Do you take home your worksheet with information on it from your shift in case someone has questions or you forget to chart something you have your facts with you? The hospital I used to work for told us to do this. I was fired from my new job for doing this after being on the floor for two days! They said I breached confidentiality.
I wanted to do this as a poll but I did not get the prompts to fill in so I do not know how to do it LOL.
I thought I would move this topic to general discussion but I do not know how to move a thread either LOL.
Yes noney I have another offer in 24 hours and several more interviews. This scene was done at the nurses station in front of my coworkers, students and Dr.s. I was humiliated to say the least.
I worked in a big hospital where it wa underestood that youwould ispose of safely the worksheet you use for the day. If (however) you did a late/early you were foolish to not keep the worksheet folded in your pocket for the next day.
Confidientiality relies on the individual. If you dont tell the so called "superiors" your necessary work practices ( to save time and promote continuity of care) then EVERYONE is safe!
We keep all our units worksheet in a big drawer on the unit, that way if nurse Y goes home I can pull her worksheets and maybe figure out an answer to a question. This is especially helpful if I can't reach the nurse at home. The drawer gets emptyed when it gets full and the stuff gets shredded.( This is usually a 4 days or so later depending on the census)
Our sheets are to go in the recycling box for shredding at end of shift - doesn't always happen, no one checks. I am sorry to hear of your situation renerian it doesn't sound pleasant - I'm sure you're going to be much happier elsewhere. jax
I am so sorry you were the butt of such unprofessional behavior on the part of the employer. I know that the HIPPA law is being violated everywhere. I know you have better things in your future and they will sorry they lost a nurse of your ability. Good Luck on a new job. Keep us posted.
I am so sorry that you were fired and humiliated for such a small oversight. When I was in LTC gereatrics I was having a problem with charting that management did not like but was appropriate and honest disappearing. I called state and asked them what to do about it as I knew it was illegal for the facility to change and falsify nursing notes. At anyrate this is what they told me. It is illegal to leave the facility with any paperwork that may contain confidential info. What they however did recommend was to utilize the lockers provided in most facilities and to purchase my own lock. Then to copy documentation that I was worried would be changed or disposed of and keep it in an envelope in the locked locker. I was informed that as long as I did not leave the facility with it it was a perfectly legal practice. I would think this would be a good thing to do with your worksheets as well. We have all been called at home and asked questions on things we may not remember. Keeping the worksheets for however long you are comfortable with sounds like a good idea and may someday save your orifice. Just get a locker or some such so that you dont have to leave the facility with it. As for the job you are better off with out them they are beneath you.
Our facility says anything with pt name on it has to be shredded. Buit my supervisor recommends keeping your notes for six months in case of something coming up. And there are not lockers for all staff, not at all. So you have to take them home. Or shred them. Damned if you , damned if you don't.
I am so sorry you were fired over this. I used to do the same thing, then finally decided it made more sense to make my documentation clear enough so I could review it later if I needed to. When I started doing this, I threw away the worksheet at the end of the shift. Amazingly, the "cares of that shift" went away too. I was not taking work and worries home with me.
renerian, BSN, RN
5,693 Posts
Yes noney I have another offer in 24 hours and several more interviews. This scene was done at the nurses station in front of my coworkers, students and Dr.s. I was humiliated to say the least.
I am doing better today. Just takes times.
Thanks everyone for posting,
renerian