Missing Patient Orders Due to Constantly Covering Colleague

[SilverBells, BSN]

Today I received a phone call from our clinic regarding a patient of mine.  They were wondering why we had failed to send in a COVID swab prior to a patient’s upcoming procedure.  I had no good answer other than we had never seen the order come through.  Unfortunately, this meant that my patient’s procedure had to be rescheduled.  Later on, we did find the order on our fax machine, but we had missed it.  

For me, this is frustrating because normally I'm very on top of my patients' orders and appointments. Unfortunately, I have been constantly covering for my colleague, who is regularly gone 2.5 (or more) days a week, so I'm constantly getting pulled into her patients' issues, too.  Sad thing is, I actually know a lot more about some of her patients than I do my own.  

This makes me nervous, because I have no room in my life or nursing practice for anything other than success.  I'm afraid that by constantly covering so many patients so many days a week, I will not be successful.  

How do I approach my supervisor to state it just isn't going to work to be constantly covering her work on top of my own? 

[Davey Do]

Communication is one of the biggest pitfalls in our field, SilverBells, so I can really commiserate with you.

Off the top of my head, I would examine the communication process between staff and remedy that.

I caution you to not create another checklist or more paperwork, because nobody wants to, or will do, another pencil pushing or button clicker exercise.

 In my past administrative positions, I've attempted to enhance communication by tweaking the system which was already in place.

Good luck to you SilverBells. I admire your desire to improve conditions for those you serve.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

If I remember correctly, your coworker has taken on patient care shifts during the pandemic to help with staffing, correct? And you're doing your best to cover your position and hers, also to ultimately help everyone in your facility. It's unfortunate, but something like this could have happened even while you were fully staffed. Things sometimes just get missed. It's unfortunate that your patient's procedure was delayed, but these things also happen for many reasons. Don't be hard on yourself, and I wouldn't really make it much more of an issue than "hey, this happened to get missed because we're short staffed". If you try to get them to pull your coworker from covering other aspects of patient care, then something else is likely to be missed. No one is working under ideal conditions these days. You have to look at the bigger picture and see whether this is truly a higher priority than other things currently going on in your facility before deciding that your current situation "isn't going to work". Good luck!

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

You really 

9 hours ago, SilverBells said:

 This makes me nervous, because I have no room in my life or nursing practice for anything other than success.  I'm afraid that by constantly covering so many patients so many days a week, I will not be successful.  

You know what most of us will tell you. You have a job as a manager in a facility that doesn't let you manage. You have no work life balance and you are exhausted as well as miserable.  You will never be successful under these conditions. If I'm correct I remember you saying that you still live with your parents. As the Johnny Paycheck once put to words in a song it's time to "Take this job and shove it!" Take a break, catch your breath and then use those credentials to find a job you can love and truly be successful at. LTAC while rewarding for some is a very tough gig. When I did it I loved the residents but hated the job and got out just as soon as I could. Give appropriate notice, get your ducks in a row and head out. The only thing holding you back is fear of the unknown. 

Hppy