Nurses and new technology

Nurses are almost always play defense in our everyday careers. We have to protect ourselves from families, patients, co workers, doctors, etc. But, how can we protect ourselves. When we have seen it happen to others, maybe ourselves at one point. Especially if you go in to a new job, and you are the new guy. And, all the employees there are friends, hang out every week together, you never get invited to hang out outside of work. You are never invited to lunch with them. The only time you are all together is if it is a meeting. But, you are the new nurse on the block. You are learning the other staff, ways the office works, policy, Doctor you work for how he wants thing, and expects things. While you are doing this of course things change every day in the medical field. But, you are guided and needy of the co worker, supervisors to teach you all you need to , to be able to do this job efficiently. The whole time, they are setting you up. All nurses told by supervisor to do a certain task, but one did not now how and was never shown. So she asks the supervisor, the supervisor instead of just telling the nurse how emails her back noted you can ask the med tech. Which the nurse had already done. Due to this is what the supervisor always tells her.Supervisor is a RN, the nurse is a LPN and the other is of course a med tech. Upon emailing supervisor back and noting the med tech has stated she does not know. No response was given nor was she shown how to do this. A few weeks later the med tech comes to you, and says let me show you this, in return shows you on your computer a new way to get and print needed information to teaching to your patients to print out and give to them at their visit . This also notes in the chart it was given and taught to the patient on that visit. But when she comes to you she says " We were shown this about three weeks ago, so I thought I would ask and see if you knew about it" NO not a clue did the nurse have.Again, few weeks later Med tech comes to Nurse says, we have found a new area to make clinical notes in the chart to cover yourself etc. Again they had known for weeks ahead. No email sent out via the company to share this with everyone.Out of all the meetings that were had nothing mentioned. You have computer charts, web at your finger tips, to gather pull up any medication, condition, etc. for your patient teaching and your own. But the one thing you don't have is a camera, or at least mics to record what goes on with you and the patient, the patient and the doctor why is this? Why can we not have this to protect ourselves. As, you can see in story above that is just a taste of it. There is so so much more to this story of such unfair, unjust treatment. IF all the files, information are protected by computer charts so could be the files videoed from each visit. One to show you did tell or teach a patient something, when they love to come back after you have noted you told them three times on a medication change, etc , or lab results and even mailed a letter as well to have proof of what you discussed. They deny the letter, they deny that you told them three times. So in fact this would so help Nurses defend them selves. And the unjust , unfair treatment from staff and patients. You have a computer system that can tell anytime a person, who it was, how long they were in the chart, what they viewed and how many times, how long spent in the chart. You can try to use this in your defense in some cases but then are told by supervisor in the meeting after mentioning a person she hangs out with, invites to her house every week. They have nothing to do with this , this is not the issue. And the whole time it is the issue, it is about that. You tell the nurse go to them and ask them how to do something. You put the nurse with the med tech to show her how to do everything on a computer. You ask the med tech to please as you are still learning to attach files eletronically to a patients chart, since you put it on wrong patient to delete it, she does. You attach to the right patient. Some time later  more like 6 months you had a male and female same last name in fax inbox you attached one to the others chart. You ask the med tech since you as a nurse have been told you can not have that authority to delete that . She then tells you , what, why are you asking me I can not do that. You have to ask supervisor. So, you do. She lets it stay attached three days , three. you keep asking keep sending emails to her. Later a new nurse starts that fits into their click. The med tech is training the new nurse , as she is doing this behind your work desk. She is training her how to attach files, from fax, or scan. the new nurse makes mistake does same you did the Med tech tells her oh don't worry I can delete it if you make a mistake. You hear this is AWWWW, this same med tech just told you about two weeks ago no no I can not do that. What would you think , how would you feel? You then point this out to your supers boss. She tries to deny it, and that the med tech can do this. When all the while she is the one who has to approve for someone to have the permission to do this very thing. Again video, mics would stop alot of this. It would show a case in court or EEOC, that unfair treatment, harassment, discrimination is happening to you and maybe to others, as well as patients. When patients come in watch your self from now on, esp if you teach in a area low social economics , unemployed, uninsured, not all people are this way but many many are. When they bring in money, purse, meds, cell phones, best to ask them to take all valuable things, pain meds back to their car or give to someone in the waiting room. That way you are not accountable for those things any more. What ever that person says they have in purse, bottles, etc. you are responsible for even if you did not see it. You don't have the right to search them when they come in like see how much cash they have, what meds, what cards etc. You take their word. You trust the patient. But, a patient can say for example patient complains I have a UTI, you take them then to the bathroom, tell patient after giving you the urine go to the room you will be right with them. Later, patient says after you return to your desk my money is missing, my meds or some of meds are missing. At this point you don't know what patient brought in or didn't bring in. If company has no policy in place your screwed. If they don't stand behind you, launch a investigation right then by showing patient no other patient, employee in there has their money or meds. Then again you are screwed. So , they take their patients side not the nurse that has been there almost a year never had a complaint. Never did they launch investigation by calling other patients and asking have you , did you notice this when you come in , have you ever had this problem.? No they do nothing. And when the nurse goes back at them and asks why did you not do these things, search belongings, cars, work areas, etc. They shrug shoulders and say well anyway and move totally away from that issue. Again if were cameras, mic you would have been protected from this happening. Or had like the tracking device some hosptials use to put on the employees badges that tracks their movements all through the building and can tell where they have been and how long they were there. Even staff that can prove the nurse was with the patient the whole time or with them. Not ask for a statement of any kind, no questions asked. They told this nurse no one no one would know what was going on, or why. The nurse was told to leave the office at that moment. Turn in keys etc. And in a week would get a call to say whether had job or not, and what investigation turned up. Before end of week the tell the Nurse above, and well due to they checked in a friend of their childs, did vitals, history etc. like any person would be treated. they lose their job. This nurse noticed long ago what was going on all way back to December asked the powers that be do you want me to quit no was told to her. Nurse asked to go to another office was denied due to the main super said I want her here she is good nurse good leader, etc. all praise to this nurse. But then this patient comes along, pin point pupils makes this accusation. And well Nurse is screwed over, Asked was a investigation done on the patient, their history, credibility, have they tried drug seeking, asking for early refills on meds, or tried say their meds were lost, stolen, misplaced in the past. No nothing was done was said no no we would not do that to our patients. So again, cameras , something needs to be done to protect nurses since the NCBON feels that when a nurse takes a person as a patient that anything that person has, or lies says they have you are totally responsible for even if they were only in your office for ten or fifteen min total to be seen. Changes need to come, nurses need to demand change, demand ways to protect ourselves, instead of having to pay our thousands to protect yourself after the fact. Upon this nurse investigating this patient outside of work, the patient has history of trouble with the law, family of patient says he has had drug and pill history of problems and abuse. But again bosses did not want to hear it or ask them selves to find out the truth. Have learned as told by lawyers, and others NCBON is not for nurses at all. They do not help us at all , in our everyday jobs. They are there to tear you apart and only point out what is wrong with you and all that is wrong with you. If we had cameras etc. and could prove we do our jobs, we don't goof, gossip, etc. It would stop the bullies, the liars, etc. Do you pull together, do we sign a petition, how do we handle this?