Well.. I guess I am going to be canned

[Phoenix2541]

Hi all

I am a new nurse 4 mos off orientation working on a med/surge nuero floor 6 patient ratio. Its a brutal floor and yet.. I manage to survive albeit exhausted and oft times just disillusioned with the Candy Land notion of nursing I had in school.

So, what did I do? I let someone work outside of their scope of practice under my watch. Yes and now I have to go to Human Resources to have an interview b/c said patient has a PTSD issue (pysch) and it could potentially turn into a law suit. A housekeeper applied tape to a bandage, that was the practice outside of scope and told me and I didn't report it to my manager, who later found out.

I apologized to the patient, management and see the error in my ways and am now feeling like a dang fool. So, pray that I can salvage my job, but I think I will get the boot.

[redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN]

I believe the suit is frivolous, but I thought the McDonald's coffee suit was too. Duh, coffee's hot. Don't spill it!

I think the patient & her lawyer could possibly make enough noise that the hospital offers them a settlement just to make them go away.

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Totally off topic, but you brought it up. Ever seen the pictures of the lady parts and groin area of the woman who spilled McDonald's coffee on herself? The coffee was Not. Drinkable. Caused third degree burns. Totally negligent to heat coffee to that temperature (to save a buck, mind you) and serve it through a drive thru window. It's not a matter of "coffee's hot." I encourage people who know nothing about that lawsuit to do some research on it if you're going to use it in your daily life as a debate point. Maybe watch the documentary "Hot Coffee" available on Netflix. The pictures are less than 30 minutes into the movie.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Thanks for your responses guys. Sigh, I did not include this piece of information. The housekeeper was in an isolation room cleaning and when the patient asked if I could come in and apply more tape on her bandage, as I was gowning up, he said to me" you want me to do it". So this is where I made the fatal mistake, I said ok. I watched him and the issue is a) she has a pysch background, b.its a she and housekeeper is a he, c. did he even change his gloves. (I didn't see that part), Lastly, I did not critically think about the ramifications of this and this is a patient safety issue and he was non nursing staff. So I got canned. I am bummed of course, but I have learned from this and will not make that kind of mistake again.

Tks

Ah...

Unfortunately, you were at fault; management did have a valid concern about patient safety.

I think firing you was extreme, though. They could have handled this much better while letting you keep your job...it definitely sounds like they were wary of a lawsuit being filed--in this litigation-happy age, people have filed lawsuits for far less. So they probably thought the best way to avoid that was to sack you.

If you didn't have it already, get malpractice insurance. No, it won't help you with this job, but it could help you if there is a next time. Hopefully there won't be a next time...

I'm sorry this happened. Best of luck with the job hunt.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

Ummm...how would this case hold up in court? No harm was done. Sounds like this is more about the OP's safe practice rather than a potential lawsuit. I think this should have been handled differently. The blame should not have been pinned on a potential lawsuit. If the OP is off probation, I think the OP suing the hospital for wrongful firing will hold up stronger in court than the patient suing for PTSD over a piece of tape.

[MommyandRN]

This is ridiculous,you should not have been fired! And yet I could see this happening at every hospital I have worked in. They have to cover their own butts in case someone sues. God forbid.

Best of luck to you in your future career endeavors.

[LakeEmerald]

So sorry this happened. Hugs to you. Lesson learned. Dust off your butt and move on.

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

I'm sorry you got canned. Had this been an isolated incident, I would think firing you an overreaction, but it sounds like this was your 3rd strike, so to be honest, I'm not too surprised. I am sorry though, and hope you bounce back soon.

[dansamy]

Totally off topic, but you brought it up. Ever seen the pictures of the lady parts and groin area of the woman who spilled McDonald's coffee on herself? The coffee was Not. Drinkable. Caused third degree burns. Totally negligent to heat coffee to that temperature (to save a buck, mind you) and serve it through a drive thru window. It's not a matter of "coffee's hot." I encourage people who know nothing about that lawsuit to do some research on it if you're going to use it in your daily life as a debate point. Maybe watch the documentary "Hot Coffee" available on Netflix. The pictures are less than 30 minutes into the movie.

I have never seen the pictures. I am aware of the detail that the coffee bordered on molten lava. The serving temperature was under McDonald's control and was indeed too hot.

It also comes down to prudence on the customer's part as well. I assume that coffee is hot. I don't put the cup of hot coffee in my crotch. I put it in a cup holder. I also don't try to drink it while driving. There was certainly some ill-advised action on the customer's part.

I know people who now don't order hot coffee at McDonald's because they find it too cool for their tastes. I prefer iced coffee drinks, so this particular issue never affected my coffee consumption. :-D

It's not a debate point. I think both parties were responsible for their contributions to what ultimately led to the customer's injury. I think the prudent thing to do would have been to cover medical expenses with no punitive awards.

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[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

It also comes down to prudence on the customer's part as well. I assume that coffee is hot.

Yes, we are in the OTZ (Off Topic Zone).

I assume hot coffee is hot, but I certainly don't assume it's hot enough to cause third degree burns if I spill it on myself.

[dansamy]

Yes, we are in the OTZ (Off Topic Zone).

I assume hot coffee is hot, but I certainly don't assume it's hot enough to cause third degree burns if I spill it on myself.

I assume that it's at least hot enough to cause second degree burns.

My husband does this ridiculous floating thing to keep from spilling his coffee because he DOES like molten lava coffee. He's only spilled coffee maybe once or twice.

And yeah, we're way off topic. The court ultimately decided that suit was meritorious & awarded damages.

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[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

World of difference between second and third degree burns, especially on the genitalia.

[dansamy]

True.

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[BrandonLPN, LPN]

New plan: Get myself admitted to the hospital and then trick the housekeeper to put a piece of tape on me. Hello Easy Street $$$.