LPN in trouble......

Nurses LPN/LVN

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heres my question......are stna's allowed to do fingersticks?? so i was slammed @ work one day, go figure nobody offers help, so i had my stna do one fsbs for me. no insulin nothing like that, just a fingerstick. friday i get a phone call that im off the schedule until i speak to my don. i just cant imagine getting fired for that. i do my job and i do it good. if anybody knows the stna ohio scope of practice.....please help!!!:nono:

Thanks again for all the encouraging replies!! I got a job two hours after I was fired so at least my 4 year old can have a decent christmas!! The circumstances are still getting to me though........stay positive:)

Hi, Nursepeace. I know I'm a little late, but I'm ssoo sorry that you got fired. I don't think that it should have gone like that. The DON should have just put you on suspension or give a warning; as no harm was done. I'm really sorry to hear this. However, on the bright side, I am happy that you got another job. Just this time, make sure you look up the scope of practice for ALL those whom you delegate to. That way, you will know what they can and can not do. I wish you all the best at your new job and may your be successful. Good luck and God Bless! :):):):nurse:

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Specializes in LTC.

Anxious to hear what your lawyer has to say....good grief, Charlie Brown. It always warms my heart to see bitter and vindictive people in charge. God knows how this DNS deals with actual life-threatening emergencies..."Hey! You were supposed to make copies of the MAR and face sheet BEFORE calling 911...I'm telling!!" :uhoh3:

Keep your chin up, kiddo...and glad you found another job within hours.

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Specializes in Dialysis.
Thanks again for all the encouraging replies!! I got a job two hours after I was fired so at least my 4 year old can have a decent christmas!! The circumstances are still getting to me though........stay positive:)

man that sucks! but yay for you getting back out there and finding something else! you're awesome!

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Your thinking is ridiculous!! CNAs, PCAs, ACTs, whatever you want to call them are more than capable of doing fingersticks. The machine gives you the reading and it does not take a rocket scientist to do one. Most facilities, including mine, credential everyone including licensed personnel) on the fingersticks once a year. As for the doctor depending on reliable personnel to provide the correct reading, about about his patients who do their own fingersticks at home?? This LPN should not be in trouble for allowing an STNA to do a fingerstick--anyone can do one and it doesn't take any real skills to do one. I hope all goes well for her.

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Specializes in med/surg, LTC.

hi! sad situation. i've been a CNA for 3 yrs and now am an LPN and going to school to become an RN. As a CNA i knew what i supposed to do and what not to do, always was careful about those nurses that were trying to get me to do things i wasn't supposed to. In CNA school i was very simply told: whatever is invasive to the patient, you do NOT do. As a nurse, i never try to get them to do what i know they're not trained to do and also watch out for the RN's that try to get me do things that are out of the scope of my practice. And, boy, they will try you. I just tell them, NO, i haven't been trained to do it, sorry. My license is all that matters to me, you have to play by the rules. The CNA should have told you she wasn't supposed to do it...just curious...how long has she been working at that facility? probaly longer than you. She probably knew it and still crossed the line. There's people like that everywhere.

Everybody's saying it's just a fingerstick! it's not so. It might lead to an infection, or if patient is on blood thinners, bleeding, etc. Was that resident injured in any way???

The CNA might be in a whole lot more trouble than you. She could be charged with battery.

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Thank you for your response, but I am not the LPN who wrote the original message, I was just responding to a message written to the LPN who was in trouble. I have been an LPN for 18 years and our PCAs have always been able to do fingersticks. You are correct it can cause infection, but I have rarely seen that happen. As I also stated it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do a fingerstick. We also have unlicensed personnel who sit tele and place tele leads. Quite frankly, they know more about tele than I do, but I am also not a cardiac nurse--I work in Nephrology. These people are not licensed, yet we trust them to read the tele monitors correctly, but we are then going to tell them they are not capable of doing a fingerstick??? I would much rather take the responsibility of a fingerstick than the tele monitor. This is just my opinion though, and we all have opinions. I'm sorry, but I do not think allowing unlicensed personnel do fingerstick is that big a deal.

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Specializes in med/surg, LTC.
Thank you for your response, but I am not the LPN who wrote the original message, I was just responding to a message written to the LPN who was in trouble. I have been an LPN for 18 years and our PCAs have always been able to do fingersticks. You are correct it can cause infection, but I have rarely seen that happen. As I also stated it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do a fingerstick. We also have unlicensed personnel who sit tele and place tele leads. Quite frankly, they know more about tele than I do, but I am also not a cardiac nurse--I work in Nephrology. These people are not licensed, yet we trust them to read the tele monitors correctly, but we are then going to tell them they are not capable of doing a fingerstick??? I would much rather take the responsibility of a fingerstick than the tele monitor. This is just my opinion though, and we all have opinions. I'm sorry, but I do not think allowing unlicensed personnel do fingerstick is that big a deal.

now telemetry is another scary story! at the hospital where i worked they were trying their best to hire people with some experience at reading them: ex-emts's, etc. now what they're trying to do is get a monitor on the floor and train us to be able to read them. :idea:

i wasn't replying just to you, i read all the posts and tried to say what i was thinking about this whole situation. sad but it could have been avoided very easily.

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I'll bet your hospital will do the same ours did. About two years ago they provided training for everyone, and we now have monitors on all floors. Believe me when I say not all of us can read every monitor--everyone knws SVT, AFIB, Asystole, etc., but first degree blocks, second degree blocks, etc., well, we are n ot all sure. Wonder what the new year will bring. I agree the who situation is sad--too bad they can't get a national agreement as to what RNs, LPNs, PCAs, ACTs, etc. can and can[t do. Then there would be no question. Have a great day.

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