writing up another LPN for med error

[luvmy2angels]

First off, let me say that I hated to have to write up another co-worker for a med error but I feel it was my job and obligation. I mean, isn't our work to protect our patients??? I say this because when I handed the med error paper to my supervisor I could tell she was a little "peeved" that I had done it. The error was nothing serious, my resident was scheduled to start a multi-vitamin and the other nurse had signed off as giving it for 3 days in a row, however when I returned to work the box was unopened and the # of pills in the box was the # that was delivered. In my opinion, even though it was just a vitamin it was still prescribed my the doctor and should have been given, signing off for ANY med that isn't actually given is a med error, or am I completely off my rocker???

[sayitgirl]

Well, I have my RN and I think the OP did nothing wrong. We are not there to police our coworkers but we are there to advocate for our pts. If the OP got no response from her supervisor then she was right to write it up herself. If everyone sloughed off a task because "it's not my job/place to do it" then nothing would ever get done.

FYI, we have been told repeatedly by our mgmt that whomever finds it reports it. My shift supervisor has much more important things to do than write up my errors

If your facility delegates RN responsibilities to LPNs, that's their policy. But you put your situation in this forum to be commented on. And when you do that, you may get positive and negative responses. That is the consequences you fall prey to when you open up your problems to allnurses.com. It is not personal, just the source of another opinion. And that is mine that I gave here and I stand behind it. God bless you with yours, I hope that I have given you insight into looking at it from more than one view.

[TazziRN, RN]

FYI, we have been told repeatedly by our mgmt that whomever finds it reports it. My shift supervisor has much more important things to do than write up my errors

If your facility delegates RN responsibilities to LPNs, that's their policy. But you put your situation in this forum to be commented on. And when you do that, you may get positive and negative responses. That is the consequences you fall prey to when you open up your problems to allnurses.com. It is not personal, just the source of another opinion. And that is mine that I gave here and I stand behind it. God bless you with yours, I hope that I have given you insight into looking at it from more than one view.

Okay, I'm totally confused. In your earlier posts it sounded like you were saying it wasn't the OP's job to report it because she should be worrying about her own work. Now you're saying that whoever finds the mistake reports it.

[TazziRN, RN]

When you get your RN I guarantee you that you will look at things differently.

FYI, we have been told repeatedly by our mgmt that whomever finds it reports it.

And stating your opinion is fine, but the tone of your above quotes is very condescending, which is what I reacted to......not what you said, how you said it.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

And stating your opinion is fine, but the tone of your above quotes is very condescending, which is what I reacted to......not what you said, how you said it.

Thank you.

BTW, how is a superior going to find a med error? Where I am only LPN's pass meds. My DON sure doesn't, and my charge nurse, an RN, will in a major pinch, but we LPN's are the ones on the carts day in and day out.

And BTW, I don't police anyone, although today I had a CNA trying to police me.

Oy.

Susan, LPN

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

First off, let me say that I hated to have to write up another co-worker for a med error but I feel it was my job and obligation. I mean, isn't our work to protect our patients???

I cannot stand coworkers who prepare write-ups without first having a detailed, in-depth discussion with the involved employee. It is professional and prudent to obtain both sides of the story before doing something that could damage a person's employment file. I might have a different perspective if an antibiotic or cardioactive was involved. However, multivitamins are house-supplied at my facility, and this particular LPN might have been completing an old bottle before opening the new one.

In addition, I feel it is not my job to take disciplinary action against other nurses. I am not going to do something for which management is responsible. Nurses are supposed to cover for each other, not rat each other out for punitively petty stuff.

[jjjoy, LPN]

I agree that in such cases the ideal action is to discuss one's concern about the discrepancy with the person in question. And depending on what happened, decide whether or not to file a med error report. That decision would probably depend upon the facility's use of med error reports.

Ideally, med error reports shouldn't be considered punitive or a mark against a nurse's performance. No one is perfect. I'd be more suspicious of someone who NEVER had any med error reports over the years. I'd think that maybe they cover their errors instead of reporting them. Or perhaps never even noticed the med errors that they had made.

I'm a proponent of "no blame" reporting and also the reporting of "near misses" as well. Now, if a staff member is found to repeatedly making the same type of errors, this is reasonable to note in their personnel file and the issue addressed with them. If they make the appropriate changes, then the note in their personnel file shouldn't be a problem as it would also show that they made the appropriate corrections.

Also, how can a facility keep track of trends if med errors are never reported one way or another? There may be some systemic issue that could reduce med errors but if med errors are only discussed informally between staff members, the larger problem may never be addressed.

[mahal788]

Hi there,

You did what you belived was right and you have a desire to protect your patients - I commend you on that.

Uh..... But I was just wondering...... How come you've never met the other nurse? Don't you have to give report to each other in between shifts? Unless you've never worked the same day before. I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you or anything, I was just wondering.

I've actually never written up anyone. I've found med errors other people have made and if there was no harm done to the patient I talk to the other person about it and they're usually quite nice about it. But if they keep making the same errors or endanger the patient, even after being warned a few times, then I talk to our manager about it. Then she investigates. If she tells me to write a report up then that's the only time I do. I don't write reports about anyone before talking to a superior about it first. I try to be extra nice to my coworkers, because I too have made mistakes. Maybe they'll do the same for me. Actually, come to think about it, the only person I've ever written up about a med error was myself. Honest to goodness truth. For some reason, I'm often the one who discovers my own med errors. I've never been written up by anyone besides myself. And hopefully I never will.

Good God I think I just jinxed myself.

[CrazyGoonRN]

I don't think I would have written her up so quickly. There have been many occasions that I could not find a specific med on my cart (even though I was looking right at it) so I have borrowed from another med cart.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Hi there,

You did what you belived was right and you have a desire to protect your patients - I commend you on that.

Uh..... But I was just wondering...... How come you've never met the other nurse? Don't you have to give report to each other in between shifts? Unless you've never worked the same day before. I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you or anything, I was just wondering.

mahal, the OP may not respond to you. This thread is 4 years old, so she may not still be active here or just may not see it.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I would take my coworker aside and talk with her or him. I wouldn't write them up or go to my supervisor without talking to them. Personally, I don't think coworkers have any business writing each other up. That's for the head nurse to decide.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I have to admit I would not have written the nurse up for multivitamin. I would have talked with her and reminded. Something along the lines of "I know pt x gets a multivitamin at such and such time. I noticed you've signed it out for the last few days but the bottle has been unopened. I'm sure your giving it, but I just wanted to draw your attention to the unopened bottle." It would let her know that someone else is noticing and being a stock med there could have been another bottle or maybe she just forgot. Either way, I'm sure the majority of us have omitted (unintentionally) a stock med. Bet this nurse will be looking at you a whole lot differently from now on if they talk with her about it.

[Nccity2002, MSN, RN]

According to the OP, the nurse documented giving the med for 4 days (when the bottle was not even opened)...how would she explain that?. This was a new order, so there is no doubt that she was lying about it. In my book, that nurse should be monitored more closely...also make me wonder what else she is not doing and lying about.