I think I made a mistake but I don't know if it's my fault. Advice how I should proceed this.

[Kavy697]

Hi, I work as a student intern at my college's hospital. I usually work delivering medications, inventory, etc. Just recently I got an email about a medication discrepancy for narcs that were not properly stored in the correct pyxis. I was cc'ed this email since I technically worked on those floors where the narcs were missing. I know I should acknowledge the email and respond to the person apologizing for waisting their time looking for the narcs, but I am pretty sure it was not my fault. Like I am 100% confident the narcs were missing I didn't even deliver. I probably should email the person apologizing to them and take the fault, though I'm a little worried I might get fired since this is a severe issue. I could complain that the hospital lacks TONS of communication what to expect, always misleading me but this time I know I should probably take the fault. I'm assuming it's best to email the person in charge of narcs, saying it was my fault, correct?

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[owlegrad]

Is there no record from the Pyxis of who delivered the medication?

Maybe I am the wrong person to ask, but I wouldn’t take responsibility for something I didn’t do. I would just email them back acknowledging you read the email and nothing more. No need to get defensive but also no reason to take the blame for something you didn’t do.

 

[Kavy697]

Is there no record from the Pyxis of who delivered the medication?

Maybe I am the wrong person to ask, but I wouldn’t take responsibility for something I didn’t do. I would just email them back acknowledging you read the email and nothing more. No need to get defensive but also no reason to take the blame for something you didn’t do.

Thanks, l pretty sure they cc'ed me this email cause I was working on the floors where narcs were delivered. I just can't remember if I misplaced any of the medications because I was also delivering meds to other places in the hospital later in my shift so my hands are tied. Also yes, they have record of who delivered them which would be me technically. I just don't know if I did something particularly wrong like putting it in the wrong pyxis.

 

[owlegrad]

Thanks, l pretty sure they cc'ed me this email cause I was working on the floors where narcs were delivered. I just can't remember if I misplaced any of the medications because I was also delivering meds to other places in the hospital later in my shift so my hands are tied. Also yes, they have record of who delivered them which would be me technically. I just don't know if I did something particularly wrong like putting it in the wrong pyxis.

I mean if the record shows you “technically” delivered it, you’re boned. Yes, you should admit to yourself you made a mistake and learn from it. Do you think someone moved it after you delivered it without leaving a record?

Everyone makes mistakes. Just learn from it and move on. Do reply that you read the email and admit you don’t recall what you did that lead to the mistake but will work to prevent it from happening again.

 

[Kavy697]

I mean if the record shows you “technically” delivered it, you’re boned. Yes, you should admit to yourself you made a mistake and learn from it. Do you think someone moved it after you delivered it without leaving a record?

Everyone makes mistakes. Just learn from it and move on. Do reply that you read the email and admit you don’t recall what you did that lead to the mistake but will work to prevent it from happening again.

I am not too sure, but I am wondering if I put in the wrong side of the pyxis since we separate the sides of hospital rooms by sections and each section has it's own pyxis. I'm wondering if that happened since I did put a lot of meds in the pyxis that day. I'm super careful with this stuff, though I also had like a massive headache and took a lot of Tylenol prior to before but this reason is really minor.

 

[sdh0202]

Don't take responsibility for something you have not done. I used to do that couple times (like putting narc in 5T2 instead of 5T1) and management came up to me and we talked about it and that was the end. Its really not a big deal unless the discrepancy is like missing 10 tabs of oxy 10 mg.
More serious problem was when manager called me one day and asked me if I know anything about missing methadone tabs, which I had no freaking clue what they were talking about. They went on saying like we are trying to investigate.. etc. Never gave me an update/apology and I worked as intern for 3 more years in that place. Whole place was toxic from top to end so I was so glad I didn't get a pharmacist job there lol
You won't get fired for something that you have not done so don't worry about it!

 

[mentos]

You're innocent until proven guilty. If they accuse you of doing it then you respond and defend yourself.

 

[Kavy697]

Don't take responsibility for something you have not done. I used to do that couple times (like putting narc in 5T2 instead of 5T1) and management came up to me and we talked about it and that was the end. Its really not a big deal unless the discrepancy is like missing 10 tabs of oxy 10 mg.
More serious problem was when manager called me one day and asked me if I know anything about missing methadone tabs, which I had no freaking clue what they were talking about. They went on saying like we are trying to investigate.. etc. Never gave me an update/apology and I worked as intern for 3 more years in that place. Whole place was toxic from top to end so I was so glad I didn't get a pharmacist job there lol
You won't get fired for something that you have not done so don't worry about it!

Thanks, I hate my job too. It's not toxic per say but the communication and training for these positions is abissmal. They take weeks to respond about my availability for work. I sent the person an email saying I really don't remember but I did work on those floors and hoping to clear any issues. I just honestly don't know of it's myself because I can't remember putting the medications they said were missing. The discrepancy was also missing narcs which concerns me. I did this mistake beforehand and it was only because me and the person training me were the only ones who were delivering meds but the tech didn't fault me for it because I was being trained. I just hate if it were my fault. I kind of feel bad that one of the techs had to go to each pyxis to check.

And honestly, I don't even like clinical but this place is so disorganized that they are desperate for people. The pay is good at least.

 

[owlegrad]

You're innocent until proven guilty. If they accuse you of doing it then you respond and defend yourself.

The Pyxis record shows he “technically” delivered it. I would call that proof.

 

[Kavy697]

The Pyxis record shows he “technically” delivered it. I would call that proof.

Yeah, I agree. I responded to the email acknowledging that I really don't know if I delivered the medication or misplaced it somehow but since my name is under the one who delivered it. I will take responsibility. That sounds reasonable, right?

 

[owlegrad]

Yeah, I agree. I responded to the email acknowledging that I really don't know if I delivered the medication or misplaced it somehow but since my name is under the one who delivered it. I will take responsibility. That sounds reasonable, right?

Honestly, I think you are overthinking it. I suspect this would have been my email:

Hello,

Sorry about that, I do not recall delivering this medication or what caused me to make the error but I will do my best to prevent it from happening again.

Thanks,
Me

You do not need to defend yourself or directly address your culpability. I always find it annoying when I ask someone to fix an error they made and the first thing they try to do is claim they didn’t do it or otherwise make excuses. I only want the error fixed and to prevent it from happening again, I am not trying to pin the blame on them or get them in trouble or anything else. Just fix the error and learn from it. That’s it. Easy.

 

[Kavy697]

Honestly, I think you are overthinking it. I suspect this would have been my email:

Hello,

Sorry about that, I do not recall delivering this medication or what caused me to make the error but I will do my best to prevent it from happening again.

Thanks,
Me

You do not need to defend yourself or directly address your culpability. I always find it annoying when I ask someone to fix an error they made and the first thing they try to do is claim they didn’t do it or otherwise make excuses. I only want the error fixed and to prevent it from happening again, I am not trying to pin the blame on them or get them in trouble or anything else. Just fix the error and learn from it. That’s it. Easy.

That's fair. I just told my supervisor I really don't recall delivery that med but I was responsible for the floors where the meds were missing. I just told them my reasoning (honestly don't know if I defended myself) but did ask how this issue can be resolved and prevented. I would hate to not acknowledge something major as this since I could be a part of the missing med, especially since their narcs. I think I just had a bad that day because I was so exhausted that day too. But yeah, thanks for helping me out I'm just worried if they'll write me up or terminate me.

 

[Old Timer]

I don't know how hospitals work but, why would anyone but a pharmacist be responsible for narcotics or for filling equipment for dispensing to a patient without the oversight of a pharmacist.

 

[Sparda29]

I don't know how hospitals work but, why would anyone but a pharmacist be responsible for narcotics or for filling equipment for dispensing to a patient without the oversight of a pharmacist.

Over here, the technicians can enter the C2 safe, remove medications, send them to the floors, bring back expired narcs to return to the safe. Everything is electronically recorded. You cannot get anything out without an electronic record being made.

At the end of every shift, we print out a report that compares items removed from our safe to items deposited in the Pxyis. If there is a discrepancy, we will know who did it.

 

[panicatthepharmacy]

I don't know how hospitals work but, why would anyone but a pharmacist be responsible for narcotics or for filling equipment for dispensing to a patient without the oversight of a pharmacist.

Having a pharmacist load drugs into Pyxis would be a budget-killer, not to mention a poor use of his/her time. As Sparda said, there's an electronic trail for every transaction.

 

[Dred Pirate]

Having a pharmacist load drugs into Pyxis would be a budget-killer, not to mention a poor use of his/her time. As Sparda said, there's an electronic trail for every transaction.

at least it would create more jobs - but ya - no hospital that I know of requires that for these reasons.
There is an electronic copy of the narcs leaving the C2 safe (then the RPh checks the drug against the printed fill list). Then an electronic copy of the meds going into the pyxis. If something is removed but not placed in the approrpiate pyxis - a report is generated - so not sure how there would be any arugement that there wasn't an error in our system.

 

[FrederickFlores]

Hi, I work as a student intern at my college's hospital. I usually work delivering medications, inventory, etc. Just recently I got an email about a medication discrepancy for narcs that were not properly stored in the correct pyxis. I was cc'ed this email since I technically worked on those floors where the narcs were missing. I know I should acknowledge the email and respond to the person apologizing for waisting their time looking for the narcs, but I am pretty sure it was not my fault. Like I am 100% confident the narcs were missing I didn't even deliver. I probably should email the person apologizing to them and take the fault, though I'm a little worried I might get fired since this is a severe issue. I could complain that the hospital lacks TONS of communication what to expect, always misleading me but this time I know I should probably take the fault. I'm assuming it's best to email the person in charge of narcs, saying it was my fault, correct?

I have been an RN for years (OMS-I now) and I would NEVER take the blame for this if I didn’t do it. What I would recommend is acknowledging the situation and email. Despite being placed in the wrong Pyxis the overall count will balance in the end. If the meds were diverted or stolen then it will become clear. You can offer your explanation, it do not accept guilt.

 

[Kavy697]

So I took everyone's advice and acknowledged the email. I just explained I know I'm responsible for the floors but I really don't recall any medications I took. I also said I'm sorry you had spend most of your work looking form them since I was the one in charge of the floors (these meds are still under my name so I feel I bare responsibility). She found the meds they were in the bin of other medications they were delivered which I must have buried the narcs for the next runner to take. Mind you this was at like 12am so I was exhausted and coming out of quarantine. I told her I just had a bad day and she said that's fine and thanked me for responding to her email. Told her it won't ever happen again.

 

[Kavy697]

I have been an RN for years (OMS-I now) and I would NEVER take the blame for this if I didn’t do it. What I would recommend is acknowledging the situation and email. Despite being placed in the wrong Pyxis the overall count will balance in the end. If the meds were diverted or stolen then it will become clear. You can offer your explanation, it do not accept guilt.

Yeah I basically did that. I told her I don't remember but since of course these are under my name I was hoping to get the issue resolved. She thanked me for replying to her but yeah, it was my fault. I just told her I had a bad idea and wasn't feeling too well.

 

[Dred Pirate]

So I took everyone's advice and acknowledged the email. I just explained I know I'm responsible for the floors but I really don't recall any medications I took. I also said I'm sorry you had spend most of your work looking form them since I was the one in charge of the floors (these meds are still under my name so I feel I bare responsibility). She found the meds they were in the bin of other medications they were delivered which I must have buried the narcs for the next runner to take. Mind you this was at like 12am so I was exhausted and coming out of quarantine. I told her I just had a bad day and she said that's fine and thanked me for responding to her email. Told her it won't ever happen again.

lessons from this post:
1. We all make mistakes
2. Take ownership of a mistake - don't make excuses.
3. What did you learn from this to not make this mistake again. (side note, in interviews I always ask a about a mistake someone made and what did they learn from it - their answer often tells a lot about them)
4. Refilling the pyxis seem like an easy thing, but a mistake could be very very bad. Imagine worse case scenerio - you mix up abx and the RN grabs what she things is merrem, but it is actually zosyn - pt has an anaphylactic reaction and dies. Would be rare, but possible. Everything you do has consequences, hence why we are paid what we are.

So to the OP - what are you going to do to prevent this from happening again? (imagine me interviewing you)

 

[Sparda29]

lessons from this post:
1. We all make mistakes
2. Take ownership of a mistake - don't make excuses.
3. What did you learn from this to not make this mistake again. (side note, in interviews I always ask a about a mistake someone made and what did they learn from it - their answer often tells a lot about them)
4. Refilling the pyxis seem like an easy thing, but a mistake could be very very bad. Imagine worse case scenerio - you mix up abx and the RN grabs what she things is merrem, but it is actually zosyn - pt has an anaphylactic reaction and dies. Would be rare, but possible. Everything you do has consequences, hence why we are paid what we are.

So to the OP - what are you going to do to prevent this from happening again? (imagine me interviewing you)

#4 - That's why the Pyxis should be set up so you can only refill items by scanning their barcode at the Pyxis so that it opens up only the appropriate cubie.

 

[Dred Pirate]

#4 - That's why the Pyxis should be set up so you can only refill items by scanning their barcode at the Pyxis so that it opens up only the appropriate cubie.

agreed - the only isue with that is the towers and fridge (as far as I know) can't be set up that way - you have access to the whole drawer. You can minimize the risk of errors by not putting things that could remotely be mixed up in the came drawer (don't put two cephalosporins, etc)

 

[rxkrafted]

Hey OP, you may want to take a nice vacation away from all pharmacy-related. Im getting anxiety just from reading this post and the other post about you failing your classes.

 

[Kavy697]

Hey OP, you may want to take a nice vacation away from all pharmacy-related. Im getting anxiety just from reading this post and the other post about you failing your classes.

Hahaha yeah, just needed advice on a lot of things as this is all new to me. I already resolved this issue, so I don't have to worry too much. I was scared about being terminated, that's all. As for failing my classes, I already have to retake my year, but I acknowledged this decision and I can't do much about it. I think at the time I was posted both these I was super depressed and anxious, though I'm seeking help right now.

All in all, I'm a mess

 

[confettiflyer]

Solid life advice - never admit fault (especially in a discoverable medium, like email), the safest answer is that you don’t recall, and don’t overtalk yourself into a hole if the presence of silence.

Narc discrepancies happen all the time, let the designated lead/manager do their investigation and then honestly answer their questions if they have any of you.