karenna

I must have worked in the worst hospitals ever. Slow codes on the floor were not out of the ordinary in certain situations.

Just wondered what kind of response I might get from this title. Yes---I was a part of several on the night shift. They usually involved 80+ year old people with terminal illnesses who had idiot families that wanted them coded aka tortured before they went to Jesus.

Sanitizer--cause you're more likely to actually do it between patients. Who the heck has time to wash their hands while whistling happy birthday? Unless hospitals and nursing homes have changed drastically since I left, nobody has time to do the soap, water, paper towel thing.

QUOTE:If you see that the nurse you got report from charted that she had flushed a lock and you had removed the lock the day before, write up an incident report. If you yourself know that a med error was made, write up an incident report. If a pt tells you "The nurse I had last night never even checked on me and I needed pain medicine," yet the chart states that the pt reported being pain free, tell the pt he can contact patient relations, or get pt relations in to talk to him." Happy incident report writing!!! Could it be possible that the nurse made an honest mistake and confused a patient with a hep lock with an iv-less patient in her charting? Did the med error cause the patient harm? Did you see the nurse give the wrong med? Is it possible that the night nurse checked in on the patient who appeared to be sleeping and instead of waking them up to ask them if they needed a pain med--let them sleep? Have fun with your reports. Guaranteed your co-workers will be waiting with bated breath for your first noticeable goof.

QUOTE:I was floated at 11:00 pm after the first four hours of a 7P-7A night shift. The registry nurse who was being sent home early gave me report. Charting was done for the entire night until 6:00 am the next morning! I did ask how this could be and was told, "I have a pretty good idea what the urine output will be based on the NG feeds and piggybacks." Then tore the chart in half, threw it in the trash, and copied the 7-11 part on a new flowsheet. I asked this RN to wait while I called the supervisor but was refused. The supervisor made the RN as "do not send" but said it would be too much work to report the incident. I filled out an incident report. The next day I wrote the registry with facts of the incident. The wrote the Board of Registered Nursing the facts as I knew them along with the torn chart. I have no idea what became of that nurse. Would you want a nurse so dishonest caring for your loved one?" You know---eventually karma will come back to you, my dear.

I checked off things I was supposed to have done when I hadn't when I was in the hospital. This bothered me at first but became easier after a while. It was a matter of professional survival. You really don't want a chart going to court that has lots of stuff uncharted---like q 15 minute limb checks for restraints, or a q 2hour neuro check that you missed because you were too busy running up and down the halls like a maniac trying to take care of 12 or more patients. Lawyers just love it when you don't chart crap like that. I worked in a nursing home for about 2 months---the worst job ever. False charting---- often including charting meds you didn't give--- was rampant. When you're passing meds for 30 to 50 geriatric patients all of whom take a slew of meds, it's just a way of life and a means of surviving the shift without loosing your mind. You just skip the patients that you know are going to fight you about taking their pills anyway and sign off their meds. This was just too dishonest for even jaded old me and so I left. Thank God for home health nursing. And to whoever started this thread---you just go ahead and report your fellow nurses. Guaranteed when you make a little screw up, they'll pounce on it. Best to mind your own business and do your own job as best you can.

Same old, same old. Want a better life? Get out of the hospital.

Only if she agreed to stay far away from hospital or nursing homes jobs.

I am personally of the opinion that the hospital would rather not know about med errors if they are minor and not known to anyone but you the nurse. They have to tell you in orientation to write every little freaking thing up just to cover their orifices. You have learned my dear. Next time only tell your husband or priest about it----but don't tell anybody else if it's minor. Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.~Dag Hammarskjold Constant attention to paper work will keep you out of court---even if you suck as a nurse.--- Nurse Karenna

Quote: "I followed my error with an incident report, and now my standing in med administration is in jeopardy." You made an incident report about this?! A freakin lortab?!! Get real. Stay in this field long enough and you're bound to make more mistakes. I have worked so so so hard on hospital floors, knocking myself out trying to take care of everyone, staying hours after my shift was over to nurse the paper work, putting on the happy nurse face for patients and families when I just wanted to run away from the hospital and never come back.. Girl, med errors just happen. Best to keep med errors to yourself and hope for the best. Think I'm a bad nurse? Well there's lots more like me where I come from. Left the hospital scene in 2003 after 12 years of misery and ain't never going back. karenna;) Quote:"Wow..that is over the top. All that is going to do is make people NOT report their errors." Ya think?