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.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

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 get tired of people using the "McDonalds Coffee Incident" as an example of litigous stupidity.

That coffee was WAY too hot, the plantiff was very seriously burnt. She would have had a serious burn simply from taking a sip. The damages she was awarded were deserved.

There are so many more truly absurd cases out there. Its tiresome that this case is trotted out so often.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

No it wasn't smart. There is no "law suit pending" My manager simply stated she "could" bring one, like anybody "can" bring a suit about anything. Tks for the empathy.

Yes, but the patient could bring a lawsuit over the fact a male staff member was alone in her room with her cleaning it. And that certainly had nothing to do with you. However, lets focus on the tape thing, so that the alone with the psych girl get pushed aside.

SIGH.

You can only learn and go from here. But the entire thing stinks.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

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.

It's not about the tape for the patient it's being touched by male personnel that is NOT a nurse. If this patient was raped by a male that resembled this man....and he touched her leg.....she didn't know who he was but Knew he shouldn't be "down there" touching her...it isn't a far stretch

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Thank you Nurse Betty

Your reply made me feel a lot better. The deed has been done ( I was fired) and I don't think anyone will be going to the board of nursing. The Don was present and my nurse manager along with a HR rep who was supposed to be my advocate. They were alluding to concerns about me not practicing safely going forward. I have received corrective actions (education) 2 x before this for basic job knowledge. Again, I am a NEW nurse, who handles my job duties with efficiency and autonomy because my charge nurse is usually no help. I am looking at this as a CYA from now on AND will be careful about patients, staff, managers and every damned body else. I am in Florida, no union. In the interview, I was lauded for my confidence and demeanor in never seeming to fluster as a new grad RN with the intense pace of the floor. Tks, yet got a backhanded compliment with "my never asking questions scared the manager". Um.. what? So.. maybe it is best that we separated. It seems like the place was not nurturing at all.

Always remember HR is NEVER your friend.....2 previous incidences...they were gunning for you....take this and go forward.

I am so sorry you are going through this.....but gt malpractice insurance people are crazy out there. It's worth the $200.00 a year.

[NottaSpringChik, BSN, RN]

Phoenix2541, I really applaud your attitude. You are accepting responsibility and self-assessing in a constructive, positive way. Whether you should or should not have been fired is a moot point since you were. But I so admire the candid post so others may avoid similar mistakes. Good Luck going forward and keep that positive, resilient attitude. Hopefully you will continue to visit AN and let us know of your achievements and insights in life and nursing.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

I think this is a ridiculous reason to fire you! Honestly they are overreacting and this makes no sense if you ask me! Did the patient freak out when the housekeeper taped her bandage? Did she complain or what? Sounds like there was no support there so you are better off finding a different job. WIsh you luck for a even better job!

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, 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

OK, this changes things. Definitely a learning experience. Sorry you were terminated.

[GM2RN]

Always remember HR is NEVER your friend.....2 previous incidences...they were gunning for you....take this and go forward.

I am so sorry you are going through this.....but gt malpractice insurance people are crazy out there. It's worth the $200.00 a year.

Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. HR is management and on the side of your employer. NEVER trust that they will look out for your best interests. It's a total conflict of interest to have HR represent someone in a case like this.

Definitely look into getting your own insurance if you don't already have it. And USE it if a situation like this ever happens again.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I'm still wowed by Housekeeping putting tape on the pt. I can barely get them to clean a toilet! I haven't met one yet who would actually touch a pt.

Sorry to hear you got fired for this. They spent a lot of $$ to train you and to let you go over that seems a bit over the top. I'm quite sure you will never okay that again whether or not you continued you employment there. Good luck to you.

I too believe they were out to find a reason to get rid of you. HR representing you is comical.

[HappyWife77, BSN, RN]

I wonder why the housekeeper did not tell the appropriate person- who could have handled putting the tape on?

[HappyWife77, BSN, RN]

So sorry you didn't get a chance to keep your job. ((hugs)) However take it in stride, its a fact where one door shuts, many others open. :)

[adventure780, BSN, MSN, RN, APN]

that really is a shame, however I agree with the others your job did you favor I lost a job once due t one patient's complaint and the urologist complained about it and they all were asking me why I didn't do it the way they showed me, I told them i was in the room every 30-40 mins or less emptying out the patient's foley, what else could I have done, I had five other patients needing my care and no CNA to help anyone with Adls, it was all me