jane_34

Thanks to all for the replies. I really like seeing things from different perspectives. They discontinued that medication pretty quickly after the incident happened. Everything seems to have settled down at the present time and it's in the past for the most part. But whenever family members of this resident come to visit, they still give me the stink eye. It hurts, but not much I can do about it now.

Thank you all for the replies. Just to update you I am still working, didn’t lose my job. The resident is the same now as when she moved in. The team lead still thinks she had a stroke. They have stopped pointing fingers at me for now. I notice anytime something like this happens, everyone is so quick to throw someone under the bus, even if it’s just for insignificant/trivial things. Not sure if it’s like this everywhere or just the culture of my workplace.

Things seem to be ok. I haven’t heard anything more about the incident. I’m hoping all is well. Thank you so much for all of your input, it was very helpful and good to have a different take on it.

Thank you so much from your input. I definitely learned from this, and will know what to do differently next time. I just hope I don't lose my job.

This is long, so bare with me. I'm an LPN in long term care. We had a new admission of a resident with severe early onset dementia (with high anxiety) a few weeks ago. She was prescribed too high of a dose of clonazepam by her doctor and got snowed the first time it was given. When I came in the next morning, she was sleeping deeply and would not rouse. The night nurse reported she seemed snowed on the medication and to watch her closely. She was breathing and did not look in distress. I thought she would just sleep in late due to the medication. I kept monitoring her, checked her vitals which were stable. Myself and the RCA assisted her to the bathroom twice over the morning and early afternoon. She could shuffle her feet, but was still heavily sedated. After lunch she still wasn't waking up, so I called the RN supervisor for advice. He said to hold her other medications unless she perks up, which were also anti anxiety meds. I continued to monitor, it was 14:00 and her status was not changing. I was concerned she was getting dehydrated. I called her doctor's office, but the doctor was away, so I spoke to a locum who recommended transfer to the ER, just to be safe. So I sent her in. In the ER, they gave her IV fluids and let her continue to sleep it off. They had nothing else to report upon her return to the facility. My manager and also the team lead LPN were both on vacation when this occurred. Fast forward to when they returned, they are asking me why I waited so long to send her to the ER. They said I should have sent her right away. The team lead thinks she had an event or a stroke, not a reaction to the med, which I should have been on top of and got her medical attention faster. This team lead thinks she is leaning to her left side, but I don't see it. She seemed her usual self. The family of this resident is also unhappy about this. They say they notice a decline in the resident and blame it on my error in judgement. I feel terrible and depressed about it. I am worried about losing my job. What is your take on this situation and how do you think I could have handled it better?

You brought up a valid point, liberated847. I only told it from my perspective. I have no idea what's going on in her life, but it was no excuse for that kind of behaviour. I absolutely do not delight in someone else's misfortune. I'm sorry it had to turn out this way, but maybe it's a good thing. It will force her to find out exactly what it is she really wants to do and what makes her truly happy.

Thank you for all your replies and support. I really appreciated your input. Just wanted to say this nurse has now been fired. But she wasn't fired for the bullying, she was fired because she failed to adhere to the terms she agreed to when going off on medical leave. She thinks she's the one being bullied, and is now taking legal action for wrongful termination. I really hope I don't have to testify in court. I just want to be rid of her forever.

I am her supervisor, but I don't have the authority to fire her. That's up to my boss, the manager. All I can do is document her behaviour and pass it on to the manager. I can enforce rules and regulations, and make sure everybody is doing their job. If it was up to me, she would have been fired a long time ago.

Thank you for all your replies. Yes, I am her supervisor. The problem is that she is not very approachable and extremely unpleasant. My boss suggested I implement a rule that requires the nurse to write down the exact location of where a patch is placed, as mentioned above. It was always supposed to be like that, but it wasn't specific enough. I am enforcing it now. This patch business is not the only thing she has done. She will often call in sick at the last minute, (I know she is not really sick) when she knows there's nobody that can work, so I end up having to stay. She does this knowing full well what will happen. I've had to do this a few times, and became very close to burning out. She would phone me at home on my days off, asking about things she could easily have figured out by reading the charts. She was actually supposed to be fired a little while ago, but was able to manipulate them into letting her stay. It's interesting how some people behave, isn't it?

Thank you for your supportive reply. I will never be able to understand how one gets pleasure out of seeing others make mistakes, and actually makes the effort to help the mistake happen. Very manipulative, destructive behaviour. She is a very unhappy person. She is away on leave at the moment, and I hope she never comes back. Her behaviour is not only harmful to co workers, but also to the residents when she deliberately puts them at risk for overmedication. She clearly doesn't care about their well being, which goes against what nursing is all about.

Hello, I'm an LPN who has worked for about a year. I recently got a job as an LPN supervisor in a long term care home. I supervise care aids and other LPNs. I have this LPN co worker who is a major bully. She seems bent on trying to get me to screw up. She hides medication patches in the weirdest locations on residents, hoping I'll miss it, put a new one on, hence performing a med error. A little while ago, it happened. I couldn't find the patch, so I applied a new one. The resident was sent to hospital that same day for another condition, and 2 patches were found at the hospital. The nurse who was bullying me was working the evening the hospital called to inform of the patches. She gladly wrote about the error in the staff book for all to see. I know it was my mistake and I took full responsibility for it, but she seemed to delight in my failure. Why do some nurses have to be so unkind? Thank goodness management is on my side, and she's been disciplined several times before for her behaviour towards co workers. She's been an LPN for years, and I know she wished she had my position. She's quite bitter and spiteful actually. I just needed to vent, thank you for listening. Has anyone else had this happen? How did you deal with it? I dread coming into contact with her, it's an awful feeling when someone is plotting against you like this.