Write ups and feeling bulling by staff

[Elan84]

Hello Nurses, I need some words of hope and some inputs from some good experience Nurses now that at work I really can't trust anyone.

I have been having a really tough time at work, I work at night and I am in total control of this charge Nurses that don't do nothing but report everything you do to make you drawn. I recently receive my first write up on December 30th blaming me that I discharge a patient and in the papers given there were other peoples papers in it, I work in the ED.

In the ED sometimes the charge Nurses discharge the patients and then ask you to chart the discharge for them, well as a rookie first lesson learn I won't never do it again. As an addendum the write up included that lab wrote me up for sending the Urine and vial of blood together in the same bag, blame I took with pride I won't never do it again. The lack of techs and the help provided because I am a new nurse is minimal and I screw up. This is my first write up and I took it as a learning experience, after all I hope it would be the worst of my mistakes and I did not kill anyone.

Then February 2nd another phone call from management, I am always so afraid, because really not having a good time and I don't feel comfortable with the staff any question I ask or movement I do gets reported by charge nurse and is very very intimidating. Well this second write up is what I want guidance from you experience nurses. I really feel they are picking on me to get me fire just because I don't know why they just don't like me.

The situations presented to me are the following:

- On January 29th, 2015 at 0645 (6:45am) I received a patient complaining of chest pain and complications.

- At 6:45am I received the patient and placed her in a room, initiated triage and placed her in a gown.

- Although my shift ended at 0700(7:00am), I finalized caring for the patient by ensuring protocol was met and placing the patient on a cardiac monitor at 0704 (7:04am) as documented in the chart.

- After placing her on the monitor and based on her condition, she was complaining about chest pain and palpitations, for that reason I delegated the ED technician to perform an Electrocardiogram on the patient and followed up with him to make sure it was done.

- At 0715 (7:15am) I handed off Report at bedside to the day Nurse on duty. At this point my duty ended and the respective patient was in a stable condition. There was no complaint presented to me at this time.

Based on the given facts above, I believe that I have completed my duties as an RN in full and with a professional and timely manner towards the respective patient.

Then on February 2nd, I received a phone call from my Manager, asking me to come to her office to discuss the presented scenario with me. Manager and (Chief Director of the ER) said the patient in question presented to the ER on January 29th at 0645 is a RN and is claiming that I did not place her on a monitor in timely manner. I explained with facts, based on my chart that I performed all my duties on timely manner, even though my shift already ended. I also explained that I handed off the report at bedside. If the monitor wasn't placed in a timely manner, then it would have been corrected at this time.

I still were forced to sign this write up that in top of that had the issue with the urine and the blood one more time and as explained by the manager was because at the time of the first write up the ESRM report was not ready and because now is it needed to be address again and really makes it sound like I did it twice when I just did it once.

Now I texted my manager this morning telling her I want the copy of this disciplinary actions I sign and she very mean reply check with HR you can have those copies but you are not allowed to take any patient information outside the hospital big big accusation ;-/ very very scared I have been crying and feeling very sad thinking I chose the wrong profession after working so hard to get here... any thought experience nurses ???

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

YOU may not, but how about your co-workers working with YOU? I admit it, I had a hard time following your post the way it was written! Personally, I think the "bullying" card is played too quickly, and based on the information given so far, I'd say that's the case here too, sorry.

No! I have no writing nor reading comprehension problems. I was may be frustrated earlier and I used my phone to write this blog, but what being a second language has to do with anything? yes I do speak and write three other languages but is been a big plus in my life never a barrier. The bullying comes with techs helping all the older nurses and not me, mean and rough comments from more experience nurses, including the charge nurse. I totally belive that my patient that day was helped fast enough from the door to EKG 15 min is not bad, not counting that patients BP was 125/72 and HR 71 and 100% O2 sat total stable patient finally sent home with some xanax ...

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

I lose a little respect when a nurse resorts to name-calling. Just saying.

I am a new nurse and I have two and only two chage nurses for night and both are lazy and unfair, lately I get all patient while all other nurses aren't busy... and that morning I had to do all for the patient, I gave handoff report at0715 at bedside and acording to my charting patient was on the monitor, the complaint came after i left that patient was never in the heart monitor, in that case Day nurse should of addressed at bedside at time of report right?. In my hospital pTients have to take monitors completely when they go to tge bathroom or testing, many thing could happened After i left my shift, I wasn't there to see who was right, but day nurse washed her hands with my name :-(.

[Elan84]

Thank you for the replys, ill take all this in conciderarion. I also believe in tge resign resouce too. Thank you all for you honest replys. I may be upset now about the write up and not thinking clearly, for sure a learning experience.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I want to be clear, my patient WAS on the monitor when I left. physically and in chart. The management is not questioning timing, is saying patient was not on the monitor. But all this happened after I was gone, day nurse got bed side report, and she notice patient in monitor that's why she had nothing to do at this time. Later she forgets to put patient in monitor and is easier to blame into night nurse who was only with patient for 15 min

To see whether or not the patient was on the monitor one only has to look at the monitor. It keeps track when the monitor is in use. I have always been in the habit of documenting the original strip on the record.

I'm confused.....

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

I have interpreted this scenario as this nurse put the patient on the monitor, the day shift either ambulated the patient/took her somewhere/something else and took her off the monitor, the day shift nurse got caught with the patient off the monitor, and the day shift nurse stated that the OP had never placed the patient on the monitor at the first place to shift some of the blame.

As for the urine and blood thing? I do that too so the patient's stuff goes down together - I just bag the urine, and then re-bag the urine in the same bag with the blood, so there is some extra protection should the urine spill. That sounds like them just being ridiculously technical. I don't think that should result in a write-up.

It does sound like they are creating a paper trail. I would be very worried, OP.

[pookyp, LPN]

I think they should have talked to you and let it have been a lesson learned. Not a write up, as you are a new nurse. I dont know.

[jacksonleo]

I work night shift although not on an ED but on the floor. The day shift nurses constantly put the blame on the nightshift because we are gone and not there to defend ourselves. This happens all the time and in all the hospitals I have ever worked in. The OP is just another casualty of this huge problem.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I work night shift although not on an ED but on the floor. The day shift nurses constantly put the blame on the nightshift because we are gone and not there to defend ourselves. This happens all the time and in all the hospitals I have ever worked in. The OP is just another casualty of this huge problem.

This has nothing to do with dayshift vs. nightshift. It has do with not getting an EKG (and putting the pt. on the cardiac monitor) within the timeframe specified by the unit. If this had happened when dayshift was handing off to nightshift, the dayshift nurse would be in water just as hot as what the OP is in now.

[Gooselady, BSN, RN]

Sounds like a terrible place to work, regardless of 'bullying' or lazy charge nurses being unfair. It's a bad match with your skill set and temperament.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

I want to be clear, my patient WAS on the monitor when I left. physically and in chart. The management is not questioning timing, is saying patient was not on the monitor. But all this happened after I was gone, day nurse got bed side report, and she notice patient in monitor that's why she had nothing to do at this time. Later she forgets to put patient in monitor and is easier to blame into night nurse who was only with patient for 15 min

"Report given to oncoming nurse XYZ. Patient is on cardiac monitor, EKG complete, #18 in RAC. Labs drawn and sent. MD aware, RN aware. Pain assessment completed a bedside, rating 6/10 at this time, no new orders. Vitals _______ at this time."

Yes, seems a bit over the top, but CYA. One of the "benefits" of bedside report is for both nurses to see that these things are complete and patient is monitored. So document it before you leave.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I don't see any bullying, nor do I see that it's necessarily a bad place to work. The OP is a new nurse, and new nurses make mistakes. We all make mistakes. The OP also has difficulties in written English communication, possibly in oral communication as well. That is probably part of the issue. I appreciate that the OP speaks/reads/writes three languages -- and I'm envious -- but her written English is difficult to understand and that may have contributed to her issues.

To bring "bullying" into the discussion is rather silly, though. The OP made a mistake, was told about it and should learn from it.

[Elan84]

I am very worried :-(