meeting with manager

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 14, 2011

my nurse manager called me and wants to have a meeting. i am scheduled to work tomoorow night but she said no i cannot work tommorw night. so i know i am getting terminated. do some nurse managers let nurses resign instead of terminating? she said i was supose to dc patient's iv and hep lock it but when patient came to our floor he only had picc line, no peripheral iv's at all. so i dc's picc. yes i did make a mistake and i really regret it. if i am being terminated i know i wil never be able to find another job in the hospital. i'm feeling so sick to my stomah.

i've had one of those meetings with my manager -- and i didn't lose my job. she even made me work that night! (after i'd been up all night and all day worrying about it -- no sleep!) i know other folks who've had those meetings -- in one case, a guy i worked with got a three day suspension with pay to go home and "think about" the errors of his ways. and what he did was way worse than what you did!

when you go to the meeting, be humble. you already know you made a mistake. admit it and apologize and elaborate on how you're going to prevent ever making such a mistake again. good luck, and let us know how things turn out!

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Nov 14, 2011

Well Ihope you are wrong. It seems rather extreme to fire you over such a mistake. I wish healthcare wasn't so cut-throat. Good luck to you! Maybe you will just get a reprimand and suspension, but is that really necessary? I don't think so.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Nov 14, 2011

Oh my- you did follow the order, but boy, are you in trouble. LOL! Sorry, but it's so foolish for them to write such a nonspecific order. Yes, I think a lot of people would have double checked before taking out a central line, but you did what they told you.

I'm with Ruby. Be humble, be regretful. I certainly wouldn't fire you if you had an order, but I would encourage you to double and triple check orders that don't pass the common sense test. Keep in mind that 9/10 times you double check you'll have been right in the first place, but that 10th time can save your butt.

I work the ER and the EMTs got a sugar of 25 in a nondiabetic (500 for you Americans). I got an order for insulin coverage, but....she didn't have a history of diabetes, so I did another glucoscan, feeling guilty about sticking her. Totally normal glucose, confirmed by lab, but that funny feeling saved me and her a lot of trouble.

sweetnurse63, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2011

Since you only saw a picc line, I would have talked to the charge nurse or better still, call the physician to let them know there were no peripheral lines only a picc line, then it would have been clear as to what you would do. Don't beat yourself up about this, it is a learning experience and it did not take a life or cause serious injury, so, be greatful for that:). If by chance you are asked to resign or terminated, you can always get another job, but be optimistic, you may just receive a warning or write up. You will be ok either way. Nursing is not easy, especially when a nurse is new. Experience comes with time. Wish you the best:redpinkhe

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2011

Well, you certainly know what you did wrong. No sense in telling you what you should have done.

Ruby gave you some great advice. The best plan of action would be for you to write down some of the things that you have been challenged with and also write down solutions that you feel would be the most appropriate.

For example:

Challenge: you are faced with an order that is ambiguous.

Solution-consult with your charge nurse or page the doc for clarification.

Challenge: you have a concern regarding a change in your pt's status.

Solution: Document the change, make sure you read the written parameters (such as BP, POS, etc) prior to paging the doc for further orders.

If you go into the meeting armed with your recognized challenges and potential solutions to the challenges, your NM will likely be more receptive to the fact that you WANT to increase your performance. Any manager worth their weight in gold will be supportive of a staff member that not only identifies and admits mistakes, but also will collaborate with you to devise a plan to help you overcome your challenges.

The only caveat to the above plan: you must SHOW that you are striving to overcome those challenges. It would be a great idea to suggest to your NM to have meetings every week or every other week to discuss your progress. To do so will help her understand how sincere you are in improving your performance.

I wish you the best!

maelstrom143 · Nov 15, 2011

OMG...mistakes happen. You know what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future, so I won't beat a dead horse.

I just want to say, good luck and God bless. I hope it will work out ok for you.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2011

Unfortunately with this being the third write up and mistake you are probably right about being fired. Whether or not they "allow you" to resign they will have you as a "not for re-hire" when other places check. But you can get past this.....you won't be the first nurse fired nor will you be the last. I think a lesson in paying attention to detail will help you immensely. Let them fire you and apply to unemployment as you look for another position. The order said to DC the IV and heploc...what made you pull the line and not heploc the line...whatever line was in place. Granted the order should have said....dc IV fluids and heploc PICC line.....but anytime before pulling any central line check twice before yanking it out. It;s a tough lesson but it will make you a better nurse in hte long run...I wish you the best....:redpinkhe