I JUST GOT WROTE UP FOR NOT SCANNING A BAG OF D51/2 NS!!!!
A WRITE-UP!?!?!?! And I'm still in ORIENTATION!!!!
I actually remembered pulling the bad under my name from the pyxis and giving it to my LPN to scan and hang... and yet and still... I get wrote up for it.... I understand a narc (because if u pull a narc, u give it), but a d*** bag of D51/2???
I'm soooo teed-off right now... I just can't believe it.... and I've NEVER had a record of ANY disciplinary action taken against me :-(
Will this affect me with applying for other jobs? Is this even a legitimate and normal reason to "counsel" someone?
I am getting so bent outta shape about it because I was simply helping someone else, who was also helping me... The bag was indicated for the patient, and more or less (as mentioned earlier), the only reason why I got reprimanded for it was because it was a 153 dollar loss to the hospital...
Also, we are in the process of transferring from paper to electronic... Believe it or not, they also tried to pin me for 2ml of morphine, and a 500 ml bag of ns (BUT because I went back into the past emar, I actually found the documentation where I had to override these meds (because the ns was for a stat blood transfusion and the morphine was also stat)
So really... it was a computer's issue because those were not seen... I just, don't know... I will try to forget about it, but my lesson was learned... definitely...
How can it cost the hospital 153 dollars when the bag was scanned???
The electronic trail was there to properly charge, it just involves 2 instead of one person.
Since the med was pulled from the pyxis by you but scanned by the LPN, you get written up? If they are going to be that picky they might as well right up the LPN for scanning a med she did not pull.
This is silly.
When working nights there have been many a times that a nurse has pulled a PRN med for me and I scanned it. Example: I am in a isolation room and need zofran. Time consuming to degown and wash up when all I have to do is get a another nurse to pull it for me. Its called team work. Not a med error.
I agree if this is policy there is not much to do but it is a strange policy. Must be alot of loss where you work to be so picky.
Even so, let is roll off your back. This won't prevent you from doing anything.
By the way, my hospital has implemented a reward policy for write ups by giving candy bars and some other recognitions. I find it insulting. Some people are trying to find ways to write up others for the "recognition".
I barely have time to get my legal charting in much less follow others to write them up. Some things are just not worth it.
OH NO, the tubing went 2hours past due to be changed. Whatever.
This is not a medication error. The RN pulled the fluids out of the Pyxis and gave them to the LPN, who scanned them and hung them. The correct medication was given to the correct patient at the right time and documented as such.
I agree with a previous poster who said this was all about reimbursement. I do NOT think this is a legitimate reason for a nurse to face disciplinary action. If it is hospital policy that if "you pull it, you give it", then there needs to be education on this policy, to ALL staff, in a nondisciplinary manner.
People on my floor forget to scan the fluids all the time. As long as they hung the correct fluid at the correct rate, it's no cause for freak out. It is a tad annoying because it's hard to enter the patient's input in the computer (have to do it manually) but I wouldn't pop a hemorrhoid over it.
Sounds like one slip up won't fly on your floor though and it's a shame they had to write you up to communicate the expectation. Keep you head held high, learn from it, and scan fluids like a madwoman in the future.
I should add, I do think people should be scanning the fluids and I do but I don't think it's cause for write up if someone forgets to every once in a while (as long as the correct fluids are going at the correct rate of course).
The hospital said it was a loss, but if they could connect A to B (and see that a pt. on d51/2 running at 75/hr would only get 1 bag per shift), then they would see that pulling two bags in one shift would not make sense...
So yea, if anything, they want to charge the pt. twice for a bag.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Why would it be about reimbursement if it did get scanned?
It sounds like the hospital policy is that the person who pulls the med is the one who has to GIVE the med. So, while perhaps not technically a med error, it was a divergence from hospital policy, a policy which was put in place as a way to better insure patient safety.
Why would it be about reimbursement if it did get scanned?
It sounds like the hospital policy is that the person who pulls the med is the one who has to GIVE the med. So, while perhaps not technically a med error, it was a divergence from hospital policy, a policy which was put in place as a way to better insure patient safety.
Don't kid yourself. It is about money.
As the OP said, they can't connect A and B when they do their audits of the EMR for reimbursement, because the software doesn't work that way.
How can it cost the hospital 153 dollars when the bag was scanned???
The electronic trail was there to properly charge, it just involves 2 instead of one person.
Since the med was pulled from the pyxis by you but scanned by the LPN, you get written up? If they are going to be that picky they might as well right up the LPN for scanning a med she did not pull.
This is silly.
When working nights there have been many a times that a nurse has pulled a PRN med for me and I scanned it. Example: I am in a isolation room and need zofran. Time consuming to degown and wash up when all I have to do is get a another nurse to pull it for me. Its called team work. Not a med error.
I agree if this is policy there is not much to do but it is a strange policy. Must be alot of loss where you work to be so picky.
Even so, let is roll off your back. This won't prevent you from doing anything.
By the way, my hospital has implemented a reward policy for write ups by giving candy bars and some other recognitions. I find it insulting. Some people are trying to find ways to write up others for the "recognition".
I barely have time to get my legal charting in much less follow others to write them up. Some things are just not worth it.
OH NO, the tubing went 2hours past due to be changed. Whatever.
Positively revolting, insulting and demeaning...yet why am I not surprised that there are nurses who are actually participating in the above. The subjugating and herding of nurses is so easy, a couple of candy bars, a gold star and pat on the back, yes good doggy.
Specializes in Flight, ER, Transport, ICU/Critical Care.
op - i would try not to let this take too much more of your time or energy. i get it - is was a process error. no patient was harmed in anyway. keep that in mind.
i am concerned for you in a way. you noted that "they" tried to pin you with 2 others errors that you were able to defend. that is what concerns me. 3 errors - and they got one to stick over a missed charge?? and they even told you what the bottom dollar loss was - amazing! you note that you are still on orientation - and we all know that orientation is a real "trial" (or trail by fire in some places ) period. i'm not advocating paranoia, but is there something else going on here?
most places can (and will) let someone go during orientation for any number of reasons. but, most all take the time to get "their ducks in a row" before they do that. most that are looking to "rid" themselves of any employee will have every infraction they can find written up and will make it look like a pattern of bad exists. i'd bet that you have discussed this at work and if you are getting any feedback from peers that indicates "disbelief" over an error as you describe ending in formal written discipline - well, that tells you something. it seems an "odd" write up given your orientation status - where was your preceptor during this time? - any chance that you are in a probationary period instead of a strict orientation period?
if you are on probation and not orientation - i can see more sense (but not that much) in a write up like this. if you are indeed, still with a preceptor and this write-up got this much traction - a preceptor had to be involved in some way. i have seen very few folks written up during orientation for any reason - (and this write up seems to be a bit of a stretch) and most write-ups that happen during orientation periods happen because 1. there was serious error and there has to be documentation of corrective action to protect the hospital, preceptor or 2. the employer is starting to compile a paper trail that will lead you out the door sooner rather than later.
now that may very well not be the case here - and i am not trying to make this worse for you - i just want to make sure that you don't get too mired in the "outrage" of this certainly minor mistake (one that certainly could have been handled via verbal reprimand) and keep your eye on the "big picture".
it is what it is. if you are indeed moving out of the area, just let it be. this write up will not follow you. use it as a learning experience and don't beat yourself up too bad. resolve that you will go forward being a better nurse for having had this "learning example set for you".
if you are going to remain at this employer and looking to transfer to another department and "just know" that this write up will hinder all your future prospects - you are getting stuck before you need to be. most all places that i am aware of will look at information like this in context. are you an otherwise safe, competent and dependable nurse? are you flexible and able to adapt to changes? are you easy to work with and willing to take criticism and turn it into inspired changes in your clinical practice? do you peers enjoy working with you - are you a team player and willing to help others - yet ask for help when you need it? the point is ---that a hospital will do what it wants to do and i have never seen a single simple incident write up hold a rn "hostage" in a department when another department really wants her. the bottom line - this will only serve to really hurt you in options for transferring jobs within the hospital if the facility wants to use it as their "reason".
you note that you are new nurse and some of your other posts have a "concerned" theme. most all of us have had a period between when we start out of school (ready to conquer the profession - i know i'm going to be a great nurse - i am smart, compassionate and i was a great student, and i wanted to be a nurse since i was 3, and i was top of my class, and my peers voted me most likely to be the next florence nightingale, etc...) and the reality of that first job hits us (they expect me to do what? and they have such an unsafe place here and they have a real staffing problem and lots of turnover and patients and their families tell me they have "issues" with this hospital and don't they know....). point - our expectations about the nursing profession before we start working in it are rarely what we find in reality.
i would offer you this advice.
it is what it is. fair? necessary? maybe not - but, it is over and done. how much more traction this gets is now up to you. drop it and learn from it.
i would let this issue go. do not discuss this at work - i'm sure you have already shared this with your "circle" the rn preceptor and the lpn involved - and now - let it be. it is done.
go forward - keeping your eye on the big picture. this is a tough job market in many areas and you do not need to get any real "baggage" that may travel with you - regardless of where you go.
recognize that this is a period of your career that may set the tone for the rest of it. you are new and will be learning a lot of things. i promise that what may seem difficult to impossible will not be that way forever. a year or two of experience changes your views. you don't know what you don't know - but, be committed to finding out what you need to learn every day.
if the following does not apply to you - great. just ignore it -- maybe someone reading it will find something familiar and it will "help" them. not trying to offend anyone - and there are volumes of cautionary tales on here -
if you are "over sharing" at work with your new co-workers - stop. i'm not saying you are, but i have seen many come into a new spot and in trying to make friends and fit it asap they talk too much. way too much.
these folks do not know you - you have been there less than a couple of months - and they are not interested in your success, hopes, dreams, plans or theories of nursing. really. relationships take time to develop - don't push it.
if you are there as a "starting point" till something better happens for you and you are sure to get your brass ring - keep it to yourself. there are many that are "stuck" in this spot that you are certainly going to get out of as soon as.... folks, some folks only joy is watching others fail or get stuck and they really delight in others broken dreams and "failures". sad - but true. many are stuck in some spots and they are where they are because something did not work out. i have met more than a few bitter, miserable ones who only get energized by watching another of the sure to be "successful ones" fail. point is - head down, mouth shut and work hard. never give out too much information. odds are - folks have their own things to deal with and won't be that interested in you - but, on the off chance you do raise the ire of another - do you really need the problem? and most always you will will not find out you are dealing with one of these "toxic avengers" until it is too late and the damage is done. just avoid it. it is easy to do and you will will never regret keeping quiet and working hard - let your success be an inspiration (and surprise!).
if you think they have been working in a snake pit of impossible demands - keep it to yourself. they likely already know and for any number of good reasons - they are where they are. resolve to make it a better "snake pit" - you will be respected and will endear yourself to them.
if you find that patients and their families are sharing their "views" of the hospital being bad with you more than rarely (once in a blue moon, if ever) - ask if you are giving any signal to them that you are open to such a topic for discussion. many of these same "complainers" may well contact administration to complain - and you never want administration to hear that you played in part in this issue. patient/family complaints should be met with - "i understand that you are upset/may be having a problem - what can i do to help you? i'll be happy to call our supervisor/admin on call/patient satisfaction ombudsman to talk to you - i want you to be well cared for and i'm sure your opinion/issue is important! and then call in someone above your "pay grade" to "help" work through this situation. never ever discuss or acknowledge that their "issue" is valid. patients/families sometimes "twist" things for their benefit and you never want to be a part of that.
never ever complain about your job, demands, ratios, hours, co-workers, doctors, managers or other patients to another patient or their families/visitors. actually, never do this anywhere except for your home with your spouse , mom or other very close confidant. if someone "overhears" you in a supermarket line and can identify you - you will get credit - and likely will be given "other" issues to really complain about. i have seen this very issue - ruin several folks. most folks do not care what happens to you - but, if they can take this tidbit of info and add it to their issue - administration may get wind of it. this type of issue may follow you.
recognize that nursing is tough. being a new nurse = double tough. have a haven of comfort and security to go to after shift. i do not take things home very often and make sure that my home is a refuge. cultivate friends outside of your profession - talking "shop" makes it hard to shift gears. down time and perspective are essential.
yep, it is long and you may think i am just mean or what you will - i am not - and i am not a hater and do really like to see folks learn and succeed. i wish you success and trust that you will eventually find a spot in nursing that challenges you and rewards you. that is this very best thing about nursing - there really are near countless options. be blessed in the journey.
Wow! That is ridiculous. Who has the time to waste to write someone up over not scanning an IV fluid! That is so petty I don't know what to say to that! Sounds like our hospital educator that likes to write people up at the drop of the hat! On top of the fact if the LPN was hanging it how did it become your error, other than the stupid system that wants to blame the RN for everyone else's carelessness.
That is really unbelievable. Someone has too much time on their hands and I hope you can transition to a better unit or workplace where you won't be subjected to such petty write ups!
By the way, my hospital has implemented a reward policy for write ups by giving candy bars and some other recognitions. I find it insulting. Some people are trying to find ways to write up others for the "recognition".
I barely have time to get my legal charting in much less follow others to write them up. Some things are just not worth it.
OH NO, the tubing went 2hours past due to be changed. Whatever.
I think that is very sad, and I hope fellow coworkers would not be so easily bribed to write each other up over petty things for a candy bar! Are you kidding me! That is very insulting! Wow, just wow...
) period. i'm not advocating paranoia, but is there something else going on here?
tmartin83
105 Posts
Thanks, again, yal.
I am getting so bent outta shape about it because I was simply helping someone else, who was also helping me... The bag was indicated for the patient, and more or less (as mentioned earlier), the only reason why I got reprimanded for it was because it was a 153 dollar loss to the hospital...
Also, we are in the process of transferring from paper to electronic... Believe it or not, they also tried to pin me for 2ml of morphine, and a 500 ml bag of ns (BUT because I went back into the past emar, I actually found the documentation where I had to override these meds (because the ns was for a stat blood transfusion and the morphine was also stat)
So really... it was a computer's issue because those were not seen... I just, don't know... I will try to forget about it, but my lesson was learned... definitely...