Nurse Fired for not....

MandyInMS · Dec 11, 2003

Yikes!!! I feel for him/her too..also for the Mom and baby..just glad they caught the error before they left the hospital :/ my motto: things could ALWAYS be worse.

oramar · Dec 11, 2003

Yes, on mother baby units everyone knows that is the big no no.

passing thru · Dec 11, 2003

When I work nursery and my co-workers asked "How is it?"

I always respond, " It's fun."

" There's only two things you gotta know.

One, always check the baby's armband number with the mom's arm band number BEFORE you hand over the baby.

and, second, Don't drop the babies!! "

Pretty simple.

If you can't manage THAT,

you deserve to get fired.

passing thru · Dec 11, 2003

Be4 I get flamed, yeah yeah, I know it helps to know more.....

the point being made is:

At my hospitals, the nursery and post partum nurses say ...............

we can forgive/fix/undo/redo ANYTHING,

but,

#1.

#2.

"screw up there and you're on your own."

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Dec 11, 2003

Glad to see this thread.

I am applying for a spot on a maternal-NB floor (first contact since my OB rotation), and I figured that was pretty important, and I always double check anyway, but now, thanks to you guys.....

I WILL EMPHASIZE THAT IN THE INTERVIEW and DOUBLE CHECK EACH TIME--if I get the job.

Wish me luck!

live4today, RN · Dec 11, 2003

Originally posted by chris_at_lucas
Glad to see this thread.

I am applying for a spot on a maternal-NB floor (first contact since my OB rotation), and I figured that was pretty important, and I always double check anyway, but now, thanks to you guys.....

I WILL EMPHASIZE THAT IN THE INTERVIEW and DOUBLE CHECK EACH TIME--if I get the job.

Wish me luck!

:balloons: Best of luck on landing that job Chris! :nurse:

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Dec 11, 2003

Whoa. Sure sounds harsh, but I'd also hate if something had gone terribly wrong with that babe... just can't be too careful anymore.

I do hate it for the nurse... right before Christmas and all... but then again, what if the baby had "vanished" from the hospital...? That poor mother.. ????... also right before Christmas.

A hard lesson learned.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 12, 2003

thank you for the wake-up call....it bears repeating even to us experienced mom/baby nurses.

AndiMac · Dec 12, 2003

They wouldn't let me without checking out our bands even though out of 5 babies mine was the only girl there. And the nurse was my cousin at that, but still, it made me feel better knowing that she still did her job and checked the bands.

passing thru · Dec 12, 2003

At our hospital, we were told we could not even take the baby all the way into the room until the bands were checked. I rolled the baby from the nursery into the moms room and stopped just inside the room. Then checked the bands, and THEN pushed the bassinette to the bedside.

We had a "secret" color of stripe on our id badges that identified us as nursery nurses. The mom was not to release her infant to any nurse who did not have the secret stripe in clear view.

Frequently dads would follow us back to the nursery to see that we pushed the baby into the nursery.

No baby was allowed to be carried out of the hospital, by mom or nurse. UPon discharge, all infants were pushed to the moms car , behind moms wheelchair, by the nurse.

Our hospital had a policy that any newborn being carried by anyone was to be considered an infant abduction. The alarm was sounded if we saw anyone carrying a newborn....Doors slam, alarms sound , and security is everywhere !! We were also told that anyone visiting and carrying a child in a blanket - - - to scrutinise - - - to be sure it was NOT a newborn, and they had to have a pass from security. Usually infants under 6 months were not seen in the hospitals...visiting c adults.....

No mom wants another mom breastfeeding her infant in this day of HIV and Hepatitis, etc....

Failure to check is a sentinel event for the hospital...one loaded with liability consequences.....

Lawsuits for angst and a dozen other things....even if no one was actually physically harmed.

The hospital has no recourse in such a situation but to fire the nurse for her inability to focus on the task at hand and recognise the gravity of the situation.

The hospital has to fire her to assure the parents/ the public it will not happen again.

It is a " good faith" move by the hospital.

No second chances with this much at stake.

Tough break for the nurse....but that's the way the ball bounces on the newborn unit.

mattsmom81 · Dec 13, 2003

You guys have given me another viewpoint of working a mother baby unit...its not all babies and fun is it?

No room for error here...I can see. Coming from ICU where I have 2 or 3 patients and can recognize them easily, the armband issue is not so huge.

Thanks for the insight into another practice area.