCN).

More than likely, they are not in trouble because of someone else's actions. They are in trouble because of their own INACTION.

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"Far"? No. Fair? Yes.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
More than likely, they are not in trouble because of someone else's actions. They are in trouble because of their own INACTION.

This a thousand times. To stand by while a patient is in need of help, or even worse, to leave the scene to notify management......Epic Fail.

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You were there. You had a duty to intervene.

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Thanks for all the comments and thoughts. I completely agree with your opinions on the situation. At least I now know how to handle future situations differently.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

You have a duty to protect your patients. If you were there and didn't intervene, then yes, it is FAIR for you to get into trouble for NOT acting.

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