Should I report to DON or State?

Nursing Students CNA/MA

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ugh..during work tonight I found out that the dayshift left a patient that has a colostomy with no wafer or bag...just shoved towels against the hole and went home...they said they couldn't find any..(it took us 5 whole minutes).....that poor woman just lay there with regular laundry towels wedged into a hole in her side all day long...pathetic...should I report this to the DON of the nursing home or just skip her and report to the state?

You need to report this stuff to the Charge RN when you find it. Unless it is dealt with there and then, it's mighty hard to prove after the fact.

When you saw it, you should have told the nurse about it immediately. If you were the only one who saw it then you have no proof and the aide will deny that this ever happened. Anything that feels wrong to you should be reported. If I come to my night shift and I see a single resident still in his/her wheelchair, the first thing I do is tell the supervising CNA. I am not taking the responsibility for someone else's mistakes or overlooks.

Tell the nurse, DON, administrator, other aides, or whoever else so this won't happen again. If that happened at my facility, the aide would be fired on the spot (hey, they fire aides who won't change residents' drooled/wet shirts). This is just disgusting.

you should of def. NOTIFY the charge lpn or rn in this case. its imperative that you notify someone when you feel uncomfortable in any situation.

Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

Ask yourself some questions. What are you trying to accomplish? Who is best equipped to directly address the problem? What will happen if you report to state?

And finally, is the action based on what's best for the patient or is it based on anger.

Its only right that you report to the charge nurse or your supervisor as the case maybe.....that is outright wrong & risky healthwise....

I hope by now that you've reported it to somebody. Just think if someone had left your dad with a towel essentially stuffed into an internal organ.

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