Misconduct

[Abbycat]

Has anyone ever heard of a nurse being terminated for gross misconduct after accidentally omitting an entry when transcribing MARs from one month to the next?

[Davey Do]

While no longer in clinical practice, it frosts my buns how NOTHING is EVER pharmacy's fault. Ugh!

This singes my shorts also, meanmaryjean.

Just last weekend, I put in home meds Rx by the MD for Namenda 5mg HS. Pharmacy wanted verification for the med, as Namenda is usually given BID. So, until the MD clarified the med, pharmacy refused to dispense it. So instead of getting a single dose of Namenda at HS, the patient got none.

Where is the sense in that? There are other examples. I think WRMC's pharmacists are phacist. Or Fascist.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

So, for those of us that are still using paper charting in LTC, maybe we should explain the process.

The resident is admitted. Has orders on paper from the hospital. Orders are handwritten onto the paper admit order forms, then faxed to pharmacy. New orders are hand written by the doctor or more often than not, verbal orders are taken by the nurse and and then faxed to pharmacy. The faxed to pharmacy part is what scews up alot of things. Are they being faxed? I always wait for the confirmation that the fax went through. The next part is up to the pharmacy. The need to enter it into the profile.

At the end of the month (at my facility it is the 24th) we get a print out of the next month's orders, MAR and TAR. These orders need to be checked with the orders in the chart and then clarified or adjusted as needed.

Lots of potential for error but some ways to put in some checks and balances.

Are the admit orders verified by a second nurse?

Are the monthly orders checked by a second nurse?

Is 11-7 doing daily redlining of all the charts to check the new orders?

Our policy is to do all of the above AND we also go over all new orders in the moring clinical meeting to make sure that the orders were transcribed correctly from admit orders from the hospital.

To answer the OP question....no.

[Abbycat]

I was denied unemployment because they determined I was in violation of the company's misconduct policy which I have never seen and didn't know existed. The word misconduct was never bought up until the employer contested my unemployment claim.

[maxthecat]

I don't see how a transcription error translates to gross misconduct. Were they looking to get rid of you for some other reason?

[Davey Do]

I was denied unemployment because they determined I was in violation of the company's misconduct policy which I have never seen and didn't know existed. The word misconduct was never bought up until the employer contested my unemployment claim.

I have been fired and quit jobs and still got unemployment benefits, even after being denied once.

Request an appeal from your department of employment security. An adjudicator will take information from both you and your employer. In the past, 15 + years ago was the last time I dealt with this sort of thing, and a teleconference was held.

From the information you've given, Abbycat, it sounds to me like you have a good chance of getting unemployment benefits.

Good luck to you, and PM me if you wish.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I just don't understand how they can call this "gross misconduct" unless there is more to the story, or they're asserting you did this intentionally, or while under the influence or something.

[Lisacar130]

Appeal it

[Abbycat]

That is my point exactly.

[Abbycat]

In addition to the injustice of this situation, I feel slandered as well.

[Abbycat]

I could only speculate. Nothing I know of for sure.

[TriciaJ, RN]

my heavens, who is still using paper?

"One month to the next": is the clue. Most likely LTC. They are usually technologically a few years behind hospitals.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

"One month to the next": is the clue. Most likely LTC. They are usually technologically a few years behind hospitals.

I work long term care, I recognized it. My point is that legally, how are they getting away with it? all records are supposed to be computerized, over a year ago. The last place I worked came in under the wire.