How to deal with anxiety during an investigation at work?

[Convoy2022_TrumpSupporter]

so I was the charge nurse since we were short and I was the most senior nurse surprisingly at work. anyways one patient was complaining that the nurse was ignoring him. nothing was reported to me and now they will speaking with me in the coming days as part of an investigation. now that resident isn't really cognitive and the nurse said they weren't ignoring them but just that they were attending another patient.

 

but anyways its stressing me and I don't even want to come to work thinking about losing my job and stuff. I did nothing wrong. I guess its serious since the union leader was there. however the accusation was not against me it was on a staff but I was in charge and I was not aware of this which sort of makes me look bad, but its like I have other things to do. Like antibiotic orders, post falls etc... those are my priority.

[JKL33]

I see nothing wrong with telling them you have no knowledge of the situation if you have no knowledge of the situation.

If there was something going on that you were not aware of then that's just the way it is. Charge does have certain responsibilities, but none of them involve policing other licensed nurses and their care of their patients continually throughout the shift in case someone wants to complain they are being ignored. I don't accept that responsibility and I don't encourage anyone else to do so either. There is a lot that the CN is responsible for, and there is a lot that the CN is not  responsible for.

Stay calm, don't talk too much. Don't start flailing or disparaging yourself or any of that. Let them know that you were not made aware of any complaints or concerns during your shift and that you do not have any knowledge of the specific situation about which they are inquiring.

 

[NurseScribe]

I see nothing wrong with telling them you have no knowledge of the situation if you have no knowledge of the situation.

 

JKL33 said it very well. Don't be tempted to try to make yourself look better-stick to the facts and don't volunteer any more than what you are asked. It's pretty scary being investigated but it happens to all of us. There are no perfect nurses on the planet. 

[Convoy2022_TrumpSupporter]

13 minutes ago, JKL33 said:

I see nothing wrong with telling them you have no knowledge of the situation if you have no knowledge of the situation.

If there was something going on that you were not aware of then that's just the way it is. Charge does have certain responsibilities, but none of them involve policing other licensed nurses and their care of their patients continually throughout the shift in case someone wants to complain they are being ignored. I don't accept that responsibility and I don't encourage anyone else to do so either. There is a lot that the CN is responsible for, and there is a lot that the CN is not  responsible for.

Stay calm, don't talk too much. Don't start flailing or disparaging yourself or any of that. Let them know that you were not made aware of any complaints or concerns during your shift and that you do not have any knowledge of the specific situation about which they are inquiring.

 

thank you so much! its just the fact of accountability. I don't want them to be like "well you were the charge nurse that shift. saying something like you were not aware is unacceptable".

5 minutes ago, NurseScribe said:

I see nothing wrong with telling them you have no knowledge of the situation if you have no knowledge of the situation.

 

JKL33 said it very well. Don't be tempted to try to make yourself look better-stick to the facts and don't volunteer any more than what you are asked. It's pretty scary being investigated but it happens to all of us. There are no perfect nurses on the planet. 

thank you so much! its just the fact of accountability. I don't want them to be like "well you were the charge nurse that shift. saying something like you were not aware is unacceptable".

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

I agree with the others, stick with the facts that you weren't aware of the issue and say as little as possible!  Frankly I'm shocked they would investigate a seemingly minor issue if no harm came to the patient?  I think it is taking patient satisfaction too far!