Incompetent Co-Worker? LONG IMPORTANT

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Specializes in Did Med /Surg for 5 y, now PP for 3 y.

I will not use names to protect privacy. I have some questions about a co worker(CNA) that works on days. I work nights(I am also a CNA) and often have to take over her patients. Everyone on our floor believes something is wrong, we don't know if it is Alzheimers disease or what but she forgets everything. There are new surgery patients that are not checked on and many things like that. This has been brought to our Directors attention many many times, and she said she would take care of it. This has been going on for almost a year. Well, Last Tuesday, I took over 2 patients that were fresh surgeries. The flowsheets were not handed off to me, I just had this feeling so I looked for them. When I found them, The pulse ox's charted on one of these flowsheets was 93%, 92%, 89%, 86% and the last one that was charted was a pulse ox of 78%. This was never reported to the nurses. I went staright down to her room and done a set of vitals, guy's, her pulse ox was 41%, and her resps were 5, I got my nurse and we put her on 5L of O2, and turned off her PCA. She did okay without having to have narcan. But something has to give. Our Director said that she would do something after Christmas, then she said it would have to be after evaluations. This particular CNA's competency sheet is hanging up at the desk because nobody wants the responsibility of filling it out. All of these incidents have been written up, how can they not do something about it. I know she is still there because she was there when I went to pick up my check this afternoon. So my question is who do we take it to now? I know we should follow the chain of command, but who is next, I made sure my nursing supervisor wrote this last incident up as well. We all know our Doctor's pretty well, do you think we should mention it to them as well? I would really apprieciate some advice. We really feel like our patients are in Danger.

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I will not use names to protect privacy. I have some questions about a co worker(CNA) that works on days. I work nights(I am also a CNA) and often have to take over her patients. Everyone on our floor believes something is wrong, we don't know if it is Alzheimers disease or what but she forgets everything. There are new surgery patients that are not checked on and many things like that. This has been brought to our Directors attention many many times, and she said she would take care of it. This has been going on for almost a year. Well, Last Tuesday, I took over 2 patients that were fresh surgeries. The flowsheets were not handed off to me, I just had this feeling so I looked for them. When I found them, The pulse ox's charted on one of these flowsheets was 93%, 92%, 89%, 86% and the last one that was charted was a pulse ox of 78%. This was never reported to the nurses. I went staright down to her room and done a set of vitals, guy's, her pulse ox was 41%, and her resps were 5, I got my nurse and we put her on 5L of O2, and turned off her PCA. She did okay without having to have narcan. But something has to give. Our Director said that she would do something after Christmas, then she said it would have to be after evaluations. This particular CNA's competency sheet is hanging up at the desk because nobody wants the responsibility of filling it out. All of these incidents have been written up, how can they not do something about it. I know she is still there because she was there when I went to pick up my check this afternoon. So my question is who do we take it to now? I know we should follow the chain of command, but who is next, I made sure my nursing supervisor wrote this last incident up as well. We all know our Doctor's pretty well, do you think we should mention it to them as well? I would really apprieciate some advice. We really feel like our patients are in Danger.

When concerns such as those that you have described have been repeatedly brought to the attention of management at your place of employment with no resolution, you have the option of writing a statement and sending it to the certifying authority for CNAs at your state level. Incompetent nurses are reported to their Board of Nursing this way, so there is no reason why incompetent CNAs should not be treated accordingly. Be specific in your observations that you describe in your letter to the state and be adamant about your concern for patient safety. Good luck.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Somebody needs to stand up and take the responsibility to fill out that competency sheet, if this CNA is truly as dangerous as she sounds. People can't gripe that the manager isn't doing anything about the situation if they aren't willing to do their part as well. Your manager has to mind her Ps & Qs when considering firing someone. That means she may need a paper trail to prove that she had good reason to fire the person.

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Specializes in Pediatrics (Burn ICU, CVICU).

"well, last tuesday, i took over 2 patients that were fresh surgeries. the flowsheets were not handed off to me, i just had this feeling so i looked for them. when i found them, the pulse ox's charted on one of these flowsheets was 93%, 92%, 89%, 86% and the last one that was charted was a pulse ox of 78%. this was never reported to the nurses. i went staright down to her room and done a set of vitals, guy's, her pulse ox was 41%, and her resps were 5"

a little off track, but i am curious where the nurse was when all of this was occurring? i can't imagine getting a fresh post op and not checking on them immediately???

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It sounds like you need to go straight to your Risk Managment department and report this. In the interest of patient safety, it's important this situation be looked into. I would also make a call to your director again and inform her of what happened. Maybe he/she isn't realizing how patient care is being compromised.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Mental Health & Addictions.

I agree with Razorback RN. Where was the nurse when all this was going on?

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Specializes in Did Med /Surg for 5 y, now PP for 3 y.

Thank you guys for all of the advice. I agree the nurses should have picked up on this long before it got to this. I feel like they have been picking up her slack for years. Our Director was made aware of this. I do understand now that someone needs to fill out her competency sheet truthfully, We are doing no one favors, including our patients by keeping her around. We were just all hoping it would not come down to this, she has been here for a very long time. Hopefully, they can ask her to retire. Thank you guys so much.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
We were just all hoping it would not come down to this, she has been here for a very long time. Hopefully, they can ask her to retire. Thank you guys so much.

Oh, I didn't realize that this was someone who was elderly, and had been there for a long time. I thought you were kidding about the Alzheimer's (sorry about that I haven't had much sleep this week).

If this is someone you all truly care about, and feel it may be a medical issue, do you think someone she trusts can talk with her personally about all this?

Considering all her years of service, I see why no one wants to fill out that sheet. She does deserve to be offered retirement instead of being fired.

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Specializes in Did Med /Surg for 5 y, now PP for 3 y.

I am Sorry, I should have went more in to depth. This co worker is elderly, she has been at our hospital since, probably before I was born. Up untill here recently, she has taken care of her husband. He died, I guess around the same time things started getting really bad. Now all she has at home is her dogs. I am just afraid that someone is going to get hurt. The nurses, up until now have always done good about checking behind her. We just need someone that can do their job. We all try very hard not to be mean because we know it is not her fault. I just go back and forth from being mad to feeling sorry for her. Mad at our directors for letting it get this far and bad for my co worker because this is all she has. I'm sorry if this seems so scatterbrained, I am tired and fixing to go to bed. thanks for all the support guys. I knew I could count on you.:innerconf

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