Nurse Gave Vaccine That We Didn't Want!

The nurse made a mistake, she's human, it happens. I'm sure the doctor does know it happened, but if it will make you feel better call and say you want to talk to the doctor.

I think it is going a bit overboard to report it.

ONE: because you didn't have any questions when she came in with the shots. I am not anti-vaccine except with guardasil but I always asked the nurses exactly what they were giving my daughter before any shots were given.

TWO: a policy that was at our pedi office was that I had to sign off on everything before they do shots.

Of course, let the Dr and staff know you are upset, I am not saying blow it off completely... just don't go overboard with it.

.

I had a situation like this a few months ago. My DD is getting her last boosters of certain vaccines and we only do one shot at a time. I requested the tetanus/polio/pertussis combo and made that very clear to the nurse practitioner. In comes the "vaccine nurse" with a chickenpox shot, telling me how it was the last one they had as an MMRV combo and she thought I should get that instead. She had already prepared the vaccine and was PI$$3D when I refused. I mde her throw it out and give the shot that I had requested.
I would definitely complain to the doctor and your insurance company in person. It really isn't a matter of whether damage was done or not but the fact that they either deliberately or negligently disregarded a patient's rights and what kind of treatment was authorized by you for your child. This is a systemic issue for that practice and just because no harm was done to your child, that doesn't mean that their behavior is acceptable. They should be grateful for you reporting the issue so they can take action before a child gets seriously harmed by a nurse injecting drugs willy nilly.
Good luck!

From reading your post /what happened you should of questioned the consent form they are given prior to vaccines along with the form from CDC that state what the vaccine is what it is for & what common/serious effects from the vaccine.For you not to notice the 3 syringes prior to them given till afterwards you have to pay attention just as much as the nursing staff.But to blame it all on the nurse & nothing on yourself isn't going to help you didn't notice either & she clearly made a mistake aswell on her end.She didn't confirm the vaccines why didn't you ask.Before any vaccines are given i'am told what they are needing but if they aren't required i'll skip when she comes in with the vaccines I ask are these correct she double checks them along with my signed consent form.Next time you'll know to ask more questions even if there is a crying baby & long wait time.Mistakes can be avoided it takes the nursing staff the Dr. & the patient to speak up protect yourself & your loved ones ask questions

I would be very upset. I know and understand that humans make mistakes, but in the medical world they need to be extra careful. I would take action against the nurse and/or the office for not being more careful. It is none of her business why you are doing a different vaccine schedule. There are just too many times that medical mistakes can cause serious injury or death. I had read this article the other day and I had to find it and share it with you. This is just one out of thousands of vaccine injury's that happen every day, most are kept quiet or brushed off as something else.
Sorry if I am sounding like a witch with a capital B, but there is so much going on in the USA today that is against people’s right to choose.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/life/2012/jan/15/jury-awards-12-...

you should definitely speak to the doctor directly. I would also remind them that you could report them and/or sue them for administering this vaccine without your consent.

As for those few of you who feel that she may be overreacting, I ,am deeply concerned as to why you feel that she shouldn't be flipping out. I shudder to think that you would take it so lightly if it were YOUR child. It is wrong for safety reasons, legal reasons, ethical reasons and ultimately it is scary that they made such a mistake to begin with. We trust our caregivers to protect our kids, so mistakes like this are careless and potentially dangerous.

I would do what you can to speak to the office manager, or whoever deals with correcting the actions of the staff in that office, it is not always the doctor or it may not be YOUR doctor if there are more than one in that office, like mine. I would use this as a learning opportunity for that staff and I would find a new doctor with a less careless staff.

Wow. What's the policy?
I know at our pediatrician's office, I have to sign for the vaccines BEFORE they are given.

Most parents do get all the vaccines and she probably just didn't look. I would make an appointment and talk to the doc and find out what he wants to do.

I know you don't want a debate about shots but if it didn't hurt your child and they may not get some horrid diseases from it why does it really matter in the long run? Just because it was one you didn't want? I understand wanting your way. It could have turned out differently.

Pharmacists make mistakes with prescriptions on occasion, nurses make mistakes like this one did, and even docs don't know everything and they have mal-practice insurance to cover accidents that hurt people.

I have never had any kind of paper given to me asking what shots the kids were getting, they just came in for their appointment and the shots were given. They had them and now are protected.

OF COURSE you should report it! And make sure the doctor knows about it, ask to speak to him/her so they are aware of what kind of nurse is working in their office. I would be beyond livid, only because we do NO shots whatsoever. I hope you child doesn't have any kind of reaction from it. My step dtr at 16 months had an immediate reaction to her immunization shots and has permanent brain damage from it. Good luck!!!!!

Call the office and ask to speak to the practice manager. That is the person who oversees all the operations. Discuss it with them and let them know that you would also like to have a call back from the doctor.

I am a nurse practitioner and have lived in lots of areas and I have never known a doctor to give shots. But, this was a major error on the nurse's part and needs to be addressed.

I have always had to give a consent form and I've never not noticed the number of shots my kids were given. That strikes me as odd. Yes, a crying 13 month old from waiting and then shots will have you preoccupied, but I don't understand how you didn't notice 3 shots. I don't mean to be rude, but I even ask with my older kids what each shot is. The nurses tell me what they are giving. If I wasn't getting what I needed from my ped office, I'd switch. We did just that a little over a year ago and have never been happier.

I would talk with the doctor directly, and I do think it warrants some research. A nurse should never ACCIDENTLY give a patient anything.

But I also think you need to pay more attention to the shots being given and ask more questions. Especially if you are wanting to avoid some for now.

I would ask to talk to the doctor or if your doctor says it is ok to e-mail maybe do that. It is not ok to just push this under the rug, the nurse needs to be talked to by the doctor (or head nurse) to be reminded of the procedures to make sure this does not happen again.

Are you in the room when the vaccinations are given? If so what I do is always check the vaccinations that are brought in to make sure the correct ones are being given. I have caught a wrong vaccine once, before it was given, the nurse checked with the doctor to double check what was to be given and got the correct vaccine. I have found that with any "change" you make to the "normal" vaccine scheudle you have to be more proactive in knowing what is being brought in and given to the kid. It is too easy for the nurse to be in the "normal" routine and forget what the doctor has told them to do.

As some also suggested if possible find a place that is use to have different vaccine schedules, this might help in the nurses double checking in what they are to give. Where I go everything is electronic and they check on the computer when getting the vaccines and then again when coming in the room to give it... they are more then happy to show me also what they brought it.

Yes I'd take action. You are right - there are too many "what if's" and someone needs to be held accountable for it. Not to mention - this vaccine is normally performed at age 2 yrs - not 13 months! Yikes! Big no-no in my opinion. And we did do some vaccines. Did not do others. My husband would be pissed, and MOREso if there is some sort of reaction.

So whether or not you take action, conider waiting to see if there is an adverse reaction to the vaccine she got. But imo - yes it needs to be reported to SOMEONE that this nurse, plus this office staff have no concern or care for your child. I would likely not return to their office if indeed that nurse keeps her job there.

I would ask to speak with 1) the doctor, 2) the office manager. ABSOLUTELY unacceptable! I would bet it is not her first mistake, but it definitely needs to be reported directly to the people in charge. I do give my kids all of the recommended vaccinations, but I firmly believe in the right of parents to opt out of some of them, especially when your doctor is supportive of your decision.

so sorry you are dealing with this, i am a pro-vaccine mommy myself, but this is just wrong. there's a lot you need to take away from this experience. first and foremost, your little one will likely be JUST FINE, and that is what is truly most important. secondly, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS double and triple check what ANY medical professional is injecting/administering to your child - whether it's in the doctor's office, hospital, ER, surgery center, etc. mistakes happen, and if you are unfamiliar with the medicine, ask what it's for, if it still doesn't make sense, ask for the ordering physician to come explain it to you. third, always check HOW MANY things are being given to your child, there are times someone accidentally grabs meds for a couple of patients, not realizing it. don't ever feel intimidated or stupid for questioning and requestioning, and if they get huffy/rushed with you, remind them that you are not trying to be a pest, you are just trying to prevent a mistake from being made in regardes to your child, just as you're sure you would if it were their child.

in regards to what happened today - i would contact the practice administrator and the physician himself/herself for two reasons. one, to report to them directly what happened, sometimes they truly don't know what goes on, and therefore can't fix(or prevent from happening again) problems they don't know about. one of them may be able to explain to you how it happened(not that it matters) - maybe the error WAS on the part of the physician and not the nurse, who knows? two, to find out if they routinely administer vaccines without signed consent, that seems odd to me - i have always signed the consent forms for each vaccine for each of my 3 children BEFORE they are administered. it's another check/balance to prevent mistakes, and i'm almost positive they are required to keep that as part of the vaccine records... after speaking with both of those persons, then make your decision on whether to report to the medical boards, and who you are reporting. if the nurse was following the WRITTEN orders, there may not be anything to "report" her on. if the physician is not following standard practices of care by having guardians sign for vaccines or if he is indeed the one that wrote the orders incorrectly, you may be reporting the doctor rather than the nurse. point is, get to the bottom of the story so you have a better grasp on who/what to report, if that's what you decide to do.

sorry this happened to you, take a deep breath, and realize that things are probably going to be JUST fine :) good luck.

I too would be furious. I always have the nurse draw the vaccines up in front of me so I can see the labels and check expiration dates to make sure we are given the proper ones. It's hard when you have a crying baby and things are chaotic to get things right. Make sure you speak with your doctor about this so it doesn't happen again in the future to you or anyone else.

Ugh, what a nightmare for you.

THe first thing I thought was why did you sign for it - but you didn't sign anything?? I've always had to sign BEFORE a shot is given and they tell me for which shot I am signing for/initializing.

Have you ever had to sign in the past?

If I were you, I'd call the office and DEMAND to have a face to face chat with the doctor. Human error happens, it does. But I'd talk to him/her.

I hope all is ok with your little one. Assuming he's ok, then you'll just have to move on from it. Darn Ped offices can be so crazy sometimes, Germs everywhere, crying kids, sick kids, a 13 month old who is squirming while you wait a 1/2 hour. As long as he's ok, that's all that matters.

I know this is a hard one. I would definitely discuss with the doctor and office manager as you don't want that to happen again. If your son does not have any adverse reactions that's the best outcome. Because I find that pediatricians offices are chaotic at times, I am even more militant about watching what they are doing when we go for a sick apt or wellness checkup. Our ped office has us sign for the specific vaccine. The nurse/nurses administer the vaccines 100% of the time where I go. What I do however, after signing the form is verify the shots they bring into the exam room is what I've authorized. Never had a problem.

I would suggest you look at what they will give your son prior to him being injected so you know it won't happen again. Like you I have had the vaccines staggared and don't want any mix-ups. I am sorry this happened

I'm so impressed by your research. It is so important to know what we are giving our children. I would just keep a close eye on your angel and leave the rest to God. Be extra watchful going forward.

I'm curious which vaccine was it? I'm looking at the recommend vaccine schedule and maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I can't figure out which vaccine kids don't get until after they are 2.

At any rate, I'm sorry you had this experience. Medical professionals are human, and unfortunately, mistakes are sometimes made. You can't undo the shot. It's done. Go ahead and speak to the doctor about it if it will make you feel better, maybe the office needs to readdress how meds/shots are checked before they are administered.

Other than that I'm not sure what kind of remedy you are looking for?

I am also pro vaccine, but that being said I would have flipped off the handle at the doctor so I'm impressed that you have held your composur. I have never had to sign anything either as far as vaccines have gone. If I were you I would wait until I cooled down and think the whole thing through. What do you want to get out of this? Someone fired, more precautions put in place etc. From there I would then call and ask hat they are going to do in their day to day operations to make sure this never happens again. If they are unwilling to something I would file a complaint and switch Doctors. I get things happen but as a parent you are doing what you think is best for YOUR child, and now that has been somewhat violated.

I would call the doctor and ask for more info about the vaccine you were given by mistake. Ask for any side effects to watch out for. Make sure to tell him to talk to the nurse about it and to also check paperwork and make sure it was a one time mistake, rather than a trend of something she has done many times in the past.

Also, while it's a crappy lesson to learn, I guess it taught you that no matter how upset your baby is when the nurse comes in (and trust me, I've been there!!), you need to be your own advocate. Double and triple check what she brings into the room before she picks up a syringe.

I think this is a wake up call to all the parents on here. Not every office has the same procedure(s). We've moved across country and things are similar at both pediatrician's offices, but not the SAME.

I've never been asked to sign a consent form and a nurse (or 2) have always given the shots.

I would be equally upset. It has nothing to do with my view of to vaccinate or not.

Decide if you want to talk to the Dr. in person or over the phone. When speaking to the Dr. you need to be clear that you are not happy and want the following:
1. An apology from the Dr./nurse/office.
2. An agreement that the Dr. will review policies and procedures with his/her staff regarding vaccinations. Maybe having parents sign a consent form and/or giving the paperwork before the vaccinations are given as a starting point.
3. To ensure that you or your insurance is not charged for the unwanted vaccination.

If you do not feel it is handled to your fullest expectations, find a new Dr. and office. This is ridiculous. Sorry you are having to deal with this. So not necessary!

The receptionist was probably rude because she knows you could sue them. Trying to make you feel bad about complaining might shut you up. I would call and insist on talking to the doctor. If it were my child, I would get a lawyer. If anyone vaccinated my child against my wishes they would be held responsible for it. I would be so livid. Some vaccines are not only more dangerous than others, but also unethical. I would be fit to be tied. I'm fired up for you! Oooh I would be so mad. What if they gave your child any other drug without your permission? What then? They are obviously irresponsible and lack organization if she gave your child the wrong vaccine. Ugh. I need to go drink a cup of tea to calm down. ;)

She messed up. The doctor needs to know that his people are making big mistakes like this.

I'm not sure how it works in your son's office, but I initial which vaccines she's getting, ahead of time, so there's no confusion.

I would call her Dr tomorrow and talk about it. She needs to know. There is a reason only certain ones are given... because of age, your requests or other reasons ( like you said)

Unfortunately there is no way to take it back. If your Dr had stated what ones, the Dr needs to know the nurse messed up. Hopefully everything is ok with your little one, but it could have turned out very badly.

Next time I would make sure that you sign the papers stating what ones are given before they give the vaccines. My kids have never been given vaccine with out my prior signature. Cranky kids or not.

Oh Dear-he'll probably be just fine-but look for a fever-maybe even several days from now- document this-don't lose your copy-sometimes files have a way of being "sanitized" if you know what I mean. Take care-xo!

I think you need to follow up and make a complaint to whoever oversees that office. Drug mixups can be fatal. I would also want them to know that their nurse blindly did vax without checking a child's chart and the doctor's indications/orders or if she did, she got them wrong. You got off lucky this time, but what if it had been something else? I wouldn't let this sit and if you don't get a satisfactory response (and frankly I would ask for a different nurse IF I stayed with that practice), then find another one.

Both of my sks have different allergies to antibiotics and we must be very careful what they are prescribed. "Ooops" could make them end up in the ER...for starters.

I would also be furious about their attitude. If you screw up, you admit your mistake. You don't just cover it up and hope no one notices.

I would definitely say something! And next time check the box and bottles before they do the shots. I'd make my husband come with me if you can do someone can hold the child while the other talks with the doctor and/or nurse.

I would be furious, just as much about the disrespectful attitude as the oversight. I would report it and find another practice ASAP.

So sorry this happened. :(

I am not sure how your pediatrician's office works but we must sign off on paperwork BEFORE they give the shot so I would think the nurse could not have given it without your prior authorization. (Now I am starting to understand why we have to do this...)

I would ask for a copy of your son's immunization record (which would show what you signed off on). It would also confirm which shots he was given because they have to write the lot number and everything. Once you have that in your hand then you can take it up with your pediatrician and decide where you're going to go from there.

You def need to talk to someone higher up at the clinic, and in the future insist on checking the labels before the shots are given.

Yes, I'd report this!! Not sure who the blame would fall on.. the Nurse (most likely a Medical Assistant and not a Nurse), facility or Dr. This could have had a very bad outcome and this is something the Medical Office needs to ensure isn't repeated.

Report it to the clinic administrator.

I always had to sign off on individual vaccines. She gave treatment without consent, and that is a problem. You really need to speak directly with the doctor or managing partner there, not a secretary or someone at the front desk. Make an appointment to go and have a sit down with the doctor, come armed with your paperwork of what your kid got and what consents you signed, and I would report them as well.

First I can't believe they don't have you sign/initial any paperwork first. Second don't call the front desk and go on about this, they have absolutely nothing to do with it and honestly they probably won't care as they have so much of their own work to worry about. Nurses are not part of their job.

You need to call and ask to speak with an office manager or ask who is in charge of the nursing staff. I think alot of offices have a nursing manager. Then with this person, you could ask to have to doc themselves return your call and speak to them as well. I would also then ask the nursing manager and/or doc why they don't have papers for you to sign beforehand therefore hopefully preventing this from happening.

I have my own question. Please, anyone out there help me. A little background: I am an immigrant. My spoken English is not as good as my written one here. Therefore, I am having difficulty being taken seriously by officials or doctors, partly because I fail to explain myself clearly. After a long stay in US, I recently decided to visit my home country and see the extended family there. After I completed my preparation to travel, as per friends suggestion, I called in to a travel clinic to take travel shots. The country I was visiting is a third world tropical country in Africa. So they(travel clininic ) said I would be taking all kinds of shots. Yellow fever, chickenpox(although I had chickenpox as a child. She asked me if I had chickenpox as a child, I told her that I didn't know. Later I found out by asking family members I had it as a child,) polio, meningitis, flu, typboid. I am hiv positive. During our coversation, they never asked me. Neither did I mention it to them. Because my regular doc who treats me for hiv gives me all kinds of shots all the time, it never crossed my mind that some vaccines could be dangerous to me. Only now my understanding of vaccines grew. They(two nurses)never discussed the possible side effects. I even asked them if any of them could make me sick. She simply replied that they were safe. After she filled me up with the live viruses, she gave me some reading matetial on the vaccines I received. I went home and looked at the paper. It said that hiv positve people should not receive most of those vaccines. I went into panic. I called my primary hiv doc. He was shocked, but then he said I should be ok. I called the clinic, and they said all they could do was monitor my condition. Now about two weeks, one of my eyes is infected(bloood shot, itchy, and slightly diminished vision.) ER docs gave me eye drops, but didn't help. Under almost constant pain on the right side of my stomach down to my groin area. Muscle pain both legs, and arms. Feel dizzy. Intense burning all over my body. Zero apetite. Lost about 12lbs in two weeks. Depressed. My doctor has dismissed my complaints. I am afraid. I never felt this kind of fear in my entire life. I wake up in the morning and my body starts to tremor or shake uncontrolable when I remember my condition. May be it is not justified, but have no control. Can anyone help me? What can I do?

You can't do anything about it. The nurses give the vaccinations at most clinics, not the doctor. So it doesn't always matter what the doctor orders...that is, if you have a nurse who takes matters into their own hands.

Your best bet is to find a clinic that has a reputation for being sensitive to parents wanting to control their child's vaccination schedule. Finding those clinics/docs is hard to do, but if you hop on message boards or check around you may find one.

I had to initial a document and agreeing to the vaccinations that my daughter received. They should have this policy to prevent this from happening. You should talk to the doctor and ask him why they do not have some kind of document for the parents to sign BEFORE giving the vaccinations.

Another option is checking with your state and getting an exemption form and choosing which vaccinations that you do not want your child to have. State of Texas has I think three or four different exemption forms to select.

Also, I would look around for a new pediatrician, that doctor's office seems too disorganized to me. YUCK!

You definitely need to let the Dr know what happened. The Dr is the nurse's boss, not the receptionist. The Dr is ultimately responsible for all medical care provided in his/her office and needs to know about it. I would also let the Dr know about the receptionist's attitude toward you. And personally, then I would find a new Dr. Unless the Dr is out of this world great, having to deal with incompetent, rude staff isn't worth it to me. Those are the people you deal with the most, and they can make it an awful experience, or a great one.

I would talk with the Dr. and let him/her know what happened, and I would find out what their policies are. Yes, there could have been a catasrophe due to allergies, etc. ... BUT there was not. Mistakes happen, whether they are medical or not. I understand how upset you are, but unfortunatly they can not undo the shot. If the staff did not make the necessary apologies, then by all means switch Dr.'s, that is your choice.

Most definitely report this that is disgracefull people's lives are at risk here

I know how angey u must be! Our ped gave me the polio vacc instead of flu shot and I was livid. Even worse that it was your baby!! When this happened, they told me she would have to file an incident report. U should make sure they do that as well do not let this go. What concerns me most is that it wasn't supposed to be given until age 2! I would ask about that, ask your ped directly or ask another ped at a different office about why the age requiremtnt is age 2. Dont let this go, the need to be held responsible. At least in my case I got many apologies and an admission of guilt! Sorry about spelling, I'm on my blackberry.

Sorry this happened to your baby!

So he got an extra vaccine in addition to the two scheduled ones? In both practices we've had, the nurses inform us prior to the doctor coming in as to what will happen during that check-up. They include which vaccines will be included and give us a chance to decline one of them or adjust the schedule. Then the doctor comes in and at the end of the visit, she does the same thing the nurse did regarding the vaccines. She asks if there are any questions. The doctor is the one who prepares the vaccines and brings them into the room, and then double checks and matches them against what's in the file for that day's visit. Each vaccine is triple checked against the file before it's injected by the doctor.

I've never had my children or myself receive a vaccination by anyone other than the doctor when it's during a routine office visit. I'm always surprised when I hear that a nurse gave the vaccination. The only exception to this has been when I've been in the hospital.

Okay. So from here on out I would insist that the doctor be the one to do the vaccines. I would insist on double checking. You double check and watch them to make sure that they're doing it too. File a complaint about the incident and make a note in the letter how the receptionist treated the situation as well. File it with the office manager and CC the doctor. Try not to use emotional language. Stick with the facts and they'll speak for themselves, but be sure to include that the incident did upset you and make you question the competency of that nurse.

I would go back into the office, schedule an appt. and speak to the doctor. If the nurse didn't have you sign off on the injections before hand then she didn't follow protocol. Not only were you given one you didn't want. You were possibly given one that was way early that in itself may cause some issues. You need to have it documented. Depending on the outcome of that meeting, you can decide whether or not to report it.

Hope your little guy does okay.