Oops, sorry! Son got wrong vaccination

Nurses General Nursing

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My son is 8 years old. He had a well-child check up Friday. NP said he's due for varrivax booster and they also recommend Hep A. I had never heard of Hep A for kids. She said that it's not a new vaccination, but they've only been giving it to kids for about a month. Ok, I'll think about it. She says thats fine, she'll give me the paper work.

In walks nurse/med assistant (not sure title). She's giong to do finger poke and what I think is varivax. She was very rude from the very beginning of the appointment. Anyhow, she just grabs his finger and pokes, doesnt even give a chance to explain this to my son are ask him if he's ready. Poke! Just does it. I know he's 8 and won't say he ready, but come on a little warning would have been nice for both of us. Then she asks him where he wants his shot. "Will you hold still like a big boy and take it in the arm like the big boys do, or do we have to use your leg like the babies" I interrupted her and said that the leg would be better because the muscle is bigger and it won't be as tender afterward. So I get him ready and as I'm distracting him she pops in the shot, again no warning to either one of us. I did not see her give the shot, but then I see her put 2 bandaids on, one on each leg. Ok, whats going on. I ask her to give me a copy of what she just gave him. Sure as heck, she gave him the Hep A also. I brought this to her attention and she says, well she wrote for me to give both, I gave you the sheets, and there's really no harm. Sorry. Then walks away. I told the receptionist Sorry just isnt' good enough. I then talk to the NP who says she did not order for the Hep A only the varrivax, but that on the education she circled both varrivax and Hep A so I could look at the info. The person who gave the shot comes back over and says, well I can't take it back, and it's actually a good thing.

Yes, maybe this is a little mistake and no harm was done. But she didn't even own her mistake. She wouldn't have told anyone if I wouldn't have brought it up. I was told to call the office manager on Monday to speak to them. All I want is just an acknowledgement that it was a mistake. This lady was in a big rush since the beginning of his appt. And quite rude for being in peds office. What if it would have been something else.

I am not overreacting, am I? Now, he has a huge (larger than 50 cent piece red swollen area that is slightly warm on one leg. I don't even know which one went into which leg. I'm sure thats normal.

Thanks for listening to my vent.

Specializes in cardiac.
I dont even know what to say about this post. No one here is even making a agrument about receiving/benifits of immunizations or even the s/e of the medications. However, the person administering the medications was rude, rough and did not follow Dr. orders putting that child at risk. What if the child had a allergy to the medication or it was being held for whatever reason. If this had been your child would you just say a couple of words to the office manager and chalk it up to being a mistake and go on about your day. I dont really think so..... I am thinking like a mother here and not a nurse. It is my job to protect my children and I make it my buisness to know what is being given to my children. I dont know about the laws for requiring signatures for immunizations, but I do know you cant just give these type of immunizations without consent. I am in charge of their healthcare and I have the final decision PERIOD. Im not sure what kinda system problem you see, because I see a problem a whole lot bigger than the system. The staff member in question didnt follow orders and this could have been a hugh problem for the child .. thank God is was not. But how many more kids has this person given injections too or taken care of. Saying a couple of words to the office manager is just not enough. It would be one thing if the Nurse/MA admitted to the mistake and apologized. But this person see's no mistake and in my opinion does not know her limitations. Now, I dont think I made any comments towards securing a attorney personally . Because thats just not my way of taking care of buisness.[/quot

Very well said.

Specializes in ICU, CVICU.
Saying a couple of words to the office manager is just not enough. It would be one thing if the Nurse/MA admitted to the mistake and apologized. But this person see's no mistake and in my opinion does not know her limitations. Now, I dont think I made any comments towards securing a attorney personally . Because thats just not my way of taking care of buisness.

Absolutely! Everyone has made mistakes at some point but it is the ATTITUDE that was given that was really bothersome. I don't think it warrants a lawsuit either but sometimes you have to shake things up if you want to effect real change.

I agree with the poster who said this is a system problem. Where did the MA/Nurse get the idea to give a Hep A shot? There should be a proper system in place so that the "education" form is not mixed up with an actual order. Wait a minute! Perhaps the NP verbalized the order to the MA/Nurse and ordered the additional shot by mistake. See what I mean.....system error. Where are the checks and balances? I am not at all trying to make any excuses for this MA/nurse's attitude for this alone is enough for SERIOUS DISCIPLINE not termination as far as I am concerned. I just wanted to give some more food for thought.

Are you guys serious??? Jeez, I thought this was a board full of nurses who have been put in situations which a mistake could have happened??? Oh wait, we're all beyond reproach, right? We'd never make a mistake.

Put this in the context of a med error....say you gave APAP too soon, or MSO4 too soon.......the ERROR is the same, the consequences are different.....WE DONT KNOW the potential consequences for this child.....the fact is there was NO consent, bottom line.......

Well, I am still surprised about this whole post. I completely understand why someone would be upset if this happened to their child. But to completely blow it out of proportion like this....? I am really dumbfounded. 8 pages of responses and almost everyone is ready to hang her.

I really don't understand why our profession does this to each other.

I dont even know what to say about this post. No one here is even making a agrument about receiving/benifits of immunizations or even the s/e of the medications. .

I replyed the way I did to show there was likely NO HARM DONE that would warrent a lawsuit.

Specializes in med surg.
I replyed the way I did to show there was likely NO HARM DONE that would warrent a lawsuit.

This is already a bad situation--if harm was done to the child, it would get a lot worse.

No, maybe this isn't lawsuit material, but this isn't a situation to forgive and forget, love, peace, lets kiss and make up. And it would have been a lot different if the person who gave the immunization would have apologized or somehow attempted to make amends to the mother. This isn't about nurses eating their young, either, it's about patient's rights. A mother refused an immunization for her child, yet it was given anyway. There was a breakdown in the system, whether it was a single person, or twenty people. And, something should be done about it.

Everyone here knows that this is just a single case right here and it happens to be someone who knows what their rights are as a patient. This probably happens all of the time--maybe even at that clinic! It IS a problem that needs to be addressed, and there are right ways and wrong ways to do it.

Specializes in cardiac.
Well, I am still surprised about this whole post. I completely understand why someone would be upset if this happened to their child. But to completely blow it out of proportion like this....? I am really dumbfounded. 8 pages of responses and almost everyone is ready to hang her.

I really don't understand why our profession does this to each other.

I understand that vaccinations ARE a good thing. But, not for every child. They should not be given to:

1: anyone who has ever had a severe allergic reation to a previous dose.

2:Anyone who has a severe allergy to any vaccine component

3: Anyone who is moderately/severely ill at the time of the injection.

Did any of these questions get asked to the mother before administering the vaccincation? Maybe myself and other posters are concerned that the proper protacols were not followed. There are guidelines that SHOULD be followed to ensure safe administration. Especially with a child. One poster even stated that her son suffers from allergic reactions to vaccinations. As she stated,"What if?" To blow this off and say"WEll, no harm done," is an insult to our profession. I can only speak for myself, but, I assume, that most of us in our profession take the extra time to ensure that proper standards are taken when administering medications. So...I am dumbfounded as to why someone wouldn't think this was a big deal. As you stated, you work in a clinic that administers vaccinations on a daily basis. You may be used to it. Just, like some of us who work in cardiac feel that an angioplasty procedure is an everyday thing. But, to the families on the recieving end, it is a BIG DEAL. And yes, we may be blowing this situation out of porportion, but, doesn't that tell you something? If a nurse is overloaded due to short staffing or high acuity, then yes, med errors can occur. I would understand that. And no, I wouldn't be willing to automatically "HANG HER." Ususally that person is extremely upset over the mistake. From the descripton of the situation from the OP, this nurse/MA just blew it off as if it wasn't a big deal. That's an insult to everyone in our profession. Should someone try to sue over this, probably not. Should the person administering the vaccincation be reprimanded? YES.Should this person be made to take a refresher course in proper drug administration? YES. Should she be allowed to administer medication unsupervised? Not until she could prove that she is following proper guidelines. Not only does it tarnish our reputation as nurses/MA's, but, what about the MD'S office. Do you think someone isn't going to retell their bad experience to someone else? Happens all the time and word of mouth travels FAST.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I dont even know what to say about this post. No one here is even making a agrument about receiving/benifits of immunizations or even the s/e of the medications. However, the person administering the medications was rude, rough and did not follow Dr. orders putting that child at risk. What if the child had a allergy to the medication or it was being held for whatever reason. If this had been your child would you just say a couple of words to the office manager and chalk it up to being a mistake and go on about your day. I dont really think so..... I am thinking like a mother here and not a nurse. It is my job to protect my children and I make it my buisness to know what is being given to my children. I dont know about the laws for requiring signatures for immunizations, but I do know you cant just give these type of immunizations without consent. I am in charge of their healthcare and I have the final decision PERIOD. Im not sure what kinda system problem you see, because I see a problem a whole lot bigger than the system. The staff member in question didnt follow orders and this could have been a hugh problem for the child .. thank God is was not. But how many more kids has this person given injections too or taken care of. Saying a couple of words to the office manager is just not enough. It would be one thing if the Nurse/MA admitted to the mistake and apologized. But this person see's no mistake and in my opinion does not know her limitations. Now, I dont think I made any comments towards securing a attorney personally . Because thats just not my way of taking care of buisness.

I agree with you 100 percent. ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING. I am not into lynching people for making errors, we all do. But this does not seem like a person who is likely willing to update assumptions and practices. She is not even very nice to the patients. I have a real problem with that.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
I agree with you 100 percent. ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING. I am not into lynching people for making errors, we all do. But this does not seem like a person who is likely willing to update assumptions and practices. She is not even very nice to the patients. I have a real problem with that.

I agree Deb. One can look at the process and help prevent this type of error from happening again. Errors happen, you review the process, and you fix the problem. If we lynched and sued everytime someone made an error that didn't cause any harm, there would be no nurses or med techs left. (Naturally if it were my child I might feel different).

However, this person's attitude needs some major adjustment and needs to be dealt with in a swift manner.

I would follow up and follow up and follow up again "what kind of counseling did this person receive??", "what did you change to prevent this error". I would be talking to the MD, the office manager, everyone. But getting a lawyer......probably not.

Specializes in Critical Care.

While I agree that seeking the full redress of the legal system is probably not in order, it IS a powerful leverage to seek the actual redress that you feel is adequate.

That office HAS to know that, if you CHOSE to seek legal redress, the liability could be huge.

Use that to your advantage. I'd make sure that they KNOW that the only way to avoid legal action is to address your concerns short of that. And that means more than a stern 'talking to'.

I'd ask for proof or reprimand and a detailed explanation of the consequences of that reprimand.

A lawsuit might not be in order, but that doesn't mean that it isn't or can't be appropriate leverage for actions that ARE in order.

~faith,

Timothy.

Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

I am really dumbfounded that anyone would take this lightly. I dont think everyone is ready to hang her , but I think the majority here want more than a couple of words to the office manager.

Well, I am still surprised about this whole post. I completely understand why someone would be upset if this happened to their child. But to completely blow it out of proportion like this....? I am really dumbfounded. 8 pages of responses and almost everyone is ready to hang her.

I really don't understand why our profession does this to each other.

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