Looking for advice

I would think that an agency doing something like this out of the blue is a real "gotcha" and I would not accept it as an employee. Our DON does chart review on a regular basis and brings deficiencies to our attention. If there are specific issues either agency wide or with select individuals, then they are dealt with. The agency presupposes good faith efforts from employees and the respect is mutual.

This is so crazy, here I am on the Internet, a speechless person. Can't even type.

Quick response from my phone to hopefully give you perspective and make your day go better..

I'd bet the farm you misunderstood. I think think more than likely they instructed the data entry staff not to correct the existing errors, not to intentionally create errors of their own making.

From my experience as a manager, there are staff who chronically make the same errors and/or omissions and data entry staff (I've worked on paper and witnessed this many times over from both sides) are correcting errors of licensed clinical staff. Huge waste of resources when it's all added up. We used to try different measures to improve clinical staff's omissions and errors, this is a very familiar story that plays out in every agency.

Does it make clinicians bad for these errors and omissions? No, we're all human. But we still need to attempt to improve and having you progress your own *uncorrected* work might help clinicians both catch and prevent the same old errors.

First off thank you for your reply and I wish that were the case, but I didn't misunderstand anything. I promise you I would have never thought anyone would do this either but here we are. After it came to light and management was confronted about it we were told that the purposeful errors were in fact added by the data entry to remind us to thoroughly read over the plans of care before sending to the physician for signature. Which yes, this is obviously very important, but to me, there are much better ways to go about getting this point across than purposefully adding and subtracting information from a patients plan of care.

In that case, short of resigning which I would strongly consider, present a unified process improvement that your team clinicians agree with and will take personal accountability.

I would definitely tell your manager that, besides being absurd, a non clinician planting errors threatens patient safety.

The whole reason to have double- and triple-check systems is to reduce the chance of error. To put in a deliberate error actually removes a layer of safety and defeats the purpose of double checking. This is the most out-to-lunch thing I've ever heard. To whom is the agency accountable? JCAHO? I think it would be worth dropping a word to them. On your way out the door.

Yes to this!

I'm sorry they are doing this; unfortunately I worked for a home health company that was toxic as well, and more than willing to throw nurses under the bus. Other than the advice above, I suggest CYA in EVERYTHING...confirm anything you are told with e-mails, print them out and keep them in a file at home. I was thrown under the bus by two regional managers and unfortunately hadn't kept the proof. I'm in a new job now (that was the beginning of the end for me too), and tho I trust this management...I'm still keeping emails, schedules, etc. Take care.