Dear Cindy – Terminated for Falsifying a Patient Record

I recently was terminated for falsifying a patient record. Is there any hope I will ever find another job?

Sincerely,

Wondering

Are you currently able to work as a nurse with or without some type of board sanction? That is, did the incident impact your license and/or were you charged with a criminal offense, such as fraud?

If you are able to work, you will probably find a job, and your two main obstacles will be regarding references and what you will say to an interviewer about why you left your last job (and perhaps about the status of your license).

So first, can you get a reference? That is, was your work good except the incident that resulted in your termination? Next will be the issue of explaining the situation to a potential employer. That is, you will have to explain what happened, why it happened, what you have learned from the experience, and what you have done to ensure that it will never happen again. Because as you know, whether you had intentionally falsified a record or had written something down in anticipation of doing it and never got around to it doesn't make a real difference. Any false statement could be potentially detrimental to the patient and can expose the facility to liability. Financially, of course, without the proper documentation, how can services billed be justified for reimbursement by patients or third party payers, and conversely, lack of proper documentation may result in patients or others paying for meds, procedures, etc., that were never received.