What to do about nurses who neglect their patients and their responsibility??

Nurses General Nursing

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I work with a nurse that does nothing but sit behind the desk and charts pages of nurses notes. How can you chart care on a patient you only see one time, especially in CCU?

She had a post-op pt that was 92yrs old who had pneumonia before surgery and we could not keep his sats above 90%! She did not turn him for her entire shift on two nights in a row.

She had a pt with a radial art line that was leaking/bleeding instead of attempting manual pressure she sandbaged it and gave him a hugh hematoma, she had orders to pull it if it kept bleeding or quit working. However she "Wanted the BP's from the line as long as it continues to work".

On another occasion I was in a room with my pt cleaning up his bottom (GI bleed) and my other pts IV started beeping. It was a NTG gtt and our pumps do not stop they run at KVO while they are beeping. She sat on her buttocks behind the nurses station talking to the house supervisor and allowed the pump to beep until I was done (10 min later)! I guess my pt my problem!!!

She emails the entire unit about how messy the nurses station is and how people form their opinions on what they see first yet she has never got up stocked a cart, emptied trash, taken out laundry, cleaned a room, etc. I could go on and on!

Yes it has all been reported to the boss and nothing was done:confused:

I agree with Nur20. You have been doing everything right. But you have to face facts (and it seems that you *have* done) that if your superiors have some reason for taking care of your coworker, then they'll get rid of you in order to make taking care of her easier.

So, you've done what you can do, and you can't advocate for any patients if you end up burned out and/or embroiled in lawsuits or put your license in jeopardy.

Best luck

Dennie

I know how you feel. I work with people like that but I am finally learning that it is not my problem, it is there and I cannot do anything about their poor care. Think about the patient that says to YOU...where have you been all week, you are great, you spend so much time with me, you have taught me so much...any of those wonderful sentiments that keep you where you are.

What I have to do is, when I see them sitting all day, I remind myself that thier A#%#^ will spread, not mine :-)) and then I go spend time with my patients.

There is no Eutopia, but we can create it in our own mind.

Good luck to you, and when you get frustrated with your coworkers, give yourself to your patients. :)

Good luck to you, and when you get frustrated with your coworkers, give yourself to your patients.

KateWright , what a wonderful way of thinking . I'll try .

Document, document, document. Make copies of incident forms that you complete for yourself (in case the others get "misplaced"). There has to be someone else besides you that observes her work. What about when patients are transferred out to other units? Certainly the nurses on the other units notice stuff not completed. What about the doctors? Have any of them complained about the care she gives? What about her patients? I don't think JCAHO would approve of her denying patients pain meds. I can tell you one thing, if I had her for a nurse and was having post-op pain and she called me a wimp and denied me my right to have pain meds, heads would roll!! I would demand that the DON be called right away. Not the shift supervisor, but the DON and the administrator. I would lodge a formal complaint and follow through until appropiate action was taken. If this nurse is as bad as you say, I can't believe that a patient or a family member haven't complained to the higher ups. I know of families that are so paticular about things that if you look at them wrong they will report you!! Maybe if you do find another job, you will be able to tell your present employer why you are resigning. Evidently, this nurse just hasn't upset the wrong patient yet!! Hope all goes well for you in whatever you decide!!!

Do you know what I always say? "What goes around, comes around!" and I firmly believe that someday when your co-worker is sick and in need of care or in need of a pain med to relieve her suffering, she will encounter what she dished out...absolutely nothing. People who have no compassion for the sick, injured or the infirmed need not be in the nursing profession. And if it were me, I'd let her know it. Then you go for those interviews and get yourself out of there. You get to the point where you just can't stand it any longer and then it's time to take action and it doesn't matter what she thinks, says or does! You seem like a very caring person and I'd be proud to work with you any day, any time!

Originally posted by KatWright

I know how you feel. I work with people like that but I am finally learning that it is not my problem, it is there and I cannot do anything about their poor care. Think about the patient that says to YOU...where have you been all week, you are great, you spend so much time with me, you have taught me so much...any of those wonderful sentiments that keep you where you are.

What I have to do is, when I see them sitting all day, I remind myself that thier A#%#^ will spread, not mine :-)) and then I go spend time with my patients.

There is no Eutopia, but we can create it in our own mind.

Good luck to you, and when you get frustrated with your coworkers, give yourself to your patients. :)

;) You have a wonderful way of looking at things. I will try your suggestion.

By the way if her back side spreads much more than it has she will not fit in the chair. I guess she has been neglecting her patients for a long time.

deespoohbear,

Everyone keeps telling me to document. Where am I supposed to document this stuff. I have every email I have sent to management and higher up. Is this what you are talking about?

:confused:

There is only one other nurse that works with her on a regular bases and she just told me this morning that this particular nurse slept all night. The down fall is that both of these nurse sleep during the night so one will not tell on the other. This other nurses states that she does not check on her work because it is not her job. I did not check on her work either It just happened that with the ones I did report I was in her patients rooms more than she was.

I do know that one family member demanded that this nurse never enter her room again and this was reported by family members but nothing ever became of it. With our post-op recovery pts family is not usually at bedside so there is no one to tell on her except for the pt who is coming out of sedation. Who are they going to believe!

The manager on the med-surg unit is taking all for her nurses complaints to the DON which is also the manager over CCU and the one I have been complaining too. I has done no good.

night owl,

Thank you. I do care about patients and I feel that there needs to be some kind of screening for people that want to become nurses. Patient neglect will come back to haunt her I am sure I would just like to be there to see it.

I just got an email from my boss that the persons investigating my complaint will be at work to see me Monday morning. I do not intend on holding anything back.

My relation ship with this nurse is only professional and I have decided to point out her neglect to her everytime I see it in a professional way of course. I will no longer bite my tongue. What she is doing is wrong and I can not care for her patients and mine too so as long as she works with me she is going to be encouraged to do her job professionally of course.

I am still going another interview next week and if I do leave everyone will know why I am leaving including her!!!

The Unit meeting came and went. They did not mandate OT or 12 hour shifts and they are not going to schedule us over our status. Too many people said they would walk. They had us put up suggestions.

The lazy nurse that neglects her patients is being investigated and they are talking to every nurse that works CCU. She is ticked off at me:o

I will have to let you know how it ends.

She has won, she is free to neglect her patients all she wants too. They said she has been a nurse for a long time so she has to be taking care of her patients. If I knew I could tell the family about it and not get in trouble I would! She can sit behind the desk and sleep in peace now because I quit. As of Dec 17 I am going to registry. She is no longer my problem and it is not my license on the line anymore. I like the way management closes their eyes to patient neglect. It is a sad world when nurses are aloud to neglect their patients and get away with it!:(

I have been reading your posts with interest from the beginning. It is sad to say but the writing was on the wall for her to win.

I have seen this crud at work at my place as well. She is a warm body on NIGHT SHIFT that is what is important. Like they said she has been a nurse for a long time and so she CANT BE INCOMPETENT..........BOY are they blind.

I have seen the same stuff. The girls will see the patient once and then rush in in the AM to fluff up the patinet so they look good to day staff. That way they think no one will catch on...............and the truth is they don't.

GOOD LUCK IN REGISTRY>>>>>>>>>YOU ARE FREE>>>>>I WISH I WAS

Specializes in CV-ICU.

Terrie, I am sorry this turned out the way it did. It has allowed a nurse who neglects her patients to continue to do so and has driven a concientious nurse out of that facility. Keep your documentation at least for 3 years, though. (Maybe longer, I'm not sure how long would be wise- ) You could still be called as a witness for the prosecution in a case if a patient was harmed under her care (or sues her for calling him a wimp!) while you were there or if there is a lawsuit showing a pattern of negligence against that hospital.

Shake the dust of that place off of your shoes and move on to a brighter new future. I do wish you luck; and I also hope that you have learned some new ways of dealing people and situations. Sometimes the learning experience is worth the bumps and bruises.

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