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Discussion

Ready to give up

Okay, so I have been a nurse for two months, work in a mental health facility. I get a phone call this morning, my day off, Saying to watch my back because something was not given on Thursday, I work Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And they are trying to pin it not being given on me. ***.. How is it my fault if i wasn't even there. I am about to say screw being a nurse and go work in a freaking factory. This is stupid. Yesterday we had a patient get a lithium order BID, by the time it come through on the computer and pixis machine, it was almost 1 pm. From what i have been told is that if it is getting close to the second dose, do not give the first dose, because it might cause problems. So now they are gripping about that. I did not want to give 300 mg of lithium at 1 o'clock and then night shift give the same dosage at 7pm. I didn't know i was supposed to give it at 1 pm and chart that i gave it when the order was written. Evidently i do not know enough to be a nurse. The order wasn't written until 11am. How can i give a dose of medication, if i could not pull it from the pixis or know that it was there until 1 pm. Are nurses supposed to be mind readers and go oh the doctor is going to order lithium on so and so today.

Was I in the wrong by not giving the first dose, even though it was only 6 hours until the second dose was to be given??

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are you still on orientation, b/c if so you can always talk to your preceptor about these types of issues and how to handle them. if they really get that upset about missing one dose of medication when they know you are a new nurse, maybe that's not the best facility or first job work experience for you

When an order is written for BID it does not mean it has to be given at 7a and 7p necessarily. It just means it should be given twice a day, so you should have given the first dose at 1p and re-timed the next dose twelve hours from the first one. Do you work in a hospital with pharmacists on staff? If so, they are very good about staggering medication times until it is back in proper schedule. Finally, if you are unsure of something it is always safe to ask a more experienced nurse.

About them trying to pin a mistake made on your day off on you, how are they going to do that??? Don't quick unless you REALLY have to. And don't be too hard on yourself remember you have only been doing this for 2 months.

  • Experts

If I get a medication late on a BID 7am/7pm dosage I call the Physician and see if they will give me a one time order to give it late or whether they want me to skip it. As far as I know there isn't any way someone can pin something on you that happened on a day when you weren't on duty.

These really don't sound like 'disasters' worthy of quitting to me. Are you sure you really want this job? If this isn't your cup of tea you can always find another one but I'd suggest exploring that option prior to getting so fed up with your current job that you burn bridges. Good luck.

There is no way that they can pin something on you if you were not working that day. Try not to worry about that! The proof is in the fact that you did not clock in that day.

The protocol for some facilities is that you keep with the normal schedule for BID (in this case it may be 7 - 7 in your facility). So if the order didn't come through until 1pm, you had no choice but to either give it at 7pm or call doc and get a stat order x 1.

I am a new nurse as well and I'm telling you that a lot of (not so good) places will ALWAYS try to pin any mistakes on the new nurse! Do not let this discourage you! Cover your #ss at all cost and write down EVERYTHING! If you chart, chart, chart thoroughly then you have your proof.

Another thing, we are constantly bombarded with the threat that you will lose your license for anything. Make sure that you know the rules and regulations for your state. This will give you the confidence to know if it will be a "license" threat or just a "job" threat in the case of an error.

Trust me you'd rather lose the job then your license so know the difference by knowing the rules and regulations.

  • Author

See I dont really care, they knew i was fresh out of school when i was hired on. they gave me three days of orientation and i was working alone. and trying to orientate others. It doesn't seem fair to me that me and another person who has been a nurse for about 11 years started on the same day on my 12 day i was orienting her. she got more orientation than i did, i did everything i knew to do.

Dacia,

Calm down first off. You will not lose your job or your license just because of an error of ommision. Which would technically be the med error. As to finding fault on your for something in which you were not working? Again, rubbish, not possible.

Psych is not for everyone, that can be said about just any field of nursing. Are you having second thoughts about your job choice?

Give yourself sometime to think about what you want. As to someone who calls you on the phone telling you to watch your back. I would not consider that person a friend to be honest.

Good luck.

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