I am working as a tech (CNA) while I'm in nursing school. I'm working on a family practice floor where I do my clinicals. The other night I was at the station and a bed alarm went off in the room across the hall. I ran in there to find the patient (young male) hanging on to the side of the bed with his right hand and hanging on to the IV pole with his left. His left leg was out to his side, completely straight and he had his right knee bent. Yes, he was about to hit the floor but his butt was just barely below the level of the bed mattress. With me so far.
I ran in there and tried to brace his leg and hold him up with my arm under his right arm and I hollered "help" and hit the bed alarm again so it would go off so everyone's pager would go off and the light outside his room would blink.
Two RNs came running in and were helping me to get him back in the bed. One nurse asked, "What's his problem?" but not in a rude or hateful way. The other nurse said something I can't recall right this second but it wasn't unprofessional or inappropriate.
We got him back in his bed and settled with the bed alarm back on. Apparently, he had just taken his pain meds he'd been asking for and tried to go to the bathroom. Now, this is a pretty fit looking young guy. As I left the room he asked to speak to the charge nurse and I told her everything that happened and so did the other 2 nurses.
A few hours later I went in to do vitals and I asked him how he was, did he need anything, etc. I left with, "I'm so glad you are ok tonight. Let me know if you need anything."
Fast forward to last night. I had to call my charge nurse and she asked me about that incident again. Apparently, he is now claiming that he completely fell out of the bed, flat on his abdomen and that it took us 20 minutes to get to his room. His mom is threatening to sue, etc.
Needless to say, I am totally shocked that he has lied like this. I had this guy as my patient 2 or 3 times over the past 2 weeks and he was always so cordial and appreciative toward me it seemed. I cannot figure out why he has lied like this.
Apparently, the other two nurses got their butts chewed on their next shift and so did the charge nurse until she as able to tell her full story. I'm just wondering what is in store for me when I work again and what usually happens in these instances. I'm not scared or anything because I didn't do anything wrong but I am worried that it reflects badly on us as a floor, etc.
The crap thing is that she had already went to talk to the manager / supervisor that night so this shouldn't be an issue.
At a lot of places the charge nurse is not really supervisory at all, just a staff nurse who is picked to be charge for that shift and gets dumped on just as much as any other nurse - maybe more, since they have more responsibility for the (usually) tiny differential. Some places the charge is a permanent position and part of the management team, but often not.
Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
Hm.....he wants expedient money...
but he was also on drugs....perception is everything....write the incident report...did anyone call MD? Did anyone notice any breaks? bruises? blood? No?
Who charted on him?
If there wasn't anything, well....and mom can sue all she wants, it won't go anywhere..he obviously wasn't harmed...she will want a settlement...(cheapest way)....and if the hospital is smart, they would fight it.
I know for a fact my hospital would...and inevitably word gets around that we don't play the "settlement" game.
Depending on what this patient was given, if he wasn't used to it, the medication very likely messed with his perception of time. It's quite possible he and his mother are just being obnoxious money-grubbers screaming "we'll sue" to get quick cash, but it's just as likely the medication messed with his mind if he is new to it and not opioid tolerant. I've personally had to adjust to several such meds at different times and some made me sick as a dog and almost made time telescope initially. If I went through something like that, was still somewhat drugged up when relaying details to a relative, and the relative believed me (as is probably the natural inclination), I can see how something like that could snowball without either side lying or really having done anything wrong.
I really, really hope someone involved in this on the staff side documented this in great detail. And definitely use it as a learning experience - when in doubt, TAKE NOTES. That's true for almost any profession!
Depending on what this patient was given, if he wasn't used to it, the medication very likely messed with his perception of time. It's quite possible he and his mother are just being obnoxious money-grubbers screaming "we'll sue" to get quick cash, but it's just as likely the medication messed with his mind if he is new to it and not opioid tolerant. I've personally had to adjust to several such meds at different times and some made me sick as a dog and almost made time telescope initially.
I really, really hope someone involved in this on the staff side documented this in great detail. And definitely use it as a learning experience - when in doubt, TAKE NOTES. That's true for almost any profession!
This is a good point. I would agree with you but I think this guy was initially drug seeking anyway and I am pretty sure he was taking his "regular" meds at the time. Now, I have no way of knowing if he had some of his own meds and was double dosing. I am definitely going to follow up with my nurse manager on Monday because this has bugged me for a few days.
I have only been on this job a month so I'm still learning all the ins and outs and it all happened so quickly and no one really tells you what to do in a situation like this. I am definitely learning a lot from this experience and will know how to handle a similar situation in the future. Because he didn't completely fall, I guess it never occurred to me to file a report. I guess I felt like I did when I told the charge nurse that he asked for her and I told her why. Honest to goodness, I thought he was actually going to tell her how nice and stuff we were. It never dawned on me that he was going to complain.
It is people like this guy that make us so cynical!! I just hate this!
This is a good point. I would agree with you but I think this guy was initially drug seeking anyway and I am pretty sure he was taking his "regular" meds at the time. Now, I have no way of knowing if he had some of his own meds and was double dosing. I am definitely going to follow up with my nurse manager on Monday because this has bugged me for a few days.
I have only been on this job a month so I'm still learning all the ins and outs and it all happened so quickly and no one really tells you what to do in a situation like this. I am definitely learning a lot from this experience and will know how to handle a similar situation in the future. Because he didn't completely fall, I guess it never occurred to me to file a report. I guess I felt like I did when I told the charge nurse that he asked for her and I told her why. Honest to goodness, I thought he was actually going to tell her how nice and stuff we were. It never dawned on me that he was going to complain.
It is people like this guy that make us so cynical!! I just hate this!
Oooh, drug seeker...now that's a different story. Heaven only knows what he already had in his system! God, I really dislike people like that. They give people who genuinely, legitimately need pain control a bad name.
You're doing the important thing, which is learning from the experience. In any job, you are not going to know the way things really work or be able to identify innocent-seeming situations that could blow up in your face until you've been there for a while. Don't let it turn you sour, just use it as a sort of "caution armor" in the future!
I'm so sorry you're involved in a mess like this. Fortunately for you, the liability, if any, will fall on the RN. I hope she documented the heck out of the incident. I've learned over the years that in cases like this, it's best to assume the patient/family will attack like a pack of dogs. Usually they won't, but it happens.
If I'd been the RN in this case, I'd have written a lengthy note detailing the events. I'd have filed an incident report. I'd have notified the house supervisor AND left a voicemail for my manager. I'd have notified the physician about the incident because the patient's pain meds might need to be changed. I'd have put the patient on full fall precautions.
The patient may not be intentionally lying; the narcotics may have altered his perception of reality to the point where he really believes he was neglected. Then his mom comes along and believes every word he says.
Document, document, document, any time something like this happens. And document as soon as it happens; don't wait for the family to threaten you or your words will be less convincing. In most cases, this kind of event wouldn't lead to legal action, but it's best to plan for the worst.
That's really a fallacy that no liability can fall on the CNA..more and more CNA's are being named in lawsuits. And just recently CNA's were arrested in Florida for committing Medicare fraud. Anyone can be sued...while she may not have a license to worry about, there is a liability if negligance is found. While it definitely doesn't sound like that is the case here, telling her she can't be sued gives a false sense of security.
Some people are just so sue happy. There is a family in my town who has gotten rich suing people over the years. It seems to be how they make their living. Now, they've passed the skill on to their children evidently. Their daughter in law was about 4 months pregnant, got into a fight with her husband, who kicked her in the stomach. She went to the doctor the next day and the baby had passed. Now, she is suing the doctor, claiming he didn't do enough to save the baby. And all of a sudden, everyone is denying the fight ever happened. I can only hope the doctor documented any bruising, etc.
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Chico David, BSN, RN
624 Posts
At a lot of places the charge nurse is not really supervisory at all, just a staff nurse who is picked to be charge for that shift and gets dumped on just as much as any other nurse - maybe more, since they have more responsibility for the (usually) tiny differential. Some places the charge is a permanent position and part of the management team, but often not.