hmmmm...kinda makes ya wonder....

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Read a thread here yesterday about 2 nurses being written up for a synthroid med error, and I keep reading about nurses being "written up" ...and somehow this just doesn't set well with me.

I mean in light of nurses who are supposedly viewed as "professionals"..... understand where I'm going with this?

Being "written up" appears to be such a... gosh, don't even know how to properly describe it.."elementary school" ... ???

Just not at all something you would expect "professionals" to be subjected to. I mean if one thinks about it, are other professionals written up in this manner? Any feedback on this?

I realize there need to be checks and balances, but the idea of a "write up" as a professional ... the two just don't gel, in my thinking. Very demeaning. Surely there are better methods ?

[SmilingBluEyes]

I agree

Where I work, errors are reported via a system called "VARIANCE REPORTING" -----maybe a but euphemistic.....but smart (legally).

It's the same as an "incident report" in that it is used to report errors, problems with equipment/staffing, injuries and situations with patients/family that need attention. It's purpose is NEVER to assign blame or finger-point, but to describe in OBJECTIVE TERMS what happened and what personnel and patients/family members were involved. "Finger-pointing" variances are "kicked back" for review.

CONCLUSIONS ARE NOT DRAWN...just history of events ....date/times etc and personnel and patients directly-involved. It IS NOT part of the patient's chart. I don't hear of anyone being "written up" where I work...just that a variance was filed with risk management staff. I agree, "writing a person up" has negative connotations and does not belong in professional work anywhere. But it's a common term, jnette, likely meaning the same thing.

[elkpark]

Yes, other professionals in healthcare settings get "written up" -- reported to their superiors for violating hospital policies/procedures, violating legal practice standards, or otherwise putting patients at risk. Pharmacists, physical therapists, etc., get reported to their department heads, physicians get reported to their department heads or the chief of staff. Any disciplinary process like that involves a paper trail (hence, the informal term, "written up") for the protection of everyone involved.

Part of being a professional is taking responsibility for your actions, and being prepared to answer for them if someone else has a concern.

Of course, that doesn't mean that nurses don't get written up and disciplined unfairly at times! :o

[twarlik]

I've worked in government for the last five years and this is also done. It's possible for anyone to get "written up", including upper management. I don't really have a problem with the concept, since it's just a way of keeping track of disciplinary action. So if someone should get fired for a long string of problems, then there is record of all of it. This is not isoloated to nursing and I don't really think it makes nurses less than professionals. Surely hospitals must have similar procedures for physicians...???

I didn't read the thread you refer to, so I don't know if there was more to that "write up" than I am describing.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I was does depend on the situation.....

A person who continually screws up or is dangerous needs to be "written up".....that is, documentation kept---disciplinary actions etc. tracked on paper, leaving a tangible"paper trail" so actions can be taken.....

To me, that is a seperate issue!!!!

[webbiedebbie]

I agree with the meaning...just not the way it is worded.

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

I agree

Where I work, errors are reported via a system called "VARIANCE REPORTING" -----maybe a but euphemistic.....but smart (legally).

It's the same as an "incident report" in that it is used to report errors, problems with equipment/staffing, injuries and situations with patients/family that need attention. It's purpose is NEVER to assign blame or finger-point, but to describe in OBJECTIVE TERMS what happened and what personnel and patients/family members were involved. "Finger-pointing" variances are "kicked back" for review.

CONCLUSIONS ARE NOT DRAWN...just history of events ....date/times etc and personnel and patients directly-involved. It IS NOT part of the patient's chart. I don't hear of anyone being "written up" where I work...just that a variance was filed with risk management staff. I agree, "writing a person up" has negative connotations and does not belong in professional work anywhere. But it's a common term, jnette, likely meaning the same thing.

Thanx !

Yes, this is how it's done where I work as well. I do understand the need to keep track of incidents, etc. I think somehow the old "you do that one more time and you'll be written up!" thing just bugs me. Do attorneys do this to one another? In their nice suits and polished nails and perfect hair? Somehow I can't see them conceding to a "write-up".

To me, write-ups has the undertone of "bosses", like bluecollar labor (which I know most admin. see us as)... and perhaps this is why it bugs me. I've also read here that some docs will tell nurses to write themselves up ! Excuse me?

Now if it were truly an admitted and potentially dangerous error, and the doc were to "suggest" it be documented as a clinical variance as described by Deb above, I could handle that.

I guess it's in the wording, you're right. Thanx for the input. :)

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

You're right, Jnette.

When I was a school bus driver, that was the lingo we used to warn kids who misbehaving, and we actually had writeup sheets to send in our reports.