will I be sued?

[dumaralos]

I forgot to note in my nurse's notes that a family member verbalized that her dad might have UTI because his urine is very light pink to yellow in his urine bag and his newly admit and I also forgot to endorse that the patient will have a urinalysis to the next shift. will I be sued for this?

[txsummerRN]

Okay, no need to panic. Yes, you definitely should have told the oncoming RN as well as a physician and charted what you found and what you did about it. Were any labs ordered? Was the Foley left in place? What you should do now is at least call the current RN caring for the patient and make sure they know what is going on. That way the patient receives appropriate care asap which is most important. Why are you so concerned about being sued?

[caliotter3]

I doubt it. But you could be reprimanded if word gets to your supervisor. Learn from it and move on.

[caliotter3]

Get malpractice insurance if you don't already have a policy in place. That way you can concentrate better on what you should be doing, and doing it, instead of second guessing yourself after the fact.

[dumaralos]

Thanks for your advices and I learned my lesson.

yes the labs were ordered, I called the doctor and made a telephone order. The Foley cath was in place. and the nurse was already informed about it, but the family was asking for the lab results today and they verbalize their concerns yesterday. hopefully, the family would understand.

[PeachPie]

To sue, patients either need a lot of money to hire a lawyer or a darned good case. Most have neither, and only really spiteful people will spend so much time and money chasing such a small "victory" that's not even guaranteed (I'm not minimizing real cases). After learning this, I felt a lot better about being sued. I chart defensively and cover my butt, but most people who threaten openly are just rude jerks who either want to feel powerful or have heard of this really trendy thing called a medical lawsuit in which you can make tons of money just by being sick. I've had a woman who called her lawyer screaming that they were going to die and they wanted everyone to know what a horrible death angel I was (it had been 10 minutes since the CNA had taken her BG of 200, and she screaming that she was going to die of shock never mind the fact that she had one of the worst diets I have ever seen. She also blew out her own kidneys by demanding strong antibiotic therapy but staunchly refusing any Vanc and Gent troughs, or even PICC flushes because she claimed that they would put her into pulmonary edema despite the fact that she ate salty foods and drank sodas all day). One woman doing this deliberately started eating some pudding that had been left out a few hours (I tried to take it and replace it, but she was mean to the point where she called people of her own race racial slurs) screaming, "I'm going to eat this and die and it's not going to be anyone's fault but yours! My daughter knows a lawyer!" Pfft.

That said, I'd worry more about getting reported. If someone wanted to get really vindictive, they could anonymously report you to the board of nursing for battery, smelling alcohol on you, or something similar that could get you investigated.

I'm not saying don't worry, I'm saying know when to worry. Your mistake is pretty minor to a lot of stuff I've seen.

[dumaralos]

Thanks for your advices, it really relieved my anxiety. Now, I'll see to it, that I have a small notebook to write all the necessary things to do so that I'll remember doing them. hehehe..

[caliotter3]

Thanks for your advices, it really relieved my anxiety. Now, I'll see to it, that I have a small notebook to write all the necessary things to do so that I'll remember doing them. hehehe..

Excellent idea. And make yourself a checklist to go through,,, like labs, notifications, new orders, follow-ups, etc. to help you remember.

[dumaralos]

Excellent idea. And make yourself a checklist to go through,,, like labs, notifications, new orders, follow-ups, etc. to help you remember.

Yes, I will take note of it. Thanks again for your advices! This forums really helps a lot of nurses.

[caliotter3]

One time I made myself a checklist for new orders. There were five places new orders had to be noted or dealt with, so I wrote the five places down on a piece of paper to refer to every time I received a new order. It helped at the end of a busy night shift.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

It's important to remember to do everything, but we do forget some things, and we do forget to chart them or report them to the next nurse or the doctor. It's very important to follow through when you remember something, and call the next nurse or the charge nurse, so things can be done by the next shift, and not forgotten by everyone. Many times I've gotten home, or even on the drive home, and remembered something, and called in as soon as possible, to tell someone! I also make a note to myself that I made the call, including date, time, and who I spoke to about it.

[NurseNinaFla]

A check list is a good Idea :yelclap:I use one every night and I have been at this for many,many years