So Stressed & Aggravated At My Job

[shining_star28463]

I have posted a few times before about my physicians office job as a LPN (the receptionist promoted to office manager because the hospital could find no one else for the job and the office being so disorganized..etc...) and it seems like now every week it's some different nonsense to deal with.

So, anyway this is what happened today. I get confronted about a patient that left the office Friday because he had to wait too long to be seen about his back pain and went to the hospital. The patient went and signed in with the receptionist as a walk-in then went back to the parking lot to his car because he had a massaging seat in his car. He told the receptionist that he would come back in and check with her to see if he'd been called back. No idea of what type of car he was driving or where it was parked and the parking lot itself was full. I went upfront and called the patient's name several times and no one answered and that's when I got the story from the receptionist about the patient going to his car and he'll be back in to check with us and blah-blah-blah. So I told the receptionist that I was going to pull the next patient back because I'm not going to run this patient down in the parking lot when there is an entire roomful of people waiting and when he comes back in let me know so I can call him. I went back upfront at least seven times and called the patient's name and there was no answer and in between this I continued to triage the people that were waiting in the lobby. Then I got called into the room for dressing change that at least took an hour and that's where it ends with me.

So today, the office manager told that I should have went to the parking lot to find the patient or sent one of the other nurses to the parking lot to find the patient when the patient wasn't in the lobby when I called him back even though the patient said that he was going to come in and check with us and that she has to write me up. No matter that there was a lobby full of people waiting to be seen or that the other two nurses were busy. I should have pulled the nurse from her telephone callbacks or the other nurse from her patients to search the parking lot or I should have gone myself to search for the patient in the parking lot. Apparently after I'd left for the day the patient's mother (patient is a middle-aged adult) came into the office and complained because he had to wait too long and they were going to the hospital. Don't ask me why the patient's mother couldn't have in checked to see if he had been already called back (more than once) or if he couldn't have checked to see if he had been called back like he said he would.

So I went and talked to the nurse practitioner since she is supposed to be the advocate for the nurses to argue my case and according to her I did not use sound nursing judgment and she support me being written up. She said that when I came to the patient's name and he wasn't in the lobby I should have looked for him since the receptionist told me that he was in his car because his back hurt and he has a massaging car seat. I told her that I do not agree with this because it's ridiculous that anyone should have to go searching for a patient in a parking lot when I have no idea of car he is driving or where he is parked and it is not my responsibility or the responsibility of anyone else in the office to run a patient down. Apparently because it is only "one time" and "one patient" and "it doesn't happen all the time" this is something that the nurses in our office is supposed to do. My argument is where does the patient's accountability and responsibility come into play and should my nursing judgment extend to the parking lot? I guess I will receive the paperwork regarding the write-up tomorrow, but I refuse to sign it and I am writing a rebuttal. Am I wrong or does anyone agree with my position?

[Zookeeper3]

Now I've never worked in a doctors office, but have been a patient in them many times and have never hear of such a crazy thing let alone thought it was reasonable to even request this as a patient.

I'm a firm believer in limit setting with rediculous requests. Now because the receptionist had already allowed it, I might have given a wave outside with my but in the door, HOWEVER... if and when the patient saw me and returned I would have said loud enough for the full waiting room to hear that this instance was the one and only time that would occur and all patients are to be present in the waiting room or miss their slot.

Meanwhile, no other people would get the idea that this was accepted practice. Monday night quarterbacking is always easier though.

Now I'd speak with the manager to have some limit setting with the receptionist.

[Katie5]

Everyday I read one thing or the other going on in nursing. So, they wanted you to go to the parking lot and search for a patient? Would be different if you had initially seen the patient and could recognize him. Because now, all you're essentially doing is combing for a nameless and faceless ( to you) person, whom you don't know.

[canigraduate]

Man, this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. With that level of idiocy, that practice isn't going to stay open long. Start looking for an escape route, NOW. Seriously, what kind of morons do you work for?

[mudd68]

I agree with the previous posts regarding not signing and also not looking for pts in the lot. Who's to say this guy wasn't being a jokester and driving around the block, stopping back in, then driving around the block again. Unlikely story...but so is a nurse going out to a full parking lot to look for patients.

[nursel56]

Wow. (warning to all - speculation to follow) I see this patient as a whiny spoiled mama's boy brat who chooses not to mix with the riff-raff, he views you and the doctor more or less as "the help", or the maitre-D who happily kisses his @ss and fetches him from the lounge when his table is ready. He feels no particular need to tell anyone what his car looks like, because it's a Lexus with all the trick goodies in it like massaging seats.

He wasn't happy with the service, so he sent Mommy in to help. Both of them complained about the crappy customer service, so the staff sold you down the river, including an NP who is either stupid or malicious. I'm gonna take a wild guess that she has a financial stake in this, why else would a fellow nurse stab you in the back like that? They don't even have the &*^%* courtesy to let you know up front the guy is not in the waiting room as you call repeatedly. They -s-ck, real bad.

The only other possible reason for this happening is that the guy really did come back and check, and the receptionist withheld that information from you for God knows what reason. Or that he did describe his car to the receptionist who again would be trying to sabotage you.

Sorry for the rant, the speculation, etc. just makes me so angry. . . OP- the NP is full of it. I wouldn't sign it either.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

is this a NP that never practiced as a NURSE?...yes they do exist, i have run into at least one....they can have the mini god complex like some docs......and no it wasnt your job to go hunting in the parking lot.....good luck

[mesa1979, BSN, RN]

OMG, the whole office seems to be full of nut jobs.....why do you continue to stay?

[RNKITTY04]

Im sorry but I would tell the NP to stick it. Your "Nursing Judgement" has nothing to do with walking thru a parking lot looking for patients. They are going to keep treating you like crap if you let them.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Did this man not have a cell phone? Seems this whole situation could have been avoided..........

[caliotter3]

You know this is just plain stupid as well as unsafe. Nobody does this anywhere for anyone. I have been ignored when I was sitting there right in front of them and they continued to call others for hours after I had checked in. At about the six to eight hour wait time, I would wise up and leave after having walked up and checked at least once an hour. Do you think for one minute these people would have gone to a parking lot looking for me? The patient had no concern for being seen, otherwise he would have waited in the reception area where he had a chance to be called. Or he could have given his cell phone number to the receptionist for a friendly reminder call. Write up a rebuttal, it should not be hard. And I agree with the poster that says you should start looking for a better job. It won't get any better if they want you to wander around parking lots.

[ShawnfromMn]

I agree with you 100%. I would not sign either. Here is another scenario for you --- what would have happened if you had a Code inside the clinic and you were out in the parking lot searching for this patient. You would then be written up for leaving your post. I would suggest discussing this further with your supervisor and physicians. If they insist that this is part of your job then a protocol should be written up outlining who is responsible and the safety measures to be taken. i.e. walkie talkies to communictate with staff within the building, what to do when it is dark ect. Good luck

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

Also agree (although I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who'd DISagree)...don't sign! It's a load of bunk! Just another example of "customers" (coughchokecough) who expect to be catered to. I hate this crap. I think the "my car has a seat massager" is nothing but a line, too. I think he perhaps wanted to smoke a cigarette or something, but nothing more than that. If he really needed to be seen, he could have waited along with anyone else. He didn't have an appointment, that's what you get. If his pain was seriously that bad, then he should have gone to the ER. Did he think THEY would have gone out to the parking lot to look for him? Absolutely not. Even if he had given a cell phone number to call when it was his turn, I wouldn't have gone for that. You aren't there when you get called, you get passed over. That's how it works. Anywhere. People need to man up. Ridiculous. Until clinics start handing out little buzzing, light up pagers like restaurants do, you wait within earshot.