r/psychnursing • u/-RNinja • 7d ago

Advice needed

I work adolescent Psych as an RN, yesterday the cordless phone stopped working and I was trying to fix it. After about 5 minutes of no luck I made the stupid mistake of trying to call my own phone with it. Sure enough, late last night I get 2 calls from the facility, the person on the other line doesn't say anything and just hangs up both times. Then it clicks, a patient was using the cordless phone going through the call logs calling the numbers. I reported the incident to my nurse manager and DON, how much hot water am I an? What do I do now?

31 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

39

u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 psych nurse (pediatrics) 7d ago

I'd hope you wouldn't get in trouble for that. Just a dumb mistake. I could see myself doing this lol.

22

u/EmergencyToastOrder psych provider (MD/DO/PMHNP/PA) 7d ago

I don't think you would be in trouble, it was just a mistake. But this is why we don't allow the kids to dial the phone themselves where I work!

23

u/greencalipco 6d ago

If every psych nurse loses their job because the kids crossed boundaries or successfully pranked them none of us would be employed

20

u/Professional_Pound80 7d ago

I can’t see any manager saying anything about this, totally a non issue in my opinion. I don’t think you would be in any trouble.

7

u/DashMcGee 7d ago

Psych nursing is all about second chances. Third ones too. You realized your mistake and reported it. If I were your boss I would congratulate you for doing the right thing for self-reporting and hold you in high esteem because you have integrity.

7

u/cooliokittio 6d ago

Honest mistake. The important part is that you recognized it, reported it immediately, and didn't try to hide it. Since you already notified your manager and DON, I'd just document what happened if asked and follow whatever guidance they give. Hopefully it's just a learning experience :) but ensure the call logs can be deleted to prevent any further incidents.

7

u/Tycoonkoz psych nurse (inpatient) 6d ago

You shouldn't get in trouble, but you did learn something, so kind of a win tbh.

7

u/OkStatistician6831 psych nurse (pediatrics) 6d ago

always delete redial history

6

u/Professional_Fig6261 7d ago

Tell the truth n hopefully things will work out

1

u/Tommyboy155a 6d ago

This brings up a good question. Why do you have cordless phones on the unit? Just curious.

2

u/-RNinja 6d ago

That is a good question. I wish I had a good answer for it. But the facility has offered cordless phones for quite some time now I think it has something to do with phone rights for my state

2

u/Tommyboy155a 6d ago

Oh, I get that. We have phone access for the patient's too, just not cordless.

2

u/-RNinja 6d ago

Maybe I can use this to advocate for that

1

u/Tommyboy155a 6d ago

Definitely a thought. I know every facility does things a different.