Got written up today

[NurseLoveJoy88]

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a narcotic count descrepancy. Well two weeks later I got written up.

Recall: I as the oncoming nurse counted with the outgoing nurse and found two narc count errors. I told the nurse that we needed to stop counting right now, contact the DON and move on from there. THe nurse insisted that we dont get the DON involved right away and she proceeded to " fix the count"

Immediately after counting with her I went to the DON and told her everything.

So why did I get written up ? I got written up for not getting the DON involved DURING the count. My DON was very nice about it and I learned from it. NExt time that happens I'm going to contact the DON right away. Still feel terrible about this.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Do not get too upset mate.

You tried to do the right thing. I'd be more worried about the nurse who insisted on counting when you asked to stop.

This is where your assertiveness training comes in. You need to state IMMEDIATELY that the count must stop and senior nursing staff informed, in a firm, polite and professional manner. PHYSICALLY WALK AWAY from the scene and tell your seniors everything. Do not get involved in counting any narcs that may be missing. You have to report this by law anyway. Remember; you are accountable for your practice at ALL times. And if you don't report it you begin to look suspicious.

Did anything happen to the other nurse? Ask why you were written up - was it due to the delay in reporting? You have a right to have a copy of that report, and to have a meeting with the senior person who wrote it up with a witness present.

But well, you learned didn't you.

I think you will be OK

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

Do not get too upset mate.

You tried to do the right thing. I'd be more worried about the nurse who insisted on counting when you asked to stop.

This is where your assertiveness training comes in. You need to state IMMEDIATELY that the count must stop and senior nursing staff informed, in a firm, polite and professional manner. PHYSICALLY WALK AWAY from the scene and tell your seniors everything. Do not get involved in counting any narcs that may be missing. You have to report this by law anyway. Remember; you are accountable for your practice at ALL times. And if you don't report it you begin to look suspicious.

Did anything happen to the other nurse? Ask why you were written up - was it due to the delay in reporting? You have a right to have a copy of that report, and to have a meeting with the senior person who wrote it up with a witness present.

But well, you learned didn't you. You should be OK now.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

i am wondering .....is the off going nurse diverting or just forgetful?.....or did she think that she had popped the med from the wrong card? and that it would become apparent when the count was continued where the error was?.....years ago i (agency) was counting off with a new LPN, we got to a card of ativan that was one short.....i thought he was going to pass out. Told him we would finish the count and see if there was an extra on another card, and there was.....right med given, off the wrong card....betcha he never made that mistake again!

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

One narc wasn't given so one count was over. The other time she put a half pill down the sink to make the count look even and documented it as " wasted" even though it technically wasn't

[April, RN, BSN, RN]

One narc wasn't given so one count was over. The other time she put a half pill down the sink to make the count look even and documented it as " wasted" even though it technically wasn't

So she's making med errors and you get written up. Nice. If I were in this situation, I would have waited until after count was over to go to the DON, too. She's making serious errors and hiding them. In my eyes, that's for the DON to investigate privately and not have another employee actively involved.