Verbal order

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A nurse gives you a VO she has taken from a NP. You find out later that the NP was never actually called, and did not give the order. While the order content itself was not critical, and caused no harm, he did not give the order. What happens now? Should it be reported to the state ed dept, could she lose her job?

Specializes in 16 yrs Med/Surg; Cardiac, 4 yrs Psych.
I'm rolling my eyes over the actual writing of "verbal/telephone order" in the chart. What--this is to cover either eventuality when she finally does get the dadgum order? That's sad and sorry.

As to why someone would do such a thing, my first guess is a bit of overconfidence. Many of us get to the point where we have a pretty good idea who will prescribe what. That's not a problem. But writing anticipatory orders is. There's a fine line between knowing what a doc is likely to want and ordering it yourself. She crossed that line. With both feet.

WOW...someone else who gets up as early as I do? I don't leave for work until 5, but find that if I get up at 3 I have some quiet time to myself. mmmmm....it is great!

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WOW...someone else who gets up as early as I do? I don't leave for work until 5, but find that if I get up at 3 I have some quiet time to myself. mmmmm....it is great!

I don't get up this early (heavens, no!). I stay up this late. I'm a die-hard night shifter. Even when I don't work, I stay up till about four and get up at noon. Can't shift the bio-clock too far or it starts to whine.

Have a great day at work.

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Specializes in 16 yrs Med/Surg; Cardiac, 4 yrs Psych.
I don't get up this early (heavens, no!). I stay up this late. I'm a die-hard night shifter. Even when I don't work, I stay up till about four and get up at noon. Can't shift the bio-clock too far or it starts to whine.

Have a great day at work.

Thanks! I know what you mean about the bio-clock. I worked midnights for over 20 years.

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Specializes in Nurses who are mentally sicked.
I'm not really sure what you mean when you say she stepped on toes before, and now it's a matter of getting even. I really am not involved directly in this at all, except as one of the staff nurses in the facility. The NP and the co-signing nurse are the reporters of this incident. I don't feel their reporting it is getting her in trouble, her actions got her in trouble. She has no one to blame but herself for using very poor judgment. I just wanted an outside opinion on the matter.

Normally, something like this all you have to do is to report it to a Nursing Supervisor and he/she will go from there.

However, you mentioned about the Dept of Ed. Actually, it is the BON. My educated guess is you have a problem with that nurse and this is the reason why I said "stepping on your toes." From my baby experience in the nursing field, unless you wanted someone to be out of work, and out of this nursing field, and out to a homeless shelter. Normally, no one will want to report it to an organization that has the power to take away your license...this is too extreme.

Don't forget! Today it is her...tomorrow it might be your turn. Come around and go around.

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Don't forget! Today it is her...tomorrow it might be your turn. Come around and go around.

I'd say this is something to consider if the nurse had made an honest mistake, the kind we all run into at one time or another. But willfully falsifying information comes under a completely different heading. You can accidentally forget to give a med at the correct time. But there's nothing accidental about writing a bogus order in a chart and then letting another nurse go ahead and carry out that "order." That isn't an oops. It is a deliberate fraudulent act.

My educated guess is you have a problem with that nurse and this is the reason why I said "stepping on your toes."
I don't even know this nurse and I have a problem with her. She put so many people at risk. The patient, first and foremost. The nurse who actually carried out the order. The NP who did not prescribe whatever was in question. And herself.

From my baby experience in the nursing field, unless you wanted someone to be out of work, and out of this nursing field, and out to a homeless shelter. Normally, no one will want to report it to an organization that has the power to take away your license...this is too extreme.
This isn't about whether you want someone to be out of work. It's about whether you want patients and fellow practitioners to be safe. Perhaps she shouldn't lose her license--that does seem extreme--but she certainly should have some tough consequences and perhaps some remedial education. She didn't just drop the ball; she kicked it down the block.

I understand the desire to protect one of our own, but geez, she knowingly wrote a false order. I find it odd that you're focusing on her protection, while there's no mention of the people whose safety she jeopardized.

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Specializes in Nurses who are mentally sicked.

Responding to rn/writer, I have no intention to protect that nurse; and this is the reason why I suggested bstern to report it to the Nursing Supervisor. The facility will make a decision as whether it should be reported to the BON or not. Patient's safety is always my #1 priority.

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Specializes in 16 yrs Med/Surg; Cardiac, 4 yrs Psych.
Normally, something like this all you have to do is to report it to a Nursing Supervisor and he/she will go from there.

However, you mentioned about the Dept of Ed. Actually, it is the BON. My educated guess is you have a problem with that nurse and this is the reason why I said "stepping on your toes." From my baby experience in the nursing field, unless you wanted someone to be out of work, and out of this nursing field, and out to a homeless shelter. Normally, no one will want to report it to an organization that has the power to take away your license...this is too extreme.

Don't forget! Today it is her...tomorrow it might be your turn. Come around and go around.

I'm sorry to say your educated guess is wrong. I had no problem with this nurse. I barely know her. She is new to our facility, just came from another. I think she falls into the category of one who was given a "good reference" just to leave the facility she was employed at. We all know nurses like that. I'm saying that if she is doing something like this right out of the gate, she is not worth keeping, and is a threat to all of our patients, and our licenses. I worked hard to get mine, I've maintained a good reputation, and I don't intend to have it marred by someone with no professional ethics. Would I "want" anyone to lose their job? No. Do I want to work side by side with someone capable of falsifying an order? Or work next to someone who would hang me out to dry rather than tell the truth? No, I do not. I think that someone should not be in the nursing profession if they are not willing to be a truthful, ethical person. If tomorrow turns out to be "my day", you can bet I will tell the truth and take my lumps. And that is the difference here.

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Specializes in healthcare12 years.

what did the np want to do about it?

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Specializes in 16 yrs Med/Surg; Cardiac, 4 yrs Psych.
what did the np want to do about it?

The NP would have been content to have the person warned not to do it again....but then she lied and said she did talk to him....put it in writing as well....that changed his opinion right away....now he feels as though she cannot be trusted...and would like her gone....

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