When your eyes and ears are being ignored

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During my shift, I was taking care of a pt. When I tried to turn the pt they yelled out in extreme pain. Pt complained that her back was hurting VERY bad. Told the nurse. Nurse said I'll give her something for pain. Few hours later. Took care of same pt. Tried to turn them. Again pt. SCREAMED out in pain. Told same nurse again. "I think that something is really wrong with this pt. she says her back REALLY hurts." Nurse says "I look at it later."

3 days later. The same nurse calls me over very concerned. Dr. is in the nurses station. Nurse asks me " What happened to that pt?" Of course, I said that I did not know and that she was complaining of back pain. Dr seems very annoyed, along with his NP. Acting very concerned, and worried this time, the nurse asked well how long has she been in pain. I told the nurse, dr, and np everything that happened, when I took care of her. Well dr ask me well did you chart what you told the nurse? YES I DID. Dr sends pt to hospital.

The kicker is, that I asked her very alert roommate what happened to pt. She said in the morning 2 TO 3 DAYS AGO (I worked swing). Pt fell while trying to go to bathroom. Two cna help her along with a nurse. Neighbor says that they go her off the floor. Nurse gave her something for pain, and NEVER CHARTED THE INCIDENT.

My gripe, is that I know that the lpn and rn are busy passing out meds. Because one miscalculation could be fatal. However, please take one second to see if what the cna is telling you. It might not be important now, but could lead to being very important later. Do not come to the cna acting concerned when the Doctor is breathing down your neck.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
Nurse gave her something for pain, and NEVER CHARTED THE INCIDENT.

Wow. Very big deal.

So sorry that treatment to the patient was delayed.

Also, because of the nature of this board, you should probably not talk about this on this board. It's a huge liability issue and you're not as anonymous as you think in here, unfortunately.

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It's actually proper procedure at any facility to fill out an incident report and notify the doctor when a fall occurs. What actions you took following an event like this are also included in the incident report. The RN/LPN who assisted this patient back to bed should have not only done this, they should have also done a complete assessment of the client to determine injury prior to calling the doctor.

Had these steps been done this patient's injuries would have been addressed. If no observable injuries were present at the time, at least the staff subsequently taking care of this patient would have been aware of the fall and perhaps this woman's pain would not have been ignored.

Definately when a CNA reports a concern such as you did, it should be addressed by the nurse. BTW definately glad you charted.

Also Angie O'Plasty brought up a good point about us not being as anonymous as we think we are.

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It is for this reason that a good friend of mine, a nurse, said "If I could give you ONE piece of advice....LISTEN to your CNA's."

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Wow. Very big deal.

So sorry that treatment to the patient was delayed.

Also, because of the nature of this board, you should probably not talk about this on this board. It's a huge liability issue and you're not as anonymous as you think in here, unfortunately.

I was just wondering Angie O'Plasty (cute name btw!):

I have been reading the board for a few months. I'm a current nursing student, so not a nurse yet. I have seen many experiences shared on what happened during the nurse's shifts....What is it specifically about this post that she shouldn't post? I'm only asking out of curiosity...so I don't make the same mistake. Should the OP not post where they live, thus making it more anonymous? Like I said, I've seen lots of stories shared, but never patient names.

Thanks in advance,

Emma

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Maybe, I am not as annomynous or not. However anyone with good snooping or detective skills could find out who or close to where an incident may have happened posted in this forum. I have read lots of things here where it finding the source could be known.

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Maybe, I am not as annomynous or not. However anyone with good snooping or detective skills could find out who or close to where an incident may have happened posted in this forum. I have read lots of things here where it finding the source could be known.

I'm sorry, but something just got me. I did erased the location of my profile. I just saw a lot of posts where a pt location of whe they live, family size, and ages of kids where named along with what happened to them. I think Angie has a problem with me mentioning that a few nurse, was neglectful. And what they choice to ignore or not do could result in a lawsuit or loss of licencse. The main point is that if things were documented the dr wouldn't of been peeved. Also if the nurse, I told would of asked the pt why her back hurt, she would not be on the Dr. bad side.

I just did not like when the nurse acted like I was neglectful or knew something that, I wasn't telling. ALSO ISN'T THIS ENTIRE WEBSITE AN VIOLATION OF HIPPA.

Sorry for being so forward.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

I asked a Moderator this question and here is her response:

We avoid using real names or locations precisely because it's all too easy for someone to find out stuff they have no business knowing....you know, HIPAA violations, privacy issues, and so on. I've seen posts on here about things that anyone who watches the news or reads a paper already knows the personal details of..........this is an area that can get us into BIG trouble.

Hope this makes sense.

THanks for asking.

Marla

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

If you have any more questions, it might be best for you to send them in a PM to a Moderator.

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If you have any more questions, it might be best for you to send them in a PM to a Moderator.

Thank you AngieO'Plasty!:)

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
i'm sorry, but something just got me. i did erased the location of my profile. i just saw a lot of posts where a pt location of whe they live, family size, and ages of kids where named along with what happened to them. i think angie has a problem with me mentioning that a few nurse, was neglectful. and what they choice to ignore or not do could result in a lawsuit or loss of licencse. the main point is that if things were documented the dr wouldn't of been peeved. also if the nurse, i told would of asked the pt why her back hurt, she would not be on the dr. bad side.

i just did not like when the nurse acted like i was neglectful or knew something that, i wasn't telling. also isn't this entire website an violation of hippa.

sorry for being so forward.

i will have to disagree with you on this, but to each its own.

i am not a nurse either and while this is not relevant, anyone cautioning you about something for your own good and safety is being very kind. :)

this site can be accessed by anyone in the world. moreover, it really does not take a genious to be able to hack into your personal info just by your ip address :uhoh3: . trust me i can almost bet you how easy it is and how little info you need to provide about yourself to be able to do it. (don't panic, i am not one :p ).

anyhow, back to the op....i am sorry for the situation and especially the patient. cna or not, everyone should work as a team and learn to listen to each other to stay in tune. good luck to you. :)

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

So, when we are posting to kinda vent, or relate work stories, or whatever, what should we do to remain more anonymous, and not get ourselves into trouble? Should we just NOT post work stories at all? Or should we not have our exact locations in our profiles? Should we be more vague about the story we are relating?.... because I will say that the OP did go into quite a bit of detail about what happened.

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