I was recently let go from my job as a med tech inside of a county jail.
A woman came in & took a lot of klonopin before hand, & effectively knocked herself out. We could not send her to the hospital because she turned herself in
The nurse on duty had her placed by herself in a cell, on 15 minute checks.
She told me whenever I go down there, to check her vital signs. I got down there later in the night, & whenever the officer took me to her cell, we could not wake her up, so I used an ammonia inhalant on her, that the nurse had left with the officers earlier in the day.
I know now that I should have used the sternum rub on her before anything, but I can't go back in time & fix that unfortunately.
After I used that inhalant, I went into the nurses station & gave the officers a few inhalants to replace the one that I had used to wake her up, that the charge nurse had given them earlier.
A few days later, I was fired for practicing outside of my job description, & my scope of practice, by using an inhalant without an order, & for distributing them to the guards.
My question is, when I go in for interviews to find a new job, how bad is this going to look to employers?
I mean I know now that I should have used the sternum rub, & that the inhalants are considered a medication that I can't distrubute, but at least now I know for future reference I guess.
I don't have a problem telling employers what happened, but is the situation really so horrible that it would keep me from finding a new job once I tell them?
Hey, you're a med tech, not an EMT. Your job is to administer medication not know to perform this maneuver or to even perform an assessment, this is the RN's job. Hold your head high and take it as a lesson learned. It sounds like you took the fall for the mistakes of others, employers will be scratching their heads over the actions of your superiors, not the fact that you did what you could to wake this person up.
let's back up a minute here. do i understand you to say that the nurse left the facility and there was no other nurse on duty at the time this was going on? she told you, an unlicensed cna, to check on this person when you could, and there was no one else checking her for the 15-minute checks? she knew this person ate a lot of klonepin and she did nothing more than ask you to check the person when you could? if any of this is so, it's not your butt that should be on the line, but hers; this is such a breach of nursing standard of care it's breathtaking.
if they interview you before they fire you, be sure they know that a licensed nurse delegated care of a seriously ill person to you, and you didn't know what else to do.
An officer was checking on this inmate every 15 minutes
There are buildings side by side, one for mail inmates, & one for female, she was on the female side, but the infirmary is actually in the main part of the jail with all the men, and that is where the charge nurse was. I was going down to the annex to do med pass on the female side, & check her vitals when I was done
I think I was more in trouble for giving the guards some inhalants without being told to do so. I should not have assumed that because the nurse gave them one, that it was okay for me to do the same, & I got burned for it.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
An officer was checking on this inmate every 15 minutes
There are buildings side by side, one for mail inmates, & one for female, she was on the female side, but the infirmary is actually in the main part of the jail with all the men, and that is where the charge nurse was. I was going down to the annex to do med pass on the female side, & check her vitals when I was done
I think I was more in trouble for giving the guards some inhalants without being told to do so. I should not have assumed that because the nurse gave them one, that it was okay for me to do the same, & I got burned for it.
An officer is not qualified to make a medical assessment of someone.
If the guards were allowed to have them and use them, why can't you?. There should be an appeal process at your facility.. I would run this up the appeal ladder and see what happens. Have you spoke to the Warden?
If the guards were allowed to have them and use them, why can't you?. There should be an appeal process at your facility.. I would run this up the appeal ladder and see what happens. Have you spoke to the Warden?
I don't really want the job back, or anything else from them really, for reasons that are being pointed out in this thread by other users lol
Contacting the jail superior wouldn't help because the jail & medical facility are separate, we were contracted in
Really all I am worried about is how getting let go for this reason, will affect me finding a new job
Thank God you don't work there any more. What a messed up place. I think you will find that being fired from here and for this reason is not going to effect your future jobs at all. Just be honest and discuss what you have learned and move forward.
I am going to apply at a local nursing home that is hiring near me... I just want to be able to pay for the LPN program so I can finally have a license lol
Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.
i will, and thanks
i am going to apply at a local nursing home that is hiring near me... i just want to be able to pay for the lpn program so i can finally have a license lol
unquestionably, i'm so glad that you are moving on to better and bigger things. furthermore, i applaud you on your desire to continue your education, as i wish you the very best in your future endeavors...aloha~
Hmmm... that was pretty harsh. 1. That person should have been sent out with EMS, 2. Why do the guards have the smelling salts if they're going to be considered a medication that you, as a person trained to dispense medication and they are not, can't give, 3. I've never heard of sternal rubbing being taught in a med tech course, so how would you know? 4. The nurse should have given you waaaaaayyy better instructions.
Don't beat yourself up over it, that could have happened to anyone. It's scary when someone is unresponsive, especially if you aren't used to situations like that. Just be honest with potential employers, you shouldn't have an issue.
Travelswithmutt
15 Posts
Hey, you're a med tech, not an EMT. Your job is to administer medication not know to perform this maneuver or to even perform an assessment, this is the RN's job. Hold your head high and take it as a lesson learned. It sounds like you took the fall for the mistakes of others, employers will be scratching their heads over the actions of your superiors, not the fact that you did what you could to wake this person up.