Worried that experienced nurse may know nothing

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We have hired a nurse with 10 yrs experience where I work. I orientated her last week (atleast I tried too). During my first med pass all she did was sit at the nurses station and read a book. She kept disappearing and such. I went to her and said, "don't you want to come with me on these rounds so that you can learn who the kids are and about their meds and such and what you can and can not do?" She said, "nah, I'll do it second med pass." :nono: Well during second med pass I caught her on several med errors (now keep in mind, I've only been a nurse 3 months) that involved seriously needed meds. (Seizure)(Narcotic) Well, I found out last night that when she trained with another nurse the night before she did the same thing. Well, tonight she is back and she's on her own. We (the other nurse) are freaking scared to death for our kids. Her comment was "I've been doing this for 10 yrs!" In my opinion, "WHO FREAKING CARES!!!! " She don't know these kids. She's never worked with kids that can go from stable to 'DEAD' in the blink of an eye. No one will be able to watch her tonight. What if she forgets their sz meds again? There are sooooo many things that can go wrong in a heartbeat. I've been there 3 months and I still worry something will happen with my kiddos. Are we justified in being concerned? :uhoh21:

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Specializes in ER, NICU, NSY and some other stuff.

Were you not asked for anyfeedback from your manager for the shifts you orinted this person for???

If not I would have volunteered it anyway.

Go to your manager and express your concerns before someone gets hurt.

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Were you not asked for anyfeedback from your manager for the shifts you orinted this person for???

If not I would have volunteered it anyway.

Go to your manager and express your concerns before someone gets hurt.

No...we volunteered it the following day. I even said something lastnight before she left. (the supervisor) She said well, it'll show tomorrow if she doesn't know it. :banghead:

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

V E R Y dangerous nurse.

You must document variances and dangerous acts on the part of this person. And are your ped's aware of all this nonsense??? How about risk management????

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V E R Y dangerous nurse.

You must document variances and dangerous acts on the part of this person. And are your ped's aware of all this nonsense??? How about risk management????

where do i document them? Do I keep them in my notebook? I know I wrote down what all she did that night with the meds in my notebook I keep. It's not 'official' documentation, but it's got the date and everything I had to do that night. (I take notes all night so I don't forget to chart something or give something in report to the oncoming nurse)

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At this point, I would document every single thing that you see her do incorrectly. Did your facility not check her references? If she was sitting at the desk on the first day reading a book during a med pass that should tell you something.

Do you have a risk manangement department in your facility?

She is quite dangerous and has no business being there. Does she actually have any experience with medically fragile kids? I understand completely where you are coming from.

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thanks all for the advice...i've got to head to work now..i'll keep an eye on her tonight and document everything. I'll keep ya'll advised tomorrow on how things went. Everyone just say pray a prayer for my kiddos, that she won't hurt any of them...

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Good Luck

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That nurse sounds dangerous. I tried to help a nurse once who was always forgetting to give out certain meds. I left her lots of sticky notes, reminders etc. etc.etc. but she continued to omit meds. I finally went to the DON and explained the situation to her. When confronted by the DON, that nurse tried to tell the DON that I was the one omitting the meds, not her!!!! :angryfire Needless to say, the DON ended up having to fire her. Good luck

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You have only been a nurse for 3 months and you are orientating?!?! Nothing against you or your skills, but I would think that you would still be on orientation, not the one orientating someone else!!!! I definitely would have declined.

:balloons: Jaime

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Not to mention that it would be more appropriate for an RN to orient another RN.

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I can't imagine any nurse experienced or not sitting at the desk and not wanting to observe the med pass when being on orientation. Unbelievable! :angryfire Please let us know what happens to her.

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