[color=#000] i answered yes to the question about being terminated from a position since my last renewal. i recieved my license in 2009, and this is my first time renewing my license. i worked at a hospital from may 2009 to february of 2011. i resigned my position and left on good terms with no disciplinary actions of any type. i put several applications in to obtain a different place of employment. i was contacted by another hospital about a new job in february 2011 and that is when i gave my resignation to my place of employment. i began working at the new hospital the first week of march 2011. while i was going through orientation, i was offered my "dream job" at a hospital for children. i contacted my boss and told her i would not be returning to my position as i was hired at the childrens hospital. i began working at the childrens hospital, where i currently am working. i decided to work for my first employer on a prn basis in june 2011, the night i returned, some 3 months later, i was given an assignment. i did not have a badge to clock in with, the manager said they would have one for me, but did not. i got to the floor and no one had told me that all of the charting had changed. i had no password, or username. i had to sit on the phone for 45 minutes for them to grant me permission to chart, which i had no clue how to chart, because it was a new system. i also had no access to the pyxis system to get medications for my patients, i had to rely on my lpn to get the medicaitons out of pyxis. she had been an lpn for 30 plus years, along with other crucial changes such as iv machines and pca's that were changed since i had left. i was not oriented to any of the new charting or machines on the unit because i had not know it had changed. i called the charge nurse to explain what had happened. she suggested i call the head nurse, which i did. she told me she was busy right now and would have to deal with it later, she was in a code and it was not a priority. after so many times asking for help around the unit, with no one to help me. . i finally finished charting on my patients at about 10:30pm. i had to figure it out all by myself with no help. i was working with an lpn that night who shared the 6 patients with me. i told her that i was so upset, that no one would help me with any of my issues, that i was leaving. i was so frustrated with the lack of help from the administration, i left. i honestly feel they did not do what they were supposed to do to adequately train me. i did not leave my patients without a licensed person to care for them, they had an lpn. so technicall it was not patient abandonment.the supervisor that re-hired me, was no longer on that unit. there was no supervisor for that unit, at that time, she had left and there was a vacancy, so i am not sure it was something that was overlooked on their part, but they definately did not prepare me. they sent me a letter of termination, stating they "may or may not" submit this to the board of nursing. i have not heard anything else from the hospital but i wanted to be truthful when i answered this question, this is why i answered yes to the question and i have explained it to the best of my knowledge. i love my new job and i have been awarded an award for being a strong patient advocate, and nominated for the rn to bsn program at my hospital with a possible scholarship. what do you think the board will do? i am a great nurse as evident by my awards, and my love of nursing. i am so stressed about what the board will do? the hospital never turned me in, and since i answered "yes", to this question i am afraid they will start a investigation since i self disclosed my termination.
But also, no one is perfect. I take complete blame for my actions, BUT at what point does the Hospital have to take blame? Why do people always assume that the hospital has no role in this. They dumped on me as well, not notifying me that everything had changed until after report. I called and talked to the charge several times, ( and she was also on the floor) and I spoke to the Head Nurse. I take complete blame for my actions. But I also feel that everyone makes mistakes. Not one of my patients were critical, all stable, and I didnt leave them alone. I know it was not right, but everyone makes mistakes. and I did tell the truth. that has to count for something.
These are the opinions you asked for :)
The hospital has to take responsibility when someone a lot higher up than anyone in nursing (supervisor included) reports anything that is seen as a problem, AND the state finds that the complaints are substantiated. Not liking how things went (and I understand why) is not a reason to bail... Being a nurse makes you qualified to at least give meds, and do the best you could with charting... not having the badge is a pain in the butt- but that badge isn't able to assess problems, monitor anyone who has had a change of condition, etc.
Patient's conditions changes in a heartbeat- literally.
What's done is done. You can wish someone else felt like you do at that facility- my guess is if they're showing up to work, they're ok with whatever is going on. It would have been really good to get a rundown about the new stuff- but you didn't. You left.
You've gotten a lot of comments re: the BON probably not pursuing this. Live and learn And move on, or it will drive you nuts.... no point in that. You can't change how the medical field runs.
The hospital did not put the patients in jeopardy; they had the staff assigned. It was a bad night. As far as you know,nobody reported you for leaving- that is a VERY good thing :) Try to look for the good- wondering when some parties will take responsibility for their part in things will just eat you up. Doesn't sound like they're worth it = imo
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
i sent in my renewal online on the 21st of october, and when i called them they said to wait and see if more information is needed, may or may not be enough information for the board to make a decision. either they will update the renewal or send me a request to appear in person in front of the board. technically i did not report off to anyone, i was working with a lpn, which is common there. and i told her i was leaving. but, they did not adequately train me for the new stuff, and did not tell me prior to report that i had no access to charting, medications, or new iv pumps and pca machines. i called the charge and head nurse and spoke to them about the problems, and they ignored me. i had an excellent record there and even have an email from my ex manager before she left stating she was happy to have me back prn. i am so nervous....
"technically" i think you'll be fine. but what i have to say next you aren't going to like.....
you accepted the assignment and report and therefore you are responsible. to leave without giving report and another professional accepts the assignment.....you are liable and it can be construed as abandonment. it doesn't matter how many nurses were there it they didn't accept report they are not responsible.....there was no nurse/patient relationship developed. if you felt that unsafe and unprepared you should not have accepted the assignment or taken report.
abandonment results when the nurse-patient relationship is terminated without making reasonable arrangements with an appropriate person so that nursing care by others can be continued. an example of a legal definition states as follows: http://definitions.uslegal.com/n/nursing/
"abandoning or neglecting a patient or client under and in need of immediate professional care, without making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such care, or abandoning a professional employment by a group practice, hospital, clinic or other health care facility, without reasonable notice and under circumstances which seriously impair the delivery of professional care to patients or clients."
some of the factors considered include:
did the nurse accept the patient assignment, creating a nurse-patient relationship?
did the nurse provide reasonable notice before terminating the nurse-patient relationship?
could reasonable arrangements have been made for continuation of nursing care by others when proper notification was given?
in most cases, the following situations are not examples of abandonment:
refusing to accept responsibility for a patient assignment(s) when the nurse has given reasonable notice to the proper agent that the nurse lacks competence to carry out the assignment.
refusing the assignment of a double shift or additional hours beyond the posted work schedule when proper notification has been given.
patient abandonment is defined as the premature termination of the professional treatment relationship by the health care provider (hcp) without adequate notice or the patient's consent (tabers, 2005). this is a form of negligence with the unilateral termination of the provider/patient relationship, despite the patient's continued need for care. patient abandonment occurs after a nurse has accepted responsibility for an assignment within the scheduled work shift. it may also occur if a nurse fails to give reasonable notice to an employer of the intent to terminate the employer/employee relationship or contract leading to serious impairment in the delivery of professional care to patients.
examples of abandonment may include leaving the unit for lunch during a scheduled shift without transferring assignment to another nurse, inappropriate transfer to lesser skilled personnel, failing to respond to a patient's call for help, failure to triage patient severity, and situations with simultaneous critical needs.
situations in which refusal may be acceptable may include the nurse's refusing to accept responsibility for a patient assignment after giving reasonable notice to the proper agent, refusal based on a lack of competence to carry out the assignment, refusing a double shift or additional hours beyond the posted work schedule when proper notification has been given.
like i said i think you'll be fine...... but a valuable lesson learned. it doesn't matter how wonderful you are when you make that "one little mistake".....it was still a mistake and it was wrong. in cutting your nose off because you were angry you could land in some serious trouble....when was your shift over? 2330 or later..... there had to have been a supervisor in the facility that could assign a temporary user in pxyis and surely the lpn knew the machines. you weren't the first person this has happened to and you won't be the last but you can't just leave.
there are consequences for you actions.....i tell my kids all the time....the "he hit me first:crying2:" isn't sufficient eveidence to justify hitting back....
now that i have you angry......i am sorry you are going through this and you should be fine :hug:. if you have malpractice insurance i would call them and let them know your dituation so they can help you and calm your fears. if you don't have malpractice....get some....for times just like this.....:heartbeat
I believe you do have some culpability in that you left after you had been assigned patients and you never made an attempt to get oriented appropriately beforehand. You could have charted on toilet paper if that was your only choice. As for the hospital "may or may not" position, if you have violated a BON rule the facility MUST report it. No option there. If the BON does contact you they will be interested in knowing why your frustration outweighed the safety of your patients. Better re-think that one.
I am not sure about the orientation. I was not told anything had changed as far as machines, pyxis, charting, or anything new until AFTER report. and I communicated SEVERAL times to the charge and Head Nursing manager what was going on. I had an LPN working with me that night, that shared the same 6 patients with me. She had been a LPN for 30 years. Very competent. She is a licensed nurse. and LPN's take care of people all the time on that unit. SO, it did not occur that I was leaving patients uncared for. I told her I was leaving, so technically I did leave them with a licensed nurse. The whole thing was catastrophic, for me, and hindsight I would do things Totally Different. lesson learned! I guess it got so bad after I left initially the Manager moved to another unit. leaving the unit without a manager. I am just asking if you think the board will initiate an investigation due to self disclosure? even if the hospital did not report me? they sent me a letter of termination about 2 weeks after the fact. That was in June, Never heard anything from the board.. I just answered yes to the termination question on my Nursing renewal. Anyone had to wait for a decision past the 31st deadline? how long did it take for them to respond? thank you all for answering my questions. I am taking what EVERYONE has said to heart and appreciate your responses.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I am not sure about the orientation. I was not told anything had changed as far as machines, pyxis, charting, or anything new until AFTER report. and I communicated SEVERAL times to the charge and Head Nursing manager what was going on. I had an LPN working with me that night, that shared the same 6 patients with me. She had been a LPN for 30 years. Very competent. She is a licensed nurse. and LPN's take care of people all the time on that unit. SO, it did not occur that I was leaving patients uncared for. I told her I was leaving, so technically I did leave them with a licensed nurse. The whole thing was catastrophic, for me, and hindsight I would do things Totally Different. lesson learned! I guess it got so bad after I left initially the Manager moved to another unit. leaving the unit without a manager. I am just asking if you think the board will initiate an investigation due to self disclosure? even if the hospital did not report me? they sent me a letter of termination about 2 weeks after the fact. That was in June, Never heard anything from the board.. I just answered yes to the termination question on my Nursing renewal. Anyone had to wait for a decision past the 31st deadline? how long did it take for them to respond? thank you all for answering my questions. I am taking what EVERYONE has said to heart and appreciate your responses.
I think you will be fine and I don't think they will.......I think the question is asked so that if you yes, they look to see if there was a complaint filed. I really don't think you have any worries, but the next time you might. even though there was a perfectally competent LPN, the question is did you give her report and did she accept? If she accepted the patients then there is no issue....if not and you didn't give report....it can be an issue. But you still needed to notify the supervisor that you were leaving and who was covering thi=ose patients. The only orientation you are that is required are the usual HIPAA, fire and saftey, and other pretty basic stuff. The rest is fluff and for you to figure out as a per-diem, by their point of view.
Now the badge....even in the best of circumstances there have been times a new employee doesn't have the badges, but neither do agency nurses. There are ways to give temporary passwords to gain access to Pyxis and I had access to a temp. password that could be given to agancies or new employees that have not been given access. Be aware and careful about your liabilities....I am sorry you are going through this...but I think you'll be fine..
But also, no one is perfect. I take complete blame for my actions, BUT at what point does the Hospital have to take blame? Why do people always assume that the hospital has no role in this. They dumped on me as well, not notifying me that everything had changed until after report. I called and talked to the charge several times, ( and she was also on the floor) and I spoke to the Head Nurse. I take complete blame for my actions. But I also feel that everyone makes mistakes. Not one of my patients were critical, all stable, and I didnt leave them alone. I know it was not right, but everyone makes mistakes. and I did tell the truth. that has to count for something.
I know how upsetting it can be to be thrown in the deep end like that but leaving like that without letting the supervisor know and not giving a formal handover is not the right thing for the patient as well as the nurse you were working with. Yeah it's frustrating when you can't access equipment and you're unfamiliar with the routines in an area but you don't just up and leave your patients like that.
I also completely agree with you that the hospital needs to take responsibility for not providing resources and equipment. I know what it's like to be thrown in the deep end and it really sucks! In these situations I throw it straight back at them (hospital management) and will write up incident reports and document reasons why drugs weren't given on time...Mrs X didn't get her antibiotic due to RN denied access to pyxis etc.
I am not sure about the orientation. I was not told anything had changed as far as machines, pyxis, charting, or anything new until AFTER report. and I communicated SEVERAL times to the charge and Head Nursing manager what was going on. I had an LPN working with me that night, that shared the same 6 patients with me. She had been a LPN for 30 years. Very competent. She is a licensed nurse. and LPN's take care of people all the time on that unit. SO, it did not occur that I was leaving patients uncared for. I told her I was leaving, so technically I did leave them with a licensed nurse. The whole thing was catastrophic, for me, and hindsight I would do things Totally Different. lesson learned! I guess it got so bad after I left initially the Manager moved to another unit. leaving the unit without a manager. I am just asking if you think the board will initiate an investigation due to self disclosure? even if the hospital did not report me? they sent me a letter of termination about 2 weeks after the fact. That was in June, Never heard anything from the board.. I just answered yes to the termination question on my Nursing renewal. Anyone had to wait for a decision past the 31st deadline? how long did it take for them to respond? thank you all for answering my questions. I am taking what EVERYONE has said to heart and appreciate your responses.
I think you left your orientation. I don't think you expected to be oriented by an LPN, ???? Places do not staff two licenses for 6 patients. They were probably trying to get you oriented, but you were freaked by not having your own badge and entry into the machines...
Well, here we are on the 31st and the board has not notified me of renewal yet. I received a call from my manager and she stated that I cannot work tonight. It has not showed up as renewed past 10/31 and They cannot accept the "active pending board renewal" status. The board told my manager to call them and she would explain. They will only accept a renewal date. I am so stressed. I dont know what to do. I cannot work until they get it straightened out. I cannot believe this. I am a good person. cross my fingers and hope for the best. I will keep you posted. thanks for all your input.
Well, here we are on the 31st and the board has not notified me of renewal yet. I received a call from my manager and she stated that I cannot work tonight. It has not showed up as renewed past 10/31 and They cannot accept the "active pending board renewal" status. The board told my manager to call them and she would explain. They will only accept a renewal date. I am so stressed. I dont know what to do. I cannot work until they get it straightened out. I cannot believe this. I am a good person. cross my fingers and hope for the best. I will keep you posted. thanks for all your input.
Did the place you possibly have an issue with (re: termination) tell you there was a problem?
A LOT of nurses get canned- but it generally isn't a board issue unless there are problems with drug diversion, abuse, and abandonment that results in sub-standard care. I really don't see that - I see some communication issues re: what orientation was. But, (while I don't like that you'd left, and I'd be hard-pressed to list you as eligible for rehire) I'm not sure I see a problem with your license.
This is YOUR license- call that BON 3 times a day until you get answers (I'm serious). They aren't likely to penalize you for looking out for your license :)
No. They said I was not eligible for rehire. I have called the board everyday and they said they are working on the renewals from the 17th. That alot of people answer yes to questions and they are doing them first come first serve. Now I cant work until they get it straightened out the board has 90 days from the date you renew to give you an answer. I'm going to go by their office tomorrow an see if I can get this straightened out in person.
I go to the board tomorrow morning. I will post tomorrow how it goes. No complaints have been filed so I am not sure what can happen or if the board can initiate a complaint due to my self report. Anyone else have to appear in front of the board due to a "yes" answer on the renewal form? What happened. What was the meeting like?
. there had to have been a supervisor in the facility that could assign a temporary user in pxyis and surely the lpn knew the machines. you weren't the first person this has happened to and you won't be the last but you can't just leave. 
xtxrn, ASN, RN
4,267 Posts
These are the opinions you asked for :)
The hospital has to take responsibility when someone a lot higher up than anyone in nursing (supervisor included) reports anything that is seen as a problem, AND the state finds that the complaints are substantiated. Not liking how things went (and I understand why) is not a reason to bail... Being a nurse makes you qualified to at least give meds, and do the best you could with charting... not having the badge is a pain in the butt- but that badge isn't able to assess problems, monitor anyone who has had a change of condition, etc.
Patient's conditions changes in a heartbeat- literally.
What's done is done. You can wish someone else felt like you do at that facility- my guess is if they're showing up to work, they're ok with whatever is going on. It would have been really good to get a rundown about the new stuff- but you didn't. You left.
You've gotten a lot of comments re: the BON probably not pursuing this.
Live and learn 
And move on, or it will drive you nuts.... no point in that. You can't change how the medical field runs.
The hospital did not put the patients in jeopardy; they had the staff assigned. It was a bad night. As far as you know,nobody reported you for leaving- that is a VERY good thing :) Try to look for the good- wondering when some parties will take responsibility for their part in things will just eat you up. Doesn't sound like they're worth it = imo