options after being terminated?

[FPdoc86]

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I just got terminated from my residency today... I just started my PGY3 year.
I had a lapse in judgement

The reasons being 1) they truly feel I lied on my opening statement for the appeal letter as it did not match with the nurses statement 2) I was incompetent... but they told me if it was just that, that would have been something that they can work with me to fix.

I was truly honest with what I told them had happened, however the nurse is stating otherwise...

what can I do to try and reverse the decision?
legal action? or try and call my DME's up and plead with them?
where can I find legal help?

 

[loveumms]

I would bet it depends a lot on what happened. Can you elaborate more on what happened?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

All residencies/GME programs are required to have an appeal process. Usually, this involves a committee of other PD's and residents who review the situation and either agree with the PD or with the resident -- however programs are free to use any reasonable appeal process. Your GME office should be able to direct you, and it should be in whatever your instution uses for a "housestaff manual". In any case, you would start the process by talking to the DIO (Designated Institutional Official) who is the person in charge of GME.

From your post, you mention an "appeal letter" so perhaps you have already exhausted this option.

You can always try to involve a lawyer. If your institution did not follow it's own written procedures, or if you feel you were terminated maliciously or discriminated against, you might be successful. If this is a "he said/she said" situation (i.e. you say you did X, nurse says you did Y), I don't think you will have much success in court. Programs are bound by Academic due process, which allows them discretion over terminating people for academic or professional issues.

Honestly, your best option at this point is to try to find a new program. Hopefully you can convince a new PD that this was some sort of an honest error / difference in opinion.

 

[FPdoc86]

I don't know wether or not this would help with my case, but wether or not the nurse was lying about it, part of the hospital procedures is for the nurse to call the resident that ordered whatever order is at question so that it would have been given an opportunity to be fixed & if she can't call the resident, then she should call the supervising attending. She did neither, but it was questionable enough to reach the DME's office. I talked to my supervising attending about it, and he said he knew nothing about & also felt it was an honest mistake... but I think it was the nurse lying about her statement that was the final nail in my coffin.

 

[swpm]

I had a lapse in judgement

That's vague.

Did you harm a patient through medical error (potentially forgivable), or did someone find you apneic in the call room clutching a syringe with a blue sticker (buh-bye)?

 

[FPdoc86]

It was an issue over medication dosage... I could not remember the dosage so I asked the nurse to check what the dosage is... later I found out through the DME that the dosage she told me was a fatal dose.

Fortunately the medication was not given, there where no other issues regarding the patient that night, but the nurse never called me or the supervising attending back regarding the order. So no harm was done to the patient.

 

[KidDr]

It was an issue over medication dosage... I could not remember the dosage so I asked the nurse to check what the dosage is... later I found out through the DME that the dosage she told me was a fatal dose.

Fortunately the medication was not given, there where no other issues regarding the patient that night, but the nurse never called me or the supervising attending back regarding the order. So no harm was done to the patient.

I have no idea what legal recourse you have. What worries me is that you don't seem to think what you did was that big of a deal.

You're responsible for the medications you order---if you didn't know the right dose, you should have looked it up, or called the pharmacist, or done something to figure it out--not asked a nurse to "check what the dosage is." Whether or not the nurse called you (or the attending) regarding the order seems somewhat irrelevant (though I would have expected someone from pharmacy to page you--that's what happens at my hospital if someone writes a med order that seems inappropriate). The med order was YOUR responsibility--not the nurse's. At the end of the day, it wasn't ordering the wrong dose of a med that got you in trouble (all of us have done this, and if the system is working right, the mistake should be caught by a nurse, or a pharmacist, or by the infusion pump--there's a reason there's multiple checks in the system). It was the fact that you didn't bother to figure out the right med dose and asked a nurse to do it for you instead. You can't do that.

 

[f_w]

Where you on probation for something else ?

What was the initial action the program took that you appealed ?

One ordering error is hardly sufficient to get you fired, even if the dose was off by multiples. This happens every day in teaching hospitals and the requirement to run orders by pharmacy is designed to catch this kind of stuff.

It sounds like the root of the problem is that you didn't manage to make a convincing case for your side of the story. The academic appeals process works like drug-court. It is not about being right, but rather about being a sufficiently penitent sinner. Your signature under that order makes you responsible for it, even if Santa himself told you the dosage. Hospital procedures and who called whom and didn't call doesn't really matter and if you tried to get into that in your appeals letter it might have hurt you.

What you perceive as the nurse lying, the GME committee possibly perceives as YOU avoiding responsibility.

Firing residents seems to be a family practice thing.

 

[FPdoc86]

I have no idea what legal recourse you have. What worries me is that you don't seem to think what you did was that big of a deal.

Believe me, I know what I did is BIG deal... just not trying to disclose too many details. I know that ultimately its my responsibility to make sure I have the orders right... like I said, I slipped up and I really don't have any excuse & there is nothing I can do or say that will show how sincere I am about making sure this does not happen again.

What I am trying to do now is to do whatever it takes to be able to finish my last year as an FP in this program or at any other FP program.

From what I understand, with a termination on my record, it is next to impossible to get into another program.

A resignation on the other hand will allow me to finish.

 

[f_w]

Believe me, I know what I did is BIG deal...

Yes, but unless there has been a pattern of sloppy and dangerous ordering, a program would not terminate you. They might put you on probation and/or order increased supervision (need of an attending to audit your charts), they won't fire you.

This is in all likelihood more about the perception of lying and the issue of responsibility.

From what I understand, with a termination on my record, it is next to impossible to get into another program.

It will certainly follow you around for your career. But so does academic probation.

There is allways some FP program in need of a reasonably experienced warm body to staff some senior rotations. You'll find something.

A resignation on the other hand will allow me to finish.

It would make it marginally easier to find a new program. You didn't resign by your own free will, and any PD or credentialing body will be interested to get to the bottom of this.

 

[benjee]

were u put on probation first?? cuz most programs/procedure can't just fire somebody( for only one mistake) without put on probation..I could be wrong..and if u want to find a new program, by RRC regulations, u need to finish the last 2 yrs at the same fp program. that means u need to repeat the second yr of residency. correct me if I'm wrong. things happen to ppl,just learn from mistakes n don't repeat in future.

 

[Faebinder]

Wow, so sorry this happened to you. Good luck to you and if anything I bet you are now more paranoid about dosages.

 

[radonc]

this is a perfect example of why we should document EVERYTHING.

anytime i speak to a patient, i write a note. we xerox every prescription we write. i detail every side effect i talk to patients about, who was spoken too (which family members), and reasons why we are doing what we are doing. consultation notes are often 3-4 pages in length, typed, single spaced.

the onus is on the physician to make correct decisions...it doesnt take too much time to look up a dose, esp with the availablity of the internet/pda's. on inpt floors, this is esp important. im sorry this had to happen to you, but mistakes can be costly.

i agree with other posters that this probably wasnt the only red flag in your residency career...good luck trying to find another position...

 

[Top Gun]

Aren't residency programs supposed to have a remediation process before firing a resident? If so, had you gone through one before?
Anyway, now you know not to rely on the nurse to look up the dosage for you. Do it yourself and that way you'll avoid trouble.

 

[yaah]

Aren't residency programs supposed to have a remediation process before firing a resident? If so, had you gone through one before?

Obviously there is more to this story, if it is a true story. People don't have to worry that residency programs will can you if you make one mistake, unless of course that mistake is deliberate and causes serious harm.

 

[f_w]

Residency programs can you for:

- a pattern of serious mistakes that doesn't improve with remediation
- groping 1 nurse
- groping 1 patient
- hitting on 1 nursing student
- p#$$*ng off the nursing management
- shooting up Fentanyl and refusing to go into the states physician rehab program

 

[FPdoc86]

So what aer my options then?

Spoke with 3 good friends of mine, 2 of them are chiefs at their programs, told them all the details that I don't want to disclose in this thread.

One of them was telling me about residents in his program screwing up many more times than me & placing patients in even more danger than I have ever come close to & they are still in their program... He said the only resident they terminated took them 7-8 months to do so, thorough documentation by other residents & attendings, and this was for being incompetent on multiple occasions putting the patients lives in danger, missing multiple days of work, always being late, etc etc etc... he said in order to terminate the resident, they had to have thorough documentation of everything from consistent bad evaluations to documentation from others & only then where they able to can him.

They recommend I take legal action... or should I try to contact other programs first & try to convince them that this was an honest error & difference in opinion? Taking legal action is something I don't really want to do if I can find another way to finish my 3rd year.

I can honestly say that being an FP doc is something that I thoroughly enjoy and find more rewarding than any other job out there... I know I screwed up... & have learned from my mistakes and now I just want to be able to finish so that I can continue to do what I love.

 

[FPdoc86]

Residency programs can you for:

- a pattern of serious mistakes that doesn't improve with remediation
- groping 1 nurse
- groping 1 patient
- hitting on 1 nursing student
- p#$$*ng off the nursing management
- shooting up Fentanyl and refusing to go into the states physician rehab program

Well I know for a fact that I don't have a pattern of serious mistakes, I have had anywhere from good to stellar evaluations each month from my attendings, & have shown good improvement from past mistakes which happened long time ago prior to them renewing my 3rd year contract.

But I may be guilty of the rest of the reasons... just kidding🙄

 

[f_w]

One of them was telling me about residents in his program screwing up many more times than me & placing patients in even more danger than I have ever come close to & they are still in their program...

Trying to 'relativize' your mistake is not going to help you.

He said the only resident they terminated took them 7-8 months to do so, thorough documentation by other residents & attendings, and this was for being incompetent on multiple occasions putting the patients lives in danger, missing multiple days of work, always being late, etc etc etc..

This is the scenario I am more familiar with. But that depends on how the individual institutions policies are written.
The large places I have been through tended to have very politically correct multi-step appeals processes and firing an even outright incompetent and belligerent resident was near impossible.
Some b@((((# community hospital might have a 3-liner as policy stating: 'Residents can be terminated if the residency director doesn't believe that keeping the resident on staff will further the reputation of the hospital in the community'.
ACGME just requires you to have A policy, they don't require it to be fair.

They recommend I take legal action...

On what grounds ?

Depending on your state, your rights as an employee may be very limited. If the state supports a 'hiring to fit' policy, the program will just say that you didn't fulfill the job duties and there is not much you can do. It might work, but more likely they will just say that keeping you would put patients at risk, end of story (the guy driving the forklift gets fired if he plows over a palette with $10.000 worth of electronics, not much difference to your situation).
If you are in one of the socialist union driven states like NY, going to the courts might help you.

 

[f_w]

& have shown good improvement from past mistakes which happened long time ago prior to them renewing my 3rd year contract.

So, this wasn't the first time you where called to the assistant principals office.

 

[Bobblehead]

Whatever course you decide to take against your institution, stop posting on this forum now. Comments you make here by you will be found and can be traced back to you. I suggest that you consult a lawyer instead of a bunch of faceless names on this discoverable internet bulletin board.

 

[southerndoc]

So what aer my options then?

Spoke with 3 good friends of mine, 2 of them are chiefs at their programs, told them all the details that I don't want to disclose in this thread.

One of them was telling me about residents in his program screwing up many more times than me & placing patients in even more danger than I have ever come close to & they are still in their program... He said the only resident they terminated took them 7-8 months to do so, thorough documentation by other residents & attendings, and this was for being incompetent on multiple occasions putting the patients lives in danger, missing multiple days of work, always being late, etc etc etc... he said in order to terminate the resident, they had to have thorough documentation of everything from consistent bad evaluations to documentation from others & only then where they able to can him.

They recommend I take legal action... or should I try to contact other programs first & try to convince them that this was an honest error & difference in opinion? Taking legal action is something I don't really want to do if I can find another way to finish my 3rd year.

I can honestly say that being an FP doc is something that I thoroughly enjoy and find more rewarding than any other job out there... I know I screwed up... & have learned from my mistakes and now I just want to be able to finish so that I can continue to do what I love.

It is really bad form for you to ask opinions of people on this discussion board without divulging all details of the incident.

However, I respect your privacy and desire to not mention the exact scenario. Without all the details, my advice for you is to close this thread and not solicit advice from people who do not have the full details of your situation.

 

[tibor75]

I just got terminated from my residency today... I just started my PGY3 year.
I had a lapse in judgement

The reasons being 1) they truly feel I lied on my opening statement for the appeal letter as it did not match with the nurses statement 2) I was incompetent... but they told me if it was just that, that would have been something that they can work with me to fix.

I was truly honest with what I told them had happened, however the nurse is stating otherwise...

what can I do to try and reverse the decision?
legal action? or try and call my DME's up and plead with them?
where can I find legal help?

Uh, Pharmacoepia? Internet?

 

[tibor75]

I have no idea what legal recourse you have. What worries me is that you don't seem to think what you did was that big of a deal.

You're responsible for the medications you order---if you didn't know the right dose, you should have looked it up, or called the pharmacist, or done something to figure it out--not asked a nurse to "check what the dosage is." Whether or not the nurse called you (or the attending) regarding the order seems somewhat irrelevant (though I would have expected someone from pharmacy to page you--that's what happens at my hospital if someone writes a med order that seems inappropriate). The med order was YOUR responsibility--not the nurse's. At the end of the day, it wasn't ordering the wrong dose of a med that got you in trouble (all of us have done this, and if the system is working right, the mistake should be caught by a nurse, or a pharmacist, or by the infusion pump--there's a reason there's multiple checks in the system). It was the fact that you didn't bother to figure out the right med dose and asked a nurse to do it for you instead. You can't do that.

agreed 100%. It's always annoying when people try to pass the buck to others.

face it, FPdoc, you messed up and DESERVED to be fired. I'm personally glad you were - wouldn't want anybody with your level of incompetence working in a hospital where I might be admitted.

 

[f_w]

- wouldn't want anybody with your level of incompetence working in a hospital where I might be admitted.

I am glad to see that the pope is practicing medicine now.

 

[MacGyver]

Residency programs can you for:

- a pattern of serious mistakes that doesn't improve with remediation
- groping 1 nurse
- groping 1 patient
- hitting on 1 nursing student
- p#$$*ng off the nursing management
- shooting up Fentanyl and refusing to go into the states physician rehab program

I can understand #1-3 and #6, but #4 and #5 are stupid reasons to fire somebody.

You tellin me I cant flirt with any of the nurses or I'll get fired? Also, pissing off nursing management should be insufficient cause. They get bent out of shape for all kinds of stupid reasons. Its about time attendings and PDs quit bending to the bitching of nurses every single time. Far too many of them are cowards afraid of confrontation.

 

[f_w]

You tellin me I cant flirt with any of the nurses or I'll get fired?

You can't pick up the near-underage nursing (tech, PT, RT) students. You can do with grown up RNs whatever you please (but for the most part, they stick to firemen and attendings).

Also, pissing off nursing management should be insufficient cause.

If you are a constant a-hole to nursing, none of your little slipups will go unnoticed. Every time your answer to a page is delayed, it will be documented and kicked up the chain of command. Every time you use a leading zero or write a 'qd' instead of 'once a day', an incident report will pile up against you. You better be perfect if you want to be an a$$ to nursing.

They get bent out of shape for all kinds of stupid reasons.

For the most part, they bend over backwards to make your (and their) life easier (unless of course you show a glimpse of the p^$$poor attitude you express on these boards in your daily interaction with them).

 

[LADoc00]

This is prime illustration on what a crapshoot spending hundreds of K as well as time on a medical education in the US really is.

I doubt there is much for you to do but since the consequences are SO severe i.e. you essentially will never be able to practice medicine, I would retain a lawyer and sue the nurse. Yes sue the nurse. Not the hospital, not the program, the nurse.

Shop for real junkyard dog of an attorney who has experience in employment litigation. My experience says that often cases of docs being terminated for what we might say is clear cut is anything but to a jury of lay people, a good attorney will force the program to confront this.

Go after the weakest link. You have a CRAZY case for theoretical damages.

 

[LADoc00]

agreed 100%. It's always annoying when people try to pass the buck to others.

face it, FPdoc, you messed up and DESERVED to be fired. I'm personally glad you were - wouldn't want anybody with your level of incompetence working in a hospital where I might be admitted.

IMO, there is rarely a case for residents to be fired. Assuming you actually come and show up to work.

Residents are such because they are SUPERVISED. Where is the supervision in this case? Where is the attending? If I was attending on that service I would ask the resident to closely consult with me before they wrote orders if I knew they were weak.

This is a failure of leadership, pure and simple. Also, WTH is program taking a nurse's word over that of their resident??

Im so glad I never did Family med, whoa what a disaster.

 

[Top Gun]

Why should the nurse be sued? The OP admits that he asked her to look up the drug dosage, which is not part of her job. He was the one responsible for ensuring the correct dosage and should have looked up the dosage himself.
However, in fairness, it is kind of weird to fire a resident over an isolated incident. IMHO, the OP should try to make a case that he has learned from the mistake and that it will not be repeated. If he is asked to undergo remediation, he should be willing to do that.

 

[sirus_virus]

Why should the nurse be sued? The OP admits that he asked her to look up the drug dosage, which is not part of her job. He was the one responsible for ensuring the correct dosage and should have looked up the dosage himself.
However, in fairness, it is kind of weird to fire a resident over an isolated incident. IMHO, the OP should try to make a case that he has learned from the mistake and that it will not be repeated. If he is asked to undergo remediation, he should be willing to do that.

Because in America, you don't have to have a good case to win a lawsuit.

Angry plaintiff + Sharp lawyer + sympathetic/confused jury = Civil case victory.

Unfortunate but true.

 

[LADoc00]

Why should the nurse be sued? The OP admits that he asked her to look up the drug dosage, which is not part of her job. He was the one responsible for ensuring the correct dosage and should have looked up the dosage himself.
However, in fairness, it is kind of weird to fire a resident over an isolated incident. IMHO, the OP should try to make a case that he has learned from the mistake and that it will not be repeated. If he is asked to undergo remediation, he should be willing to do that.

Because the proximate cause of the OP being fired was the nurse lying in written statement about the events that transpired.

The "responsible" party is not clear. As I stated the attending is ultimately responsible for care on his/her service.

The point wouldnt neccessarily be to take the case to trial, but show you are serious in presenting your side of the events with earnest. Im not saying the OP should abdicate all responsibility, but clear chain of events should be revealed to superiors and frankly the best person to help you do that is solid legal counsel. There are numerous specialists who do nothing but work with docs on such issues.

Here is my standpoint: the OP is basically screwed beyond belief and as such must do everything in his/her power to rectify the situation. He/she isnt getting booted from summer camp, this will become essentially a total ban on practice.

The OP must act with support from a specialized attorney, that is clear to me.

 

[southerndoc]

As I mentioned before, we really shouldn't be commenting on this case without the OP releasing all the details. I do not believe he should release all the details on a public discussion forum. Therefore, we all should refrain from encouraging lawsuits or any other recommendations without hearing his/her entire story.

 

[FPdoc86]

As I mentioned before, we really shouldn't be commenting on this case without the OP releasing all the details. I do not believe he should release all the details on a public discussion forum. Therefore, we all should refrain from encouraging lawsuits or any other recommendations without hearing his/her entire story.

thank you... time for me to do whatever it is I have to do to rectify the situation.

 

[LADoc00]

As I mentioned before, we really shouldn't be commenting on this case without the OP releasing all the details. I do not believe he should release all the details on a public discussion forum. Therefore, we all should refrain from encouraging lawsuits or any other recommendations without hearing his/her entire story.

I strongly encourage the OP to seek competent legal counsel asap. I dont care what the whole story is, everyone even criminals are entitled to counsel in our country.

 

[tibor75]

IMO, there is rarely a case for residents to be fired. Assuming you actually come and show up to work.

Residents are such because they are SUPERVISED. Where is the supervision in this case? Where is the attending? If I was attending on that service I would ask the resident to closely consult with me before they wrote orders if I knew they were weak.

This is a failure of leadership, pure and simple. Also, WTH is program taking a nurse's word over that of their resident??

Im so glad I never did Family med, whoa what a disaster.

laughable reasoning.

An intern/resident is still a doctor and has responsibility. You can't just say, "Well, they are supervised so they are absolved of any mistakes"

If you make mistakes stupid enough, you are stupid enough to be fired.

The funniest thing is that this post is coming from the same clown who said a chief resident should be fired for a scheduling mistake in another thread.


at hypocritical people

 

[tibor75]

I strongly encourage the OP to seek competent legal counsel asap. I dont care what the whole story is, everyone even criminals are entitled to counsel in our country.

uh, criminals are entitled to free counsel. if you want counsel for a civil suit, you have to pay it youself which most residents can't afford.

wow, that logic was hard to figure out.

 

[f_w]

uh, criminals are entitled to free counsel. if you want counsel for a civil suit, you have to pay it youself which most residents can't afford.

I didn't see free counsel anywhere in LAdocs post.

If you have a good case for a civil suit (which the OP doesn't), you will often find an attorney willing to work on a contingency fee.

 

[benjee]

it seems it is impossible for u to stay at the same program for the time being n you don't want to waste too much time on the matter.The most practical option now is look for a new program where u can continue and finish.When apply to new program, just be honest what happened cuz the new pd will somehow find out.As for the legal part, get a professional consult . the program cannot just fire somebody for one mistake, there should be remediation, probation .etc prior . As a third yr resident, the biggest mistake u did was to trust the nurse which is a big nono, from the first day of residency, my senior always says DON'T trust anyone.Being a resident means getting abuse by other health professionals, getting unfair treatment, getting blamed ,underpaid,overworked..etc.It is hard to come across this in the middle of residency especailly in this field cuz nobody in ur program will help/say anything since nobody want to get involve, good luck to u.

 

[Pox in a box]

Troll Alert!

 

[fab4fan]

You can't pick up the near-underage nursing (tech, PT, RT) students. You can do with grown up RNs whatever you please (but for the most part, they stick to firemen and attendings).



If you are a constant a-hole to nursing, none of your little slipups will go unnoticed. Every time your answer to a page is delayed, it will be documented and kicked up the chain of command. Every time you use a leading zero or write a 'qd' instead of 'once a day', an incident report will pile up against you. You better be perfect if you want to be an a$$ to nursing.



For the most part, they bend over backwards to make your (and their) life easier (unless of course you show a glimpse of the p^$$poor attitude you express on these boards in your daily interaction with them).

It's tempting to resort to writing "Dr. Jerk" up, it's true. What stops me from doing it? I hate paperwork, so it would be cutting off my nose to spite my face. Besides, there are way more sophomoric methods of getting back at the bad actors. (j/k)

But you are right on the other part. There are plenty of times I take care of things that I could turn into an issue, simply because the doc in question is respectful to nursing staff.

 

[f_w]

I hate paperwork,

You can't be an RN then 😉

(today I spent 2 hrs I will never get back in meetings trying to update some 'policies'....)

 

[radonc]

If you have a good case for a civil suit (which the OP doesn't), you will often find an attorney willing to work on a contingency fee.

i guess we have our own attorney at sdn, assessing the quality of potential lawsuits in posts...

 

[f_w]

i guess we have our own attorney at sdn, assessing the quality of potential lawsuits in posts...

This was strictly in regard to LAdocs bright idea to sue the RN that supposedly gave the OP an incorrect medication dosage when asked.

Maybe, just maybe, he would have a case against the hospital about the termination. But in the age of 'at will' employment and given that there was an appeals process he went through, I even doubt that any attorney would touch that one on a contingency basis.

 

[Dr JPH]

Let me preface this first by saying I think this thread is a BS story to begin with...but anyway...

=

Sounds to me like the OP is doing every EXCEPT owning up to the mistake.

From what I know it takes more than a medication error to get booted from a program.

Handling the situation the way the OP seems to be handling it seems like a quicker way to be removed.

This doesnt sound like anything more than a resident who is unable to take responsibility for his actions, but rather tries to blame those around him for something he should have had under control.

Just my $0.02

 

[Tired]

Let me ask a question, now that I've finished my first week of 'tern-ship.

I have written probably on the order of 500 med orders this week (busy-a$$ surgical service). I'm guessing a dozen of them have been wrong, in one way or another. My mistakes include:
- 1g tylenol q4-6hrs (done this one twice now)
- writing for Percocet and tylenol that could potentially exceed 4g acetaminophen/day
- Valium qid (confused it with Robaxin while post-call)
- Sudafed pediatric dose instead of adult dose
- forgot a decimal point on the dilaudid dose (scared the **** out of me when they caught it)

All these have been caught by nurses. I'd like to think that I haven't hurt anyone yet.

Here's my question after the long-winded lead in: No one has busted me for these. In fact, they're treated as typical training errors. While I might be yelled at, I and my fellow less-than-experienced interns are hardly brought up on "charges".

What the hell happened here?

 

[f_w]

While I might be yelled at, I and my fellow less-than-experienced interns are hardly brought up on "charges".

You are an intern and expected to f up with 1:20 odds. The expectations rise as you become a senior, fellow or attending.

What the hell happened here?

I suspect more than the OP told us about.

 

[fab4fan]

Let me ask a question, now that I've finished my first week of 'tern-ship.

I have written probably on the order of 500 med orders this week (busy-a$$ surgical service). I'm guessing a dozen of them have been wrong, in one way or another. My mistakes include:
- 1g tylenol q4-6hrs (done this one twice now)
- writing for Percocet and tylenol that could potentially exceed 4g acetaminophen/day
- Valium qid (confused it with Robaxin while post-call)
- Sudafed pediatric dose instead of adult dose
- forgot a decimal point on the dilaudid dose (scared the **** out of me when they caught it)

All these have been caught by nurses. I'd like to think that I haven't hurt anyone yet.

Here's my question after the long-winded lead in: No one has busted me for these. In fact, they're treated as typical training errors. While I might be yelled at, I and my fellow less-than-experienced interns are hardly brought up on "charges".

What the hell happened here?

These mistakes aren't even worthy of getting yelled at. You're new to writing med orders. You're learning. If you don't learn from your mistakes, that's a different matter.

Verfying orders is part of a nurse's job. Nursing, pharmacy...yes, we can be a PIA at times, but we're part of the safety net for med errors. We all work together, contrary to what some people here would have you believe.

 

[LADoc00]

laughable reasoning.

An intern/resident is still a doctor and has responsibility. You can't just say, "Well, they are supervised so they are absolved of any mistakes"

If you make mistakes stupid enough, you are stupid enough to be fired.

The funniest thing is that this post is coming from the same clown who said a chief resident should be fired for a scheduling mistake in another thread.


at hypocritical people

Of course the resident has responsibility but the US government is PAYING MY FLIPPIN TAX DOLLARS to medical center and a department so that said resident can be closely monitored, instructed and prevented from causing harm.

Med schools and hospitals are currently engaged in wide ranging FRAUD billing for full services of an attending while having only residents monitor a case. There needs to accountability and that will require AG offices stepping up to plate and investigating this crap.

If this is how we want to roll, then CUT OFF ALL GOVERNMENT FUNDING for GME. end of story, problem solved.

Maybe we can decrease the risk of IMGs coming in for terror attack purposes at the same time.

 

[Top Gun]

Let me ask a question, now that I've finished my first week of 'tern-ship.

I have written probably on the order of 500 med orders this week (busy-a$$ surgical service). I'm guessing a dozen of them have been wrong, in one way or another. My mistakes include:
- 1g tylenol q4-6hrs (done this one twice now)
- writing for Percocet and tylenol that could potentially exceed 4g acetaminophen/day
- Valium qid (confused it with Robaxin while post-call)
- Sudafed pediatric dose instead of adult dose
- forgot a decimal point on the dilaudid dose (scared the **** out of me when they caught it)

All these have been caught by nurses. I'd like to think that I haven't hurt anyone yet.

Here's my question after the long-winded lead in: No one has busted me for these. In fact, they're treated as typical training errors. While I might be yelled at, I and my fellow less-than-experienced interns are hardly brought up on "charges".

What the hell happened here?

Well, its pretty odd that the OP should get fired over one medication error.
There is, however, a difference between you and him. You're an intern in the first month. He's a PGY 3. So the expectations of you are different.
Still, though, I'm not sure even this qualifies as an explanation. There has got to be more to the OP's story.