Let go

I was recently let go from my job as a med tech inside of a county jail.
A woman came in & took a lot of klonopin before hand, & effectively knocked herself out. We could not send her to the hospital because she turned herself in
The nurse on duty had her placed by herself in a cell, on 15 minute checks.
She told me whenever I go down there, to check her vital signs. I got down there later in the night, & whenever the officer took me to her cell, we could not wake her up, so I used an ammonia inhalant on her, that the nurse had left with the officers earlier in the day.
I know now that I should have used the sternum rub on her before anything, but I can't go back in time & fix that unfortunately.
After I used that inhalant, I went into the nurses station & gave the officers a few inhalants to replace the one that I had used to wake her up, that the charge nurse had given them earlier.
A few days later, I was fired for practicing outside of my job description, & my scope of practice, by using an inhalant without an order, & for distributing them to the guards.
My question is, when I go in for interviews to find a new job, how bad is this going to look to employers?
I mean I know now that I should have used the sternum rub, & that the inhalants are considered a medication that I can't distrubute, but at least now I know for future reference I guess.
I don't have a problem telling employers what happened, but is the situation really so horrible that it would keep me from finding a new job once I tell them?
I think the punishment may have been harsh for what could have been a simple misunderstanding. If you were expected to know that, then maybe a stern reprimand. As a licensed nurse, this is the first time I have encountered this information. I believe you will be able to explain what happened without a new employer holding it against you. Be ready to explain the circumstances and what you learned from it. Good luck.
Yeah... I mean I am upset that it happened, but I did learn from it at leastI also now know that ammonia inhalants are apparantly archaic, but I guess working in a jail with limited resources its to be expected lol.Truthfully, I didn't know you had to get an order to use an ammonia inhalant, or that they were considered a medication, but like I said, at least I know it now lol
All you can do is be honest and explain what you learned from it and how you might handle future situations. Honesty and being able to admit when you made a mistake are good qualities. Everybody has made some mistake at one time or another. Good luck with your job hunt!
Quote from cchmedtech19I was recently let go from my job as a med tech inside of a county jail.A woman came in & took a lot of klonopin before hand, & effectively knocked herself out. We could not send her to the hospital because she turned herself inThe nurse on duty had her placed by herself in a cell, on 15 minute checks.She told me whenever I go down there, to check her vital signs. I got down there later in the night, & whenever the officer took me to her cell, we could not wake her up, so I used an ammonia inhalant on her, that the nurse had left with the officers earlier in the day.I know now that I should have used the sternum rub on her before anything, but I can't go back in time & fix that unfortunately.After I used that inhalant, I went into the nurses station & gave the officers a few inhalants to replace the one that I had used to wake her up, that the charge nurse had given them earlier.A few days later, I was fired for practicing outside of my job description, & my scope of practice, by using an inhalant without an order, & for distributing them to the guards.My question is, when I go in for interviews to find a new job, how bad is this going to look to employers? I mean I know now that I should have used the sternum rub, & that the inhalants are considered a medication that I can't distrubute, but at least now I know for future reference I guess.I don't have a problem telling employers what happened, but is the situation really so horrible that it would keep me from finding a new job once I tell them?
Unfortunately, I was not able to make decisions like that , calling EMS would be on the charge nurse & she would have to talk to the doctor before thatI think the issue was that I used the inhalant before I checked to see if she was responsive or not, which she didn't really rouse when I used the inhalant, but she was up long enough for me to take her blood pressure & get O2% & pulse etc, & then fell right back asleepI agree that EMS should have been called or at the very least she could have been moved to the infirmary, but all that is on the nurse.I was always told in my CNA class to stay within your scope of practice so I just assumed I had one, but I should know by now that whenever I make assumptions, like if the nurse can give the officers an inhalant I can too, I always end up in trouble hahaThanks for the help, I appreciate it, and I will. Next time I get a job I am just going to memorize the description & never assume anything...
Quote from cchmedtech19Unfortunately, I was not able to make decisions like that , calling EMS would be on the charge nurse & she would have to talk to the doctor before thatI think the issue was that I used the inhalant before I checked to see if she was responsive or not, which she didn't really rouse when I used the inhalant, but she was up long enough for me to take her blood pressure & get O2% & pulse etc, & then fell right back asleepI agree that EMS should have been called or at the very least she could have been moved to the infirmary, but all that is on the nurse.I was always told in my CNA class to stay within your scope of practice so I just assumed I had one, but I should know by now that whenever I make assumptions, like if the nurse can give the officers an inhalant I can too, I always end up in trouble hahaThanks for the help, I appreciate it, and I will. Next time I get a job I am just going to memorize the description & never assume anything...
I also agree that the woman should have been sent to the ER to begin with. That being said, I have never heard of the ammonia (like smelling salts?) being classified as a medication. My instructor used that on me when I passed out in my labor and delivery clinical! Lol. And since the nurse had given them to the guards in the first place...did she not expect it to be used?? What am I missing here!?
I don't think you are trying to be harsh or anything, I know you are just being honest about everything & I appreciate itBut as far as calling EMS goes, in the jail, before EMS can be contacted you have to make the jail staff aware that EMS will be arriving to pick up an inmate, and also the medical staff, & it MUST be the nurse on duty to make that decisionI am not always going to say something like that & not take responsibility for something that I know is wrong & try to make it right for the patient, but as far as this goes, I just don't think it would be appropriate for me, with 1 year of experience & 1 certification, to go over the head of a well experienced licensed professional who made the assessment that was acceptable for the inmate to stay, as well as the doctor who agreed with her decision.I would probably be fired either way, but honestly, I would rather explain to my boss why I used an ammonia inhalant & gave one to the guard, than explain to my boss, the doctor, the nurse, as well as the jail staff why I made the decision to call EMS to pick someone up
Quote from sapphire18I also agree that the woman should have been sent to the ER to begin with. That being said, I have never heard of the ammonia (like smelling salts?) being classified as a medication. My instructor used that on me when I passed out in my labor and delivery clinical! Lol. And since the nurse had given them to the guards in the first place...did she not expect it to be used?? What am I missing here!?
I didn't try to fight for the job and ask why they were considered medication or anything, because at that time, we had become very over staffed and I was not getting any hours anymore really, & when I was there it was more frustrating than anything. I had just been there a year, so I at least got a year of experience from it
I think it sounds suspicious. I mean phlebotomists can use smelling salts. I doubt it was outside the scope of practice for a CNA, but you should check on that with the licensing board to be sure. It might have been beyond the scope of your job description though. Prisons have "odd" rules. Even so, if a guard could administer it, then you should have been able to as well. I think they were overstaffed and just looking for an excuse to fire someone.
Hey, you're a med tech, not an EMT. Your job is to administer medication not know to perform this maneuver or to even perform an assessment, this is the RN's job. Hold your head high and take it as a lesson learned. It sounds like you took the fall for the mistakes of others, employers will be scratching their heads over the actions of your superiors, not the fact that you did what you could to wake this person up.