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Patients Beware
Posted on 08/04/2007 by Nurse Angela
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While working as a nurse on 2-Surgery I came to realize that most of my coworkers did not do their jobs but lied and documented that they did.
Here is one example: a patient had a BKA (below the knee amputation) that was infected and required dressing changes. These dressing changes were wet to dry in which the wound was to be packed with wet gauze and covered with layers of dry for those not familiar with a wet to dry. Anyway, these dressing changes are ordered by a physician and doctors orders are to be followed and they are by honest, caring, ethical nurses like myself.
I always put a piece of tape with the date, time, and my initials on the outside of my dressing changes. Well, I suspected that other nurses who cared for this pt in my absence were not changing the dressing but merely changing my piece of tape and replacing it with one of their own and signing off on the treatment record. So, I started hiding a second initialled piece of tape in the middle layers of the dry gauze. What do you think I arrived to find on this pt after being off of work for 3 days? A fresh piece of tape with another nurse's initals,etc on the outside except when I changed the dressing, there it was, my initialed piece of tape in the midst of my handiwork that I recognized anyway. The tape was my proof that my coworkers are unethical and do the unthinkable to their pts whom they took an oath to do no harm. Not to mention, this is criminal negligence as well as falsifying medical records when they sign off on care they did not provide.
Well, this example was one of many I brought up to my former nurse manager, "Miss Shady". Did she care? Ummmm NO! Did Human Resources care? NEGATIVE.
These people did unthinkable things to me in retaliation for bringing what I am sure they already knew was going on (substandard care in a substandard hospital which, actually would be an improvement if that were the case in this place; it is just a sorry excuse for a hospital).
Not only am I afraid to ever work in a hospital setting again. I am definitely afraid to ever be a pt. as these nurses were the norm on my former unit. That is why they still work there and I don't.
If you can't trust your nurse who can you trust? This example is minor in comparison to what went on at 2-Surgery. One nurse, who still works there, documented that a dying pt. refused their medication, only thing about that is, the pt as well as their family who was present with pt at all times told me they had never refused anything; ever. To make this worse, the pts' spouse is a nurse and knew the exact care their spouse received. The pt has since passed away and I would not blame the spouse if they pursued legal action against the nurse and the hospital. I will gladly be a witness. Yes, this is another example I reported to "Miss Shady" and HR. They just wanted me gone as I was not comfortable or willing to overlook these "flaws" in my coworkers.
If you have to be a patient and are able, have a family member or private sitter with you at all times, it is for your own good. Ask your physician the treatments they have ordered you as well as the medications. Then you will know what your nurse should be doing. As the pt with the dressing change had not a clue that their dressing was ordered to be changed every 8 hours or how their life and limb; literaly; was affected by their negligent caregivers.
I will say once again, not all nurses are dishonest and unethical. Nurses are overworked, some more than others as in my case. Patient care is not the place to save time by omitting ordered treatments. It is apalling! But the fact that there is a unit where the majority of nurses are unethical is scary. Even scarier is the fact that there are probably dozens more nurses and units out there just like 2-Surgery. We should all beware.
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