My facility recently hired an RN who has two years of experience in an acute care setting. We are LTC/subacute. There is also a language barrier, although she did get her degree in the US.
Since she has been in our facility, she has made numerous med errors, including not giving an anti-seizure med, but signed out that she did. Since this particular med is a controlled substance, we knew she didn't give it when we counted narcs at the end of the night.
This weekend, her CNAs were coming to me to check skin issues on her pts. because she would not come and look, document, and she stated that a pt. having an anxiety attack was "whining". Another co-worker and I handled the situation by having a staff member on light duty sit with her 1:1, brush her hair, put music on, etc...
A pts. family asked me "does he always get so many meds at 5pm? Did something change because I wasn't giving him that many at home at 5..."
No, the pt. does not get a lot of meds at that time. His meds are carefully spaced time wise due to parkinson's disease.
This nurse has been seen giving all meds for a shift at one time--4,5,6, and HS meds at 3-3:30 in the afternoon. It didn't dawn on me what she had done until she asked me to ID a resident for her, and I called her on it. She sais "OH, but it's just tylenol". I told her that yes, it's just tylenol, but it's scheduled TID and she'd just received a dose three hours prior and wasn't due for anymore until midnight. She said "oh".
Other A&O residents have complained about the timing of medications, and several of my co-workers have discussed the situation with managment. Management told a co-worker that this nurse is highly skilled and intelligent and that it was "just a communication barrier".
Um, NO, multipe med errors in a few short weeks is NOT a communication barrier! There is more but I've get to get to work, I'm hoping she's not on tonight.
So...what's next? Management didn't want to hear our concerns, now where do we go?
BTW, we have other nurses for whom english is not there first language and we do NOT have these sorts of "communication problems".
i dont understand you quarrel with her post, and it has not been edited....she was stating that using the lang barrier was ..hhmm not germaine to the discussion....not defending it
That's exactly what I meant, I am not defending this person, I was just stating that the language "situation" is not an excuse for not doing her job!!
I am very proud of who I am, and I know nursing is not about myself:loveya: lol.
cubangirl
41 Posts
That's exactly what I meant, I am not defending this person, I was just stating that the language "situation" is not an excuse for not doing her job!!
I am very proud of who I am, and I know nursing is not about myself:loveya: lol.
Thank you for the input morte.