Have a question for all nurses.

FancypantsRN · Jul 19, 2011

Have you talked with her about your issue? That's where I would start. Maybe she doesn't realize...

Whispera, MSN, RN · Jul 19, 2011

I agree, talk with her first. Then work your way up the chain of command.

tra10 · Jul 19, 2011

I really just wanted to know if there is an age limit for an RN to be nursing.

gin89 · Jul 19, 2011

hi to all RN's.im a new here...who among you here work as an enrolled nurse in singapore.i plan to work in singapore but i doubt because of my experience..i only have 2 years experince. can you give me an advice? which one is better?... work in KSA as a staff nurse or work in SG as an enrolled nurse.

OhmyimgoingtobeaRN · Jul 19, 2011

Hhahaha age limit I wish but before there is an investigation in your department I would seriously tell upper management that you don't want to deal with legal issues later on for someone elses mistakes

GM2RN · Jul 19, 2011

That would be age discrimination. You need to approach this a different way by proving to management that she is unsafe. That is, if you have spoken with her directly without positive results.

FLArn · Jul 19, 2011

Can you determine if there is a common denominator to the mistakes? For example, we had a nurse who was having many near misses that were all related to vision deficits. We mentioned gently that it may be time for new glasses. That didn't solve the problem but it did make her aware that her errors were apparent to others and she retired shortly thereafter. It wouldn't hurt to talk to your manager about it. Phrasing it similarly to this: "I've been noticing that Jane has been having a lot of problems with med passes lately. I think she may be having problems reading the MARs/computer screen. I know she would just be devastated if she made an error that hurt a patient. "

retiredlady · Jul 19, 2011

List everyday on paper things that she does that is unsafe, then give it to management. You need proof. Personally, I think that is a little too old, but i have a mother and mother in law that age that are super sharp.

OrthoMama · Jul 19, 2011

We have a policy on the unit I work on, that if there are concerns, you need to write them down and discuss them with management. Then they have specific documented examples to work with. Voice your concers tactfully with management and approach her as well.

hkRN83 · Jul 19, 2011

NO! Don't talk to this nurse directly. You need to write her direct supervisor a letter giving examples of how this nurse is practicing unsafe nursing. It is up to the administration at your facility to decide if they need to talk to her or not. If you decided to talk to this nurse, you don't know how she is going to take this conversation. I can't believe that the administration at this facility is allowing a 83 years old nurse to take care of their patients/residents. But keep in mind, unless your facility can prove that she is an unsafe nurse (which hopefully your letter will be able to demostrate that), there is not a lot they can do due to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

dede1956 · Jul 19, 2011

Are these near misses with meds? Where I work we need to fill out incident report...before everyone jumps on me, let me explain. When we fill out an incident report on the computer we pick from a list as to possible causes for near miss. Many times it is a very simple fix that management doesn't realize there is a problem. If it is pt safety concerns document them, talk to the nurse, if nothing changes then go to your manager. You need to document what you did, who you spoke to, when, what outcome is, etc. I know that when I started to document everything that a nurse was doing (who was a department head) and went to HR to voice my concerns, because I had written everything down in a notebook, it was extremely hard for mgt to dispute the facts.