Well, today was my special day! I got fired from my job for giving one (yes, one) injection wrong, and for telling some lady I wasn't trained on how to use an EpiPen. Apparently all of that deems me "unable to safely practice as a nurse" according to them.
And then they had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to work as a scribe with a $15 pay cut. I was SO offended.
How do you guys deal with this? ? I've already applied to new jobs but....IDK. It's just hard to all take in....
Also, I'm pretty sure the lady I told was from the state. Why am I not allowed to be honest with people on things I don't know? Why didn't they just train me, instead of just firing me? I just don't get it. It seems like their goal was to just get rid of me.
Specializes in LTC/Rehab, General Hospital Medical.
1 hour ago, Workitinurfava said:
I used to be a flu shot nurse. I always felt for where the acromion bone is because you can't alwags tell by looking. I also imagine an upside down triangle a few fingers down from the bone and then I'd give the shot in the middle of it. I have never hit a bone.
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.
1 hour ago, Hoosier_RN said:
When I got my 2nd covid vax, the nurse at the clinic (she was a retiree picking up hours) hit the head of my humerus. It didn't hurt, but all of us in the room could hear it. It was surreal...I heard 3 people say "oh my gawd, you hit a bone", I only thought "duh, that was awful high..."
Oh no! Did she have to re-do it? Or just move the needle? That's pretty high up on the arm...
Oh no! Did she have to re-do it? Or just move the needle? That's pretty high up on the arm...
Nope, she pushed the vax, like she didn't realize she was in the wrong location. Like I said, it was surreal, I didn't feel it. I did get sicker than I did with 1st vax administration. I got sicker with 1st administration than I was when I had covid. So at least I know I got the vax in full force
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.
6 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:
Nope, she pushed the vax, like she didn't realize she was in the wrong location. Like I said, it was surreal, I didn't feel it. I did get sicker than I did with 1st vax administration. I got sicker with 1st administration than I was when I had covid. So at least I know I got the vax in full force
Well, I'm glad you still got the antibodies! I never thought of "missing" an IM. IVs I've missed tons ? I guess everything gets better with repetition. I was also always followed by the state... until one year I was trying to gel my hands outside the room while holding a tray of meds and there was nowhere to put the tray (although we had mentioned this to management multiple times!), and I dropped everything on the ground. The inspector was so nice that she gave me a hug and said she didn't want to make me nervous! Thank God we didn't get a citation, but it was mentioned in the notes because the plastic med cup briefly touched the ground and in my horror I didn't think about getting a new one! (It actually fell right side up!) But still counted as an infection control issue.
ALSO, for the first time ever my pt started bleeding profusely from the site of his heparin shot in the abdomen. The doctor said it was probably a freak thing where it burst open a capillary. The inspector was interviewing him about his care and I saw him holding his arms over his abdomen. When they left he showed me a huge red stain spreading across his gown and he said "I'm bleeding out!" We tried holding pressure and all this stuff and still bleeding... Finally put a pressure dressing on it and it stopped. He said he covered it up because he didn't want to get me in trouble with the "fancy people." He was a frequent flier for CHF and I knew him really well. We were laughing SO hard. Guess he really had my back!
Long term care can be a difficult place to work. Basically, if you gave them any hint of a reason that the state could come looking at their facility because of your mistakes then they choose to get rid of you, instead of taking a chance that the state could come and find a reason to shut them down. So since you told a person, from the state, that you don't know what you are doing is a big red flag. It causes your bosses to do a lot of paperwork and have binders full of documentation that they have educated you and other employees on whatever area(s) the mistakes were made in. This is one of the reasons why I only worked in LTC for approximately 4 months as am Assistant Director. The amount of work, stress and lack of pay was not worth me staying in that kind of environment. I hope you find something that will be better for you. Tip- try to stay away from LTC, if you do need more skills or education as LTCs usually have less $ to be able to provide those resources for you. Good luck!
I've never actually used an EpiPen or even opened one up that I remember. I'm sure I could figure it out pretty quickly, but wouldn't want to be in front of an inspector when I did! And it definitely wasn't a part of any of my BLS courses.
Specializes in LTC/Rehab, General Hospital Medical.
14 hours ago, Aranda Whicker said:
Long term care can be a difficult place to work. Basically, if you gave them any hint of a reason that the state could come looking at their facility because of your mistakes then they choose to get rid of you, instead of taking a chance that the state could come and find a reason to shut them down. So since you told a person, from the state, that you don't know what you are doing is a big red flag. It causes your bosses to do a lot of paperwork and have binders full of documentation that they have educated you and other employees on whatever area(s) the mistakes were made in. This is one of the reasons why I only worked in LTC for approximately 4 months as am Assistant Director. The amount of work, stress and lack of pay was not worth me staying in that kind of environment. I hope you find something that will be better for you. Tip- try to stay away from LTC, if you do need more skills or education as LTCs usually have less $ to be able to provide those resources for you. Good luck!
This was at covid popup clinic btw, not LTC. Never had this problem in LTC tbh.
I've hit bone a couple of times, but I give a lot of IMs, and I frequently give them to squirmy and skinny people. Pts don't notice when you hit bone, it doesn't hurt more. You notice. You back off the bone and give the IM.
Yep. Same. Even learned about the possibility of hitting bone many moons ago in nursing school. It's not really a big deal (I am talking about hitting the humerus, not any bone in the shoulder). I have never heard a needle hit the bone tough. Only felt it and backed up a bit. Patient never knows.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
On 3/25/2021 at 3:12 PM, JabuJabule said:
Yes, it was part of a covid vaccination team. Maybe I am shrugging it off as nothing. Maybe I need to redo the way I think.
If the job was mainly administering covid vaccinations, then they needed you to know how to properly give an IM injection, and they needed you to be able to administer epi, if needed.
In retrospect, it probably would have been prudent to ask someone to review your technique in both before starting. It's not a crime to be unsure about things, but maybe they thought you were being a bit cavalier. Of course, if the lady was from the State who asked you about epi, then the facility looked bad for hiring (and not properly training) someone who wasn't skilled at giving epi. Facilities don't like to look bad so they had to punish you.
For future reference in your next job, make sure you ask for someone to review your technique before you do something you're not sure of. Good luck.
Lynker, ASN, LPN
312 Posts
Yeah, this is how I do it too.