Written up for false documentation...

[NurseLoveJoy88]

i work in ltc and today i was written up for false documentation. i documented in the tar that a treatment was done when it wasn't. when questioned by the supervisor i admitted that i did not do the tx d/t patient being asleep. however, i forgot to chart it was not done on the day it happened therefore it is false documentation. i am petrified that this may be taken to the bon and my license be taken. this is a serious offense and i'm sick over it. i didn't get fired today but i feel that it's coming. this makes my 5th write up and i'm still in my probation period. i'm seriously considering putting in my two weeks before i get fired.

i have seen several nurses and cnas get fired the pass two months i've been there. i've been warned by co-workers to leave this job asap and that nurses that work there often get fired and reported to the bon.

ltcf expects so much to to be done in so little time with so little staff. every nurse should be guilty of falsifying records at this facility. i know for a fact that not every resident is toileted and turned q2h, i know for a fact that every cream is not applied every shift, i know for a fact that every tylenol is not given in the middle of the night when a resident is asleep. how do i know? nurses tell me all the time. however, i'm the one that got reprimanded today. i take full responsibility for my actions, however i know that i can't do it all. i'm one nurse to 30 residents, every day i feel like i'm putting my lic. on the line.

i did write a late entry that the tx was not done on such and such day. i just hope and pray that this mistake did not cost me my career.

[merlee]

It is unlikely that you will be reported to the BON, but not impossible. Most LTC facilities do not want the bother, it could be time-consuming on their end.

That being said - you have learned a lesson the hard way.

Do not be surprised if you are let go at the end of the shift you are working the day that you hand in your notice. Many facilities will do that as 'damage' control. They are concerned that an unhappy employee may do some actual damage to the facility, or otherwise might be a problem. They may even escort you off of the property.

And keep your notice as short as possible - it is not appropriate to write scathing letter - that ensures you will be asked to leave immediately. Just "This is to inform you that I will no longer be available to work here at XYZ after --/--/----, two weeks from today. Thank you for the opportunity to work here."

Best wishes.

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

One thing you can do, is have the doc/NP change some of the orders.

Scheduled APAP in the middle of the night? What the what? Have that changed to PRN. Night creams? Can that be changed to BID or something?

I worked in a facility that had a book full of blank treatments at the end of a month and watched as a nurse filled it all in. I watched her fill in page after page of normal blood sugars that she suddenly "remembered." The manager was right there. This was such a horrible experience. Med carts that still had full drawers at the end of the week. State came, none of the culprits lost a license or a job because management was protecting them.

Document when a med or tx is not done.

And get out of there fast.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

Oh wow, you sure do seem to have a monkey on your back !! You have had several jobs that you either quit or were fired from. What in the world is going on ??

[Gold_SJ]

I wish you only the best NurseloveJoy,

It sounds like you're working under a lot of pressure, LTC is heavy and has hideous staff to resident ratio's (in my opinion).

I think leaving with polite notice and moving on to greener pastures would be the better idea particulary if they have been firing staff lately if you're truly concerned about this.

When it comes to your personal and professional life. I don't know, life is life and sometimes it just sucks. You can only work on what you can and aim for less stress if possible. You've always been there for other members of the site when in strife, I see no reason why not to support you back.

You're a kind hearted warm person. I hope you find a good job that you'll be truly happy in.

Take care and keep us updated :)

[GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

honestly, i feel sorry that you're having to go through this. however, in reading your previous posts i noticed that there seems to be a pattern a pattern of bad luck? maybe...or burnout? i can't point my finger on it. therefore, you must find a way to resolve this situation before you lose your bread & butter, not to mention your license. consequently, the ones who come out losing in this charades are the patients, because their nursing care is compromise by "false documentation". as you have noticed i'm truly concern with your dilemma...wishing you the very best always...aloha~

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

One thing you can do, is have the doc/NP change some of the orders.

Scheduled APAP in the middle of the night? What the what? Have that changed to PRN. Night creams? Can that be changed to BID or something?

I worked in a facility that had a book full of blank treatments at the end of a month and watched as a nurse filled it all in. I watched her fill in page after page of normal blood sugars that she suddenly "remembered." The manager was right there. This was such a horrible experience. Med carts that still had full drawers at the end of the week. State came, none of the culprits lost a license or a job because management was protecting them.

Document when a med or tx is not done.

And get out of there fast.

I have already done this. Last night I assessed every resident with a treatment and today (if I still have a job) I plan to get several orders reduced to PRN and d/c'd. Some of these treatments were written a year ago and the problem have been resolved. I know these treatments are done because there were no medicated creams/lotions in the cart.

[threebrats46]

This happened to a coworker of mine at a LTCF...Id try and find something else..too many ppl fired in such a short time is not a good sign of a place to work at. Wishing u the best of luck finding a place that will be safer to work at.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Oh wow, you sure do seem to have a monkey on your back !! You have had several jobs that you either quit or were fired from. What in the world is going on ??

I don't think I have monkey's on my back. I just think I need to step out on faith and consider a different area of nursing. Honestly, I've been fired from one job... unrelated to patient care and yes I've quit a few. While in nursing school it was very hard to hold onto a job with my schedule changing every 7 weeks.

I think I'm going to go back to school nursing for a while. I enjoyed that and have been doing that for 6 years.

[WildOne]

LTC itself is a hard place to not only be the new coworker but the new nurse. There always seems to be staff there who have been at the facility for like 10 years plus abd they all have issues with each other. There's a lot of cattiness about shifts especially if you work casual and rumors about every mistake or thing you say easily blow up trust me I knowDuring my pre grad at a LTC facility one of the support workers told me to mix the food while another day another to me not to. Being an idiot I said "but blah blah told me to do it this way". WELL you can imagine what this lead to... The one that did tell me to do this was brought from another unit by just another support worker and questioned. She denied and denied and this broke out a HUGE fight with all the support workers adding their opinions, and she made me look stupid and like a liar when I KNOW my memory is not faulty. Therein lead to awkwardness andme looking bitterly upon the staffDon't trust anyone just mind your business do your work abd go home

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Sorry you're going through this again...but my advice given to you in all of your other threads still stands. I don't know what issues you have going on with you but based on your pattern of work difficulties, something IS there and IMO you really need to work on addressing it. What that something is, I don't know...but you need to take care of it because it's going to keep tripping you up.

And I really think you should seriously consider whether nursing is really meant for you. You have a pattern of careless mistakes followed by your bailing or being let go, which to me is a big red flag. Nursing may be the career you always wanted to have and you may love being a nurse, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should be a nurse, if that makes sense.

Maybe nursing isn't for you or you're just having a hell of a first year. Only you can answer that...but you need to look at it honestly. And get the help you need with both your personal and professional issues.

Best of luck getting through this.

[RN_Marie]

this makes my 5th write up and i'm still in my probation period. i'm seriously considering putting in my two weeks before i get fired.

if you're still on your probation period, you have not reached your 90-day evals yet. am i right? therefore, you are not considered a full-time employee.

my first job as a lvn was in a ltc. there are 46 patients on my station and each and everyone has lantus and regular insulin coverage (i work nocs). so believe me when i say i feel your pain.

however, you've been written up for 5 times. it means that they've given you verbal warnings before writing you up. being written up is a documentation of how safe you practice as a lvn. if they want to fire you, they can do so without any qualms because you are still on your probationary period. they can just not like how you work and fire you. things are much simpler for probationary employees (i worked as a dsd and i've done this before) because there's no company commitment, hence being in the probation period.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Or could it just be attention seeking behavior from a... gasp...TROLL? all Sx checked!

Sorry you seem to be having a bad morning too.

Nah, she's no troll. She's legit.