How lame is this

[dramaqueen13315]

I am part of a internship program as a LVN to RN program.

One of the RNs asked me to verify and sign off on her heparin, when I looked, it was below the 5ml mark which is indicated by a long line. She insisted that the level mark was the "dot" which is located BELOW the long line. I explained that in school we were taught it was the long line that indicated the amount. She looked at me and asked me, "So, are you telling me how to do my job now?". What the heck. I told her that I was just telling her what we learned in school. After a few rounds over what was right and what was wrong, her insisting she was right and I was wrong she left, and I did not sign off on it.

While I was working with a patient she called me out of the room to inform that she verified it with another nurse and that it is to the long line and that she did not want me to learn the "wrong" way. I bit my lip, but what I really wanted to say was, "I did not learn the wrong way." but sometimes it is better not to cause waves.

_______________________

Then we had a pt who had cellulitis of the supra pubic region. She told a nurse on the floor that it was because "the patient was dirty and did not wash there". How LAME and cruel.

[ERRNTraveler, RN]

This is not the last time you will encounter someone like this- I'd just let it go & take any "advice" she gives you with a HUGE grain of salt....

[nursenpnk, RN]

Just remember her when it comes to your encounters with new nurses and others in your shoes :-) I've had multiple experiences like this and it has only made me a better nurse and more aware of some of the stereotypes and need to continue learning after being away from the classroom and at the bedside. Best of luck to you in your nursing career.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

5 ml's of heparin?

You mean units, right? Not trying to nitpick, just clarifying things for the newbies.

The heparin should've been ON the line, as you said.

But I agree, you don't want to make waves. You're new, it was a miniscule amount, someone else checked it with her and you have to assume the correction was made. As far as the other gossip goes about the patient,(and it is gossip unless you personally heard it), it would be wiser for you to refrain from repeating hearsay, because someone might just have heard wrong.

[ERRNTraveler, RN]

5 ml's of heparin?

You mean units, right? Not trying to nitpick, just clarifying things for the newbies.

It could have been 5ml's, like if it was a heparin flush, because 5 units would be a VERY small dose of heparin :)

[tencat]

Uh.....5mL of heparin is a rather large dose. The large amount is the important detail here. I'd at least double check that one....

Darlin', I'd pick my battles if I were you. Some things are worth fighting about. But others, such as a miniscule difference in the volume of a syringe, are really not worth getting your knickers in a knot over. It is totally within your right not to sign off on it if you are uncomfortable doing so, as it is your license, and I don't fault you for that.

However, from one newbie to another, remember that you are the new kid on the block and the nurses have A LOT to teach you that you did not learn in school.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Ha! Ha! Ha! She obviously has some personal issues with her own self-esteem. Just ignore her. When you're right, you're right. You can't compromise correctness and patient safety just to feed someone's self-esteem. Makes me wonder what she was like as a new grad!

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

It could have been 5ml's, like if it was a heparin flush, because 5 units would be a VERY small dose of heparin :)

True. Perhaps it was a flush. :)

[ERRNTraveler, RN]

Uh.....5mL of heparin is a rather large dose. The large amount is the important detail here. I'd at least double check that one....

As I said in the post immediately before this one.... Maybe it was a heparin flush- then 5ml would be fine.

[miko014]

I started a heparin gtt yesterday and the initial bolus dose was 4,000 units (4 ml). And of course, if the PTT is not therapeutic, we bolus and increase the rate, and often with more than 5 ml. It depends on how you're using it (heparin flush, subq, IV, etc) and the concentration.

[rn/writer, RN]

Is it possible that she was--in a very back-handed way--admitting her mistake, as in saying, "I don't want you to change what you're doing ["learn the wrong way"] based on what I just told you that proved to be wrong,"?

Might want to give her the benefit of the doubt here. If she were only interested in doing things her way or in covering her error, she wouldn't have had to seek you out at all. If her attitude seemed bent out of joint, it might be because it was difficult to have to admit being wrong to someone just starting out.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Is it possible that she was--in a very back-handed way--admitting her mistake, as in saying, "I don't want you to change what you're doing ["learn the wrong way"] based on what I just told you that proved to be wrong,"?

Might want to give her the benefit of the doubt here. If she were only interested in doing things her way or in covering her error, she wouldn't have had to seek you out at all. If her attitude seemed bent out of joint, it might be because it was difficult to have to admit being wrong to someone just starting out.

that was my thought as well,......