Wow. Just wow

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I'm really at a lost for words. A nurse deliberately made a med error. When she was notified by the nurse that caught the error that an incident report will be made, she had a resident write the order to cover her. Now a patient is retrieving a medication that is not indicated or needed. No harm done to patient, but it is just sad that some nurses are able to get away with this type of behavior.

[Red Kryptonite]

If it's deliberate, it's not an error. If the nurse gave a med that was not ordered, on purpose, there could be several possible criminal charges. And the doc covering it up? The whole thing sounds slimy.

[klone, MSN, RN]

What do you mean by deliberately?

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Was the medication given just once or is it now being given routinely?

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

Well what kind of medication was it? There is a huge difference, IMO, in giving motrin or benadryl before getting a doctors order and giving dilaudid. There are certain medications on my floor, for example, which are basically standing orders but sometimes get left off the MAR. Perhaps this nurse had been discussing administering this medication with the physician before an actual order was written, and then the physician wrote the order after the fact. This isn't unheard of in a busy hospital environment, especially one where the nurses and doctors work cohesively together as a team.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

You may not want to post the details here, but I'm wary of the "deliberate error" characterization. Unless you are in a position to positively say that there had been no verbal discussion with the physician at any time regarding the med. Acute care is not always neat & tidy.

[caliotter3]

Once the doctor signed the order, s/he agreed with it.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I think I need more information before I make a comment.

As a hospice nurse, I have a lot of leeway to make decisions in the home and THEN tell the doc and write the order. This is not a deliberate error.

Is there a way to be a bit more specific?

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

There are times giving a med and getting the order after is appropriate and we are expected to use critical thinking and known standard protocols to make the determination. Also, if you have a very good, long standing relationship with the doc you often know what they will or won't want done. Can you be more specific?

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I can't go into details , really wish I could. No it wasn't a critical care situation. This nurse practiced outside of her scope, admitted to doing it for years. Used a statement along the lines of "I've always done it this way".... Very sad situation.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

There is a huge difference between giving a med in an emergency and getting the order later to save a life and deliberately practicing outside your scope in a non emergent situation.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Callitor you are correct, but there is sooooo much more to the story.