Have you ever been in a situation in which a co-worker put a patient in jeopardy? If so, how did you handle it?

How to Answer
1st Entry Level Example
1st Answer Example
1st Experienced Example
2nd Experienced Example

If you have ever been faced with a situation that resulted in you having to make a judgment call that may have affected the job of a friend or co-worker, you know how disheartening it can be. However, nurses are bound by law to protect patients and other co-workers by reporting anything in appropriate or dangerous. The interviewer wants to know that you are capable of identifying and reporting a situation if needed.

"I have never been in a situation that required me to report a coworker. Honestly, I hope I never experience a situation like that."

"I actually have experienced a time that I had to report a co-worker to my supervisor. One of my peers had a diabetic patient who had insulin order per sliding scale. The nurse gave insulin to the patient without checking his blood sugar level first. She told me and asked me not to tell anyone. However, I knew that patient safety the responsibility of everyone. So, I did notify the supervisor."

"When I worked at a long-term care facility, one of my co-worker was using a lift to transfer a patient. He did not have the belt fastened correctly and the patient slipped onto the floor. This was an accident that could have been prevented. I had to write an incident report and turn the situation over to a supervisor."

"I once assisted a nurse with transferring her patient to the restroom. The patient experienced a little dizziness on the way to the restroom. Once seated, the nurse instructed the patient to use the restroom call light when she was done and the nurse would come back to help her get to bed again. In the moment, I offered to stay with the patient until she was ready to go back to bed. After the patient was done in the restroom and back in bed I then spoke privately with the other nurse about the situation and explained that because the patient experienced symptoms even though they were mild it would not be safe for the patient to stay in the restroom alone. The other nurse agreed with me and stated that she just had a busy assignment that day and a lot of patient needs at one time and she was not trying to put any patient in harms way. This situation ended up with a positive outcome because then the nurse was able to see that she needed a little extra help that day and we were able to work together to make sure all the patient needs were met. "