Shocked...Confused...& Terminated=SAD "(

Nurses General Nursing

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i would like to start off by stating that i have never been terminated from any job position i have ever held...until today. i have always had a great reputation at work and never had any issues at any of my jobs...including this specific job. i am going to be very brief and vague in my description in order to avoid possibly giving to much information. with that said...i am just going to briefly give a description of my actions which apparently led to this termination in order to hopefully recieve feedback and some direction. here goes...

today only 30 minutes into my shift at the immediate/urgent care facility i work at part time i was interrupted in the middle of carrying out an order by the physician which was to apply a wet to dry dressing on a patient. i didn't even start applying the dressing yet when the medical assistant barged into the room screaming for me to hurry up and follow her. i asked my patient if she would be okay in waiting here and had her sit completely back on the exam table before leaving. as i followed the ma out of the room i ushered for another ma who was standing in the hallway looking at me to stay with the patient and make sure she was okay until i returned. as i followed the ma down the hall i began asking her to tell me what was wrong. all she kept repeating though was "i have no idea what happened i left her alone for only 5 minutes." when i entered the room the patient was slumped in her chair with one other ma and a receptionist propping her up. she obviously had a vasovagal response to something. i immediately had the ma's assist me in laying her down flat on the floor as i elevated her feet and pulled an ice pack from the drawer to place behind her neck/head. i told the receptionist to go and get the np or md and she stated the np was at lunch and the dr. was doing an exam. i reassured her that it would be okay to politely nock on the door and let him know what was happening. she hesitated before departing. i than grabbed an ammonia tab and had an ma begin waving it under the patients nose in order to try and awake her. i than did a rapid assessment. the patients airway was patent with no signs of obstruction. breathing was normal and even with no shallow or labored breaths. patient was perl. her bp and pulse were low. there were no physical signs of trauma or of a potential allergic reaction. the dr. entered the room, assessed the patient, asked me what happened, and than had me start an iv. he had an ma retrieve the atropine and than gave me the order to administer the medication. i asked if he meant im but he was clear that it was through the iv. i politely refused as this was not in my scope of practice. he looked at me as if i had spit in his face. i tried to explain myself but he rebuked me and asked me to leave the room. i went back to my patient completed my order and continued with my work. i was called into his office 45 minutes later and was informed that i was being terminated for insubordination with a possibility of neglect. there was a huge debate that followed but i will not get into that. it ended with the office manager and the np stating to me once the dr. left the room that they were sorry and that i did nothing wrong. they even said that i can use them as a reference and they would both call around to other urgent care's who had an opening.

i have been there 1 1/2 years. never have i been written up or anything. i am so sad. i have no idea what i did wrong. on a good note; i already was offered a job at a small private urgent care by a pa who partially owns the clinic. in addition i also currently work for my local hospital part time. he was contacted by the np at this job.

i want to know if i should have done something different in these circumstances in order to have avoided this outcome. i admit i am not the most experienced in dealing with situations like this so i know my former coworker who is an rn probably would have been more helpful...but i did what i could... any feedback would be appreciate.

respectfully,

nrselucky

Specializes in Women's Health.

You did the right thing. You should never jeopardize your license, scope of practice, morals, etc.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I am so sorry you are going through this.:hug:What a jerk....he should have given the atropine. In this case atropine IM would not have helped the situation and you were right to refuse acting if outside your practice. I would seek legal counsel for wrongful termination.

The MD eventually realized he was wrong in asking you to do something out of your scope of practice (assuming you are an LVN). Possibly decided to get rid of you due to his arogance and inability to accept that what he requested was wrong. This is where the union would have played a role. I am so glad you have another offer. You did what is right(assuming you are an LVN) in the sight of God. I wish you well.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

while i in no way want to minimize what happened to you, i can almost understand the md's frustration. here was a patient in a code situation and the only nurse he had in the room was refusing to push the drug the patient needed. was there anyway you could have prepared the drug and handed it to the md to push? i've done that in similar situations without getting into trouble. i sympathize with your situation, and wish you the best of luck in finding another job.

Specializes in nursing education.

Better scenario- you say you cannot give it, he has you hand him the syringe, and pushes it himself (don't care if he even actually grabs it out of your hand, no need to be polite here) and actually cares more about the patient than about his ego.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
If he put his hands on you to shove you backwards on your butt, that is battery. You should press charges. Fix his God wagon.

It's assault. Battery is causing someone to fear for his/her personal safety. I would have filed charges for that.

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
It's assault. Battery is causing someone to fear for his/her personal safety. I would have filed charges for that.

You have it backwards. Assault is to threaten someone but not actually touch them. Battery is to actually make physical contact with the person.

Legal definition of Assault and Battery.

OP: I'm sorry this happened to you but you did the right thing for the sake of your license. I would get a lawyer both for the wrongful termination as well as the doctor laying hands upon you.

Specializes in ED/ICU/TELEMETRY/LTC.

What a jerk. You embarrassed him because he had his head you know where. Sue his socks off, and have him charged with battery. It's time. And no I don't agree that you should have drawn it up and handed it to him. It is against practice everywhere I have ever stepped foot no to administer what you haven't drawn yourself.

You did exactly the right thing.

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

I do not agree with the decision to terminate you -- it solves nothing.

But I am very concerned with the lack of immediate action to rescue this patient, and I suspect that is what freaked out the MD. The assumption of vasovagal syncope ... supported by what? If she was simply found unconscious after a 5 minute period, any number of things could have happened. CVA. TIA. Dysrhythmia. Seizure. Hypoglycemia. OK, the seizure is unlikely if she remained sitting in the chair. But I would have liked to have seen some more urgent action. Get IV access. If you have an EKG machine, monitor, or even an AED ... connect it to the patient. Check a blood sugar. And I would like to see some understanding on the part of the MA that an unconscious patient is a reason to interrupt the doctor, NOW. Was someone calling EMS?

Specializes in Peds, School Nurse, clinical instructor.

If you truly liked this job, why not see if you can talk to him about it. While it is no excuse whatsoever, sometimes people (myself included) fly off the handle and make very poor decisions.Since this happened yesterday, hopefully by now the Doc will have figured out the error of his ways. If not, move on with your head held high, you did nothing wrong. :rolleyes:

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

sounds like the MD was taking it out on you that his patient was going bad. He probably did not know what to do either!! I see that a lot. Anyway, one day you will be glad you are out of there. I believe you tried your best but nothing would have appeased this MD

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
. And no I don't agree that you should have drawn it up and handed it to him. It is against practice everywhere I have ever stepped foot no to administer what you haven't drawn yourself.

You did exactly the right thing.

I completely disagree. Codes/emergent situations require more than one set of hands, period.

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