What happens to the nurse?

[jessnurse05]

What happens to a nurse when he/she gets written up? I'm a new nurse and I was working last night. I got report from the day nurse who isn't brand new, but I can tell that she hasn't been working for too long. She told me that I had an admit who had just come up. Ok, not the best start of the shift, but no big deal. Well the charge nurse came up later (she's charge for two floors) to start an IV for me on a different pt and she somehow found out that I had admitted this pt. She told me that she was going to write up the day nurse because the pt had gotten to the floor at 5:30 and she should have already been admitted (my shift starts at 7). Well I remembered that the pt had immediatly left the floor for an MRI and had just barely gotten back while I was getting report and that's why the other nurse hadn't started the admission (if she had started it and not finished, I coudn't go in the computer and finish it). The charge nurse decided not to write her up. But what would have happened if the day nurse had been written up? Is it a huge thing? I'm afraid of being written up because I'm new and sometimes I just don't get everything done on my shift. Also, the other nurses make it sound like such a big thing, I've had nurses give me their phone number so I can call them in the middle of the night to come in if I find a mistake that they made.

Jessica

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

I have been written up only once, and for a stupid thing! I had three places to sign on MAR's for each b12 injection I gave at this ALF I worked in. I was on my second week, and didn't know about the useless third book! (I mean come on!!!!!!). We had to sign one place...pt mar, second place nursing treatment book, third place was a billing form MAR for nursing services...I didn't know about the last one! Now...I not only charted in the nursing notes on each patient that I did it, signed two of the MAR's...but also put it in the nursing communication book! HELLO, no doubt I gave them if you looked!!!!!

I got a call into the office stating they couldn't tell if I gave them so that was a med error. Fine fine fine..whatever! They gave me a verbal warning..yadda yadda, and it was put in my file to gather dust till the end of mankind in their facility! Big whoop! I didn't really care!!!! (it was beyond silly to me!!!!!!!).

Anyway...usually I hear it goes into your employee file and gathers dust unless you continue to be written up then they add up till someone notices your file is too big..LOL! Heck, that has to be the case since I have written up some horrid folks and they never got fired!

Of course all this is dependant on what was done! That changes things a bit!

[Sis123]

What IS it with this strange pathological psychology?

How can we nurses make this stop?

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

WOW...that would be a trick wouldn't it...to make the fear potential stop towards...A PROFESSIONAL!!!! I never understood why I and nurses like me are treated about the same as someone that didn't turn in their homework on time! "well that is an F, and it goes into your school file for all time"...give me a break! I don't see that happening to a lawyer...."oh bad lawyer, you forgot to initial this spot...I am writing you up and you could loose your practice!"....

Nursing is quite a balance between caring and treating...and good ol CYA! And usually those two match like oil and water! With the ever lumbering dark cloud of "youuuuuuuuu will loooooooseeeee your license" spoken in some medievil torturous snicker...not what I consider very professional or respectable..or heck...something anyone would wish to get into (ie nursing shortage). I treat my dog better!

So alas...what could we do?

[kersti]

As an (of yet) outsider looking in, I find the whole business of writing up absolutely absurd! It is necessary to have safe guards in place to make sure that if somebody is working irresponsibly or dangerously that it can be stopped. But it seems to me that most of the writing up is really nitpicky and serves no greater good. If I discover that the nurse ahead of me forgot a teensy detail in one place, but documented it in another, so it's obvious that it was completed, then next day, when I see him/her, I'll let them know and then they can complete it.

Jeesh! It would be much too complicated to write her up. Besides, how is that supposed to foster a feeling of being a team, if I'm always busy, looking for somebody's mistakes? (and let's be honest- we all make tiny mistakes all the time- we're human!)

[RNKITTY04]

Good one Triage, and you are right, not one day goes by at work were that phrase is not uttered by someone about something.

Makes me want to scream: ALRIGHT ALREADY, HERE'S MY FRICKING LICENSE now go away.

My only thought of stopping this crap is union. But if you even breathe that word (down here in the swamps) they show up on your front yard buring things.

[Zachary2011]

Let me tell you my view on write ups, First anyone can write up anyone else (at least at the hospital I work) regardless of the situation or person. It seems anyone can say and write down anything they want to about another person. Some nurses are just more then happy to write everyone and everything up, These nurses have no business being in the profession. We are all in this together and unless you know of someone doing something intentionally to a pt. , family member, or another employee please dont get happy with that pen and paper. Most nurses I have seen do this are out for revenge, or possibly because now they may have to get up and do something. They ***** cause they dont have enough time ,yet they will spend 2 hours writing someone up instead of taking care of there pt.s. I have never written someone up in my life and if something happens to a point I feel the situation needs to be addressed I will come talk w/ you, and/or your supervisor. I work in an ER one of top 3 busiest in Texas, and some floor nurses, really only 2 nurses, get all bent out of shape when they get a pt. from the ER so they look for every reason in the world to write that ER nurse up. I simply reply to them............. You work in a hospital, you are going to get pts., if you can't handle that leave. Or they want you to wait untill next shift or 3 hours later to bring that pt. up........... well I am sorry but we cant tell the ambulances, helicopters, and pt.s from the streets to hold that MI for a few hours, or to not get shot in the chest untill Nurse B%$#H has time to accept you upstairs.