[paigern]

Originally Posted by akcarmean

I only work per-diem and when I did work full-time in HH I never felt like my license was in jeopardy. I can fully see and understand from the post above how I could easly feel that way with the staffing issues.I just want to say CONGRADULATIONS TO whose who have overcome their addiction. I wish you many years of staying clean from the addiction. Good luck.


Angelia

Thanks for your support Angelia. It is sad that there are so many perfect judgemental people in this world...just makes you wonder... what skeletons are in their closet?

[Nurse Ratched]

Please let's not turn this into a flame fest. The question is "has your license ever been in jeopardy?" I admire those who are acknowledging their problem - that is the first step in recovery and many people will never make it that far. It seems like these are nurses who have a realistic view of their situation and are doing what it takes to avoid future relapses.

As to the original question, there have been very rare occasions where I felt the staffing situation was a sentinel event waiting to happen. Fortunately, nothing did. I no longer choose to work in those situations.

[Whistleblower]

Originally Posted by mattsmom81

I have felt at risk for lawsuit and risk for reporting to the BON many many times. When I speak out I have felt (and have been) at risk for my job as well. It is because of the 'squeeze' between by ethics and mandates of my NPA and the crazy workplace, politics, warm body syndrome, and other 'bottom line' health care tactics.

A nurse here once voiced this and it is so true: It is amazing how being a good nurse and a good employee are so much at odds today.

You nailed this one on its head!

I have postings elsewhere but I can not resist answering the original survey question.

My license is in jeopardy for carrying out my mandated responsibility to report in good faith to my state BON any and all illegal activities that I witnessed in my place of employment. I reported my Director Of Nurses to the BON for aiding and abetting unlawfull activities. The Bon dismissed my complaints against my Director of Nurses citing unsubstantial evidence. The Bon is now siding with my Director of Nurses who claims that because I named patients in my private and confidential report to the Board I somehow violated my patients trust. I swear that none of my former patients have ever brought charges against me for this or any other reason.

The Bon continues to prosecute me even though the hearing officer told the lawyer for the Bon to dismiss my case because prosecuting me will have chilling effects on nurses to ever report patient abuse, mistreatment or neglect again. For political reasons I suspect the BON will choose to never resolve their case against me. I expect they will leave me dangling for years to come.

Warm regards,

Tom

[jimwilson8]

Every time I ever worked in a Nursing Home, I felt my license was in jeopardy. There was always staffing shortages and one time on an 11 to 7 shift, we had two nurses and two aides in the building with 138 residents. A few days later State showed up, and by some miracle we passed. My license now has a restriction on it because of a medication error that happened last year when I tried to help out another nurse. For some reason, our count was right before I left that night but the next morning a narcotic was missing. Guess who got the blame? This taught me a lesson about trying to help someone when it could endanger your license. I have now learned to refuse to do anything that may endanger my license, but you will always find someone that wants you to do something that is not always kosher. Those are the ones you have to watch.

For those of you who are overcoming addiction problems, I commend you. I have been in pain for years due to an injury at work and I know the temptation. You just want the pain to go away. No one can judge you for that.

As long as employers see us nurses as commodities, we are going to have problems. They are looking for cost effective ways of keeping their companies afloat. A lot of times, they will cut nursing personel instead of administrative personel. I would rather have an employer who worried about Staffing & patient care and safety than one who worried about keeping the paper work up to date.

[alices]

[quote=brian]This months survey question:

Have you ever been put in a situation in which you think your license could be in jeopardy?
I fired our very poor pharmacy for not delivering drugs in a timely manner. To retaliate, they reported to the Board of Nursing that they were delivering the drugs but I was taking them! I was investigated. Luckily the investigators didn't really find it likely that I would have been diverting Doss, KCL, and warfarin. It's funny now, but at the time it was pretty scary.

[mattsmom81]

So sad how our licenses may be in jeopardy due to retaliation for simply trying to meet our duty to our patients...the duty our NPA's charge us with. But this is how things are today. We are so stretched in our jobs it is not hard to twist data to make a nurse appear negligent, nor is it hard to fabricate the same vindictively.

Even if we 'win' our case with the BNE if we are reported for bogus, trumped up reasons, the fact we were reported stays on some records forever in some cases; raising a question in the minds of potential employers forever as well whenever they do certain background check. It is hard to prove what facilities share 'under the table' about a nurse and this goes on in my area within the hospital association.

[gvkk]

It's just too easy for people to write false reports about nurses to the BON. These reports become a living nightmare for the victim.

[exnursie]

[quote=Whistleblower]You nailed this one on its head!

I have postings elsewhere but I can not resist answering the original survey question.

My license is in jeopardy for carrying out my mandated responsibility to report in good faith to my state BON any and all illegal activities that I witnessed in my place of employment. I reported my Director Of Nurses to the BON for aiding and abetting unlawfull activities. The Bon dismissed my complaints against my Director of Nurses citing unsubstantial evidence. The Bon is now siding with my Director of Nurses who claims that because I named patients in my private and confidential report to the Board I somehow violated my patients trust. I swear that none of my former patients have ever brought charges against me for this or any other reason.

The Bon continues to prosecute me even though the hearing officer told the lawyer for the Bon to dismiss my case because prosecuting me will have chilling effects on nurses to ever report patient abuse, mistreatment or neglect again. For political reasons I suspect the BON will choose to never resolve their case against me. I expect they will leave me dangling for years to come.

Tom,

i looked at your posts that relayed your story.... I do not have a response that is appropriate to post here. I am still shaking me head, and this is several hours after reading about you.

It is ironic that the report form that state provides the person initiaing the complaint clearly asks not once, several times, that the info provided be as specific as possible, and asks for personall info and medical records etc, help facilitate results. Here is the link: http://www.mass.gov/dpl/boards/forms/complaint.pdf

I am saddened that this is occurring, and you are correct in saying that the end results are a strong deterrent for a nurse to look the other way.

I still want to believe that your case is the exception rather than the rule, and that more often then not, the government does not take such blatant and obvious attempts towards the whistle blower.

Thanks for your story, and good luck to you.

[mattsmom81]

Originally Posted by exnursie

I am saddened that this is occurring, and you are correct in saying that the end results are a strong deterrent for a nurse to look the other way.

I still want to believe that your case is the exception rather than the rule, and that more often then not, the government does not take such blatant and obvious attempts towards the whistle blower.

Thanks for your story, and good luck to you.

I am saddened by Tom's story as well, and have seen similar things occur , altho Tom's is worst case scenario. Best wishes Tom.

What happens to the good hearted nurses who take their duty seriously and dare speak up....their fate is is whispered among nurses, gossipped about...and it is amazing how quickly former friends turn on them when they've become an administrative target. I've seen so many good nurses treated this way, it has made me quite cynical.

Sure IS a deterrent...we have to walk a fine line on the job today and if we need a job its human nature to avoid becoming a casualty.

Good luck to you Tom and hope you prevail. I survived one of these onslaughts once with a good nurse attorney in my corner and I hope you do the same. However, we are never the same and our eyes are definitely open afterwards. PM if you ever want to talk.

[gvkk]

From what I can see, the BON sides with those people who are in the most powerful position. Sometimes the person in the most powerful position is corrupt, pure and simple. It works with reporting nurses and it works with nursing reporting those in power.

And my position on working with people, and the narcs...just keep your own trail cleaned up, all your signitures where they are supposed to be and it will be impossible for anything to get blamed on YOU. Writing and counting narcs should be on the top of your list right next to the priority of a CODE and that's on every shift.

And for those of you who the SBON forces to go into confession time every time you apply for a job...just leave the profession, it will be easier for you, much easier. Because the attitudes out there will fry you. And in my 25 years of a nurse, I found out that no matter what they say, there are NO secrets. If your DON knows, the staff knows. Period.

Sorry, this is not meant to be harsh, it's just plain truth though. In 25 years, I've seen it all.

G