Rebuttal Letter, Personal Statement Example

As a nurse I understand that there are standards and procedures that help ensure good order and discipline within my area of responsibility. These standards and procedures are put in place to create an environment that is conducive to promoting the health, wellness, trauma mitigation and ultimately recovery from incidents and sicknesses. I follow these processes based on the fact that my adherence to the best practices facilitates the core values of my profession. During a recent event there was a question on whether or not my actions violated standard protocol on the care and handling of a specific intravenous medication that did not require nor promote the storage in a refrigerator.

As per my training and the standard operating procedures the storage of such medication is not permissible in a refrigerator. As per normal procedure I did not nor have I ever stored the IV medication in the refrigerator located in the hospital’s facility. I have handled this medication on multiple occasions and have adhered to the protocol in every instance. During my shift at the hospital I followed the same procedures outlined by the hospital regarding the care and storage of the medication. At the end of my shift I stored the medication on the counter and ended my shift as expected. The last time the medication was in my control was at 7:00 a.m. on the day in question and was not accounted for until hours later that day when it was found in the refrigerated storage unit.

The time between when I left the medication on the counter and the time it was found included a shift change and multiple people entering and exiting the storage room. There is not an assignable or accountable party that has confirmed they placed the medication in the refrigerator. As per my own recorded accountability and my incessant adherence to standard operating procedures, there is not a way to place the accountability for the misplaced medication on myself. The variables regarding the amount of time between my placing of the medication on the counter coupled with the amount of people that accessed the facility and had the opportunity to place the medication in the refrigerator casts a shadow of doubt on who actually placed the medication in the refrigerator.