I started on a med/surg floor right when I graduated a little more than a year ago. After six weeks of orientation, I was fired without warning (they can do that at this hospital). When I asked why, my manager listed several things my preceptor told her: giving a patient xanax when they didn't need it so that I would have an easier shift, not telling anyone when my patient had PE symptoms, etc etc. I hadn't done ANY of that and I was devastated about being fired. To this day I don't know why my preceptor lied about me.
I got re-hired to a different floor of the same hospital within a few weeks. I've worked there for two weeks shy of a year without getting in trouble... I did get a note once saying I'd forgotten to clock in with my badge too many times (we have a book where you sign in when you forget so they still have a record). I'm not sure if that counts as a "written warning" or not. I have been way better about that since then and, other than that, things have been good.
Well..... Last week I was having an ultra busy shift and I did something really stupid. I was giving two liquid meds per feeding tube. One came in a little syringe (wrong size to attach to feeding tube) and one in a cup. Well, I drew up the one in the cup into the right size syringe, and then I set the cup on the garbage can. I say "on" and not "in" because it was overflowing. The whole top layer was "clean" type trash- papers and stuff, and I put the cup right-side-up on top of that. Then I remembered I needed a cup to put the other med in before I could draw it into the right syringe, so- you can probably guess where this is going- I grabbed the cup back from on top the garbage. I used the cup to draw up the other med, gave the meds to the patient, and threw the cup away (again). I'm pretty sure the patient didn't see any of the stuff with the garbage can since I was doing it with my back to him. A CNA was in the room at the time, and he pulled me aside an hour or so later and totally chewed me out for using a cup that had been in the trash. He also said that the end of the feeding machine tubing touched the floor while I had it disconnected to administer the meds. I didn't think it did, but maybe he saw something I didn't. Anyway, he told the charge, who told the manager. I didn't get a chance to tell the charge or the manager my side of the story, and I'm pretty sure the CNA exaggerated, because he's never liked me and he's that kind of guy. My manager called me at the start of the week to put me on suspension until she has time to meet with me (tomorrow), and she said she is discussing disciplinary action with HR (she'll tell me what they decide tomorrow, so I don't get a chance to state my case to her at all). What really worries me is that when she called me, she had her boss's boss in the room, and had us all on speaker phone.
I totally admit that I did something wrong and stupid, but I don't think I deserve to get fired for it. I hope I get a written warning or something... but if her boss's boss is involved? That seriously doesn't look good. And I'm not sure if my clocking in thing "used up" my warning, which they don't even have to give me anyway. After getting fired from my first job, I'm really terrified that I'm going to get fired again. I doubt anyone would hire an RN who has been canned twice in the one year she's been a nurse... What do you guys think? One of my friends suggested I just quit before they can fire me. I really want to work for this hospital.... what would you do? Do you think I'm going to get fired?
hm, maybe you should try working in an area less stressful or busy. Something like an outpatient surgery or something.
try being more careful and realizing what's happening around you and what your doing. don't be discouraged, as long as you know that your working hard and truly making an effort to be the best nurse, you can continue to improve. But in a career such as nursing and dealing with patients you must realize and make sure that there must be no room for error when dealing with patients. Just learn to be extra careful, and double check!
hm, maybe you should try working in an area less stressful or busy. Something like an outpatient surgery or something.
try being more careful and realizing what's happening around you and what your doing. don't be discouraged, as long as you know that your working hard and truly making an effort to be the best nurse, you can continue to improve. But in a career such as nursing and dealing with patients you must realize and make sure that there must be no room for error when dealing with patients. Just learn to be extra careful, and double check!
best of luck!
No offense Quel19, but in reading one of your posts from another thread, I see that you are a student trying to get into a nursing program. Maybe you should keep your advise and criticism to yourself until after you are a nurse.
do you have any colleagues who have witnessed you doing a good job and are willing to support you? If so, ask a couple of them if they would give you a written performance appraisal and ask for it to be added to your employment file. You need to hear what your doing right so you can get your confidence back.
when you are a licensed RN then feel free to write a post beratting another nurse about their nursing practice. Until then why dont you learn from someone else's mistakes b/c lord knows you dont have time to make them all yourself.
Because if you have to have an RN license to know that you don't put things in the trash and then use them around a patient...and if you have to have an RN license to know that you are supposed to clock in and out for a job.
Then the profession is darn sure in trouble.
I hate to break it to you...but the tasks just get harder.
Thanks, caringchic. I got the opportunity to talk to my manager about it at our meeting, and I told her (without being asked) what I learned and what I should have done. I'm really, really aware that I screwed up- whoever said I obviously don't care is dead wrong. At the same time, the patient wasn't harmed, because the surfaces of the item that were used for the patient were not the same surfaces that were potentially contaminated. I'm hoping that the lack of harm allows for some mercy in this situation. I definitely want to do better, and I just hope I get that chance.
Once the cup touched the trashcan it was contaminated. You need a refresher course in basic hospital standards of what is considered clean, dirty, contaminated, and sterile. Germs and bacteria are MOBILE....if there were dirty gloves in the trashcan, then everything in that trashcan is considered dirty, including the items on the top layer. And I would not want that injected into my family member's feeding tube.
Wow...I'm surprised at how sharp folks are with students. I hope that some of the students maintain their high standards and are not discouraged. Sure, look it up. I'm a student too.
Specializes in home health, peds, case management.
no offense quel19, but in reading one of your posts from another thread, i see that you are a student trying to get into a nursing program. maybe you should keep your advise and criticism to yourself until after you are a nurse.
best of luck!
as opposed to (per your other posts) being a new grad still on orientation??
i understand that you are (rightfully) proud of yourself for finishing school and passing your boards, but that doesn't instantly make your opinion and judgement better or more valid than anyone else's.
as one of the other posters commented, this clinical scenario doesn't exactly require an rn license to know that there is room for improvement. even my fiance got it, and he's "just" an auto mechanic.
And you know what? If only the CNA and you were in the room, and you don't think any patient saw or really heard what was going on, I would probably insist that the CNA was lying through his teeth. He said, she said. What makes them believe what he says and not you? Who is to say that he didn't just make all of this up? It wouldn't be the first time something like this happened.
As a nursing student and a CNA I'm a really surprised and somewhat offended at what your recommending for this new nurse. You seem to be advocating that she lie to her managers about what happened. Your actually asking her to tell her managers that the CNA is lying and that she didn't make the mistake that she actually made. Even if the CNA in question doesn't like this nurse and is "mean" to her or whatever, it doesn't mean that he didn't have the right to report what he saw to his manager. What she did is an issue of sanitation and isn't good for the patient and it was this CNA's job to report this if he saw it. I'm not going to condemn this nurse for what she did, she made a mistake and most likely she won't make it again but she should absolutely not lie about making a mistake just to save her job. She needs to sit down with management and tell her side of the story. During her discussion she needs to state the facts and avoid taking jabs or launching a personal attack on the CNA, because its not professional and it will only make her look desperate or petty.
Making a mistake is one thing but lying about it is ten times worse.
Agree. Try to be honest is really something we can be proud of.
Things really happen while we're working under any pressure. But, naturally we always learn how to work with better strategy when the times coming.
What you did is not life threatening, but it is still a mistake.
One thing I always suggest to new co-workers. If you made any mistake, try to gain your insight first. Put the blame on other first will make us unable to learn from mistakes. Consider that you had been fired before. I certainly do not blame you but sure you will find something that you have apparent contribution on that mistakes.
There are things such as being relluctant, not taking procedures seriously, not well prepared, feel that thing are too easy to be carried out, or elses.
As a new comer we also have to work in smart way so that we get right impression from others. Try to gain more credit from co-workers as they definitely our instant help when unexpected things happen to us.
Trust me on this.
Just ignore, if I made a lot of gramatical errors on this post as english is really dificult to me. but I learn.
I don't know if it is too late to give advice, but i would say hang in there even if it means pleading remind them you have only been out for a short time and yes some of the things you have done may have been silly but these have not in any way placed any danger to the patient.
Feeding tubes go into the gut and we do not use a sterile technique to prepare any medications or formula's, you should suggest to your superiors that you have a supervision period if this is allowed in the US, where you have a preceptor who helps.
In Australia we have preceptors, if they have a problem then it is usually addressed with the student and if not resolved to the clinical educator, so the grad nurse can have a bit more support. Only once in my career so far have we had a grad nurse who was so terrible she was a danger to her patients and had a great attitude to go with it, she was not fired but with the assistance of the clinical educator and director of nursing they found an area that she was more suited to and assited getting her a grad year in mental health.
Quel19
26 Posts
hm, maybe you should try working in an area less stressful or busy. Something like an outpatient surgery or something.
try being more careful and realizing what's happening around you and what your doing. don't be discouraged, as long as you know that your working hard and truly making an effort to be the best nurse, you can continue to improve. But in a career such as nursing and dealing with patients you must realize and make sure that there must be no room for error when dealing with patients. Just learn to be extra careful, and double check!
best of luck!