[brian]

Here is a news story with video

An increasing number of Delaware Valley nurses are addicted to drugs and they're using on job. Investigative Reporter Jim Osman warns us of a sign that a nurse could be swiping medication meant for you.

CBS 3 exposed the secret some local nurses were hiding. They would do anything to get the drugs while on the job, one nurse even lying to say she needed it for a patient.

“You could just say his pressure was high and I gave him the morphine and it helped but actually you kind of took it for yourself," said one Philadelphia nurse who did not want to be indentified.

Note: at the end of the video, there are nurses feedback that were not happy with the report.

Full Story: http://kyw.com/topstories/local_story_333161854.html

Full Story: http://kyw.com/topstories/local_story_333161854.html

[Jessy_RN]

Great article.........

[nurse4theplanet]

this is sooo sad that such valuable professionals get caught up in taking their patients prescription medication and lose themselves to addiction. It makes you wonder what they were thinking when they took the first dose. How do they justify that so they can sleep at night? How do others around them not notice a change in their behavoir?

[P_RN]

A couple of us around a "using" nurse all thought we were alone in thinking this person was wacko. I thought she just didn't like me when she'd say hateful things. (She got caught holding)

Another guy we all thought was a little too experienced in all his tall tales. He was like 22 but said he'd been a military medic, special ops, etc , he'd put in dozens of central lines (he was an LPN)

The NM said we just didn't like him cause he was male--HUH? Anyway a PYXIS search by a few of us found he'd been looking up who got what.

That's how they do it....divide the observers into different camps and keep them guessing.

20-20 hindsight I can see every little thing so plainly.

[NP2BE]

We had a guy who wan an ACNP practicing as an RN (he just finished NP school) in ICU. HE was using morphine to lower afterload so he said. He never got verifiably busted, he beat the urine tests and then he refused to take one, and resigned. But he gave more narcs then anyone else did by far.

A side note. I think the system is imperfect, and needs to stay that way. More random urine screens and hair tests are the only acceptable control, but further restrictions on narc access or anything that makes narcs more of a hassle then they already are will have one overwhelming effects and not likely help curb the problem. the effect - INEFECTIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT.

[suebird3]

We had a user at work, too. Terrific nurse when she was "clean". Unfortunately, she would use whenever she got some money.

Who knows what sends people over the edge? Can be any number of things: stress, addictive personality....

Suebird

[grannynurse FNP student]

Originally Posted by brian

Here is a news story with video

An increasing number of Delaware Valley nurses are addicted to drugs and they're using on job. Investigative Reporter Jim Osman warns us of a sign that a nurse could be swiping medication meant for you.

CBS 3 exposed the secret some local nurses were hiding. They would do anything to get the drugs while on the job, one nurse even lying to say she needed it for a patient.

“You could just say his pressure was high and I gave him the morphine and it helped but actually you kind of took it for yourself," said one Philadelphia nurse who did not want to be indentified.

Note: at the end of the video, there are nurses feedback that were not happy with the report.

Full Story: http://kyw.com/topstories/local_story_333161854.html

Full Story: http://kyw.com/topstories/local_story_333161854.html

The title is somewhat misleading, as the only warning sign the reporter offered, was patients complaining of pain. A representative of the state program offered a warning sign of pain complaints being represented as undermediation and diverting. Sorry but continued complaints of pain may just mean that the patient is being undermedicated and nears more or a change.

Grannynurse

[sjrn85]

Agreed; I'd hate to think someone would be gunning for me if I had a pt. whose pain wasn't well controlled.

[ZASHAGALKA]

Since most of us use Pyxis or a similar machine these days, it's a relatively easy matter to identify 'diverters'.

All you have to do is compare usage per unit against all the nurses on that unit.

It's a simple programming instruction. What it will give you is a bell curve. A diverter will show up way outside the standard deviations.

Take potential diverters (ID'd by being outside the bell curve) and monitor their machine use. If they routinely check up on what narcs other pts are on, document document.

Then set up a video and record the machine when they are working.

Piece of cake.

I rarely pick my nose near the machine: I assume it's being filmed. And I always assume that every screen I pull up on the machine is recorded for posterity.

I can steal a narc and take it home and prob would never get caught. I could prob steal 10. 20. 100.

But if I was using (or selling), it would only be a matter of time before I couldn't hide it. It's only a matter of time before the hospitals start monitoring this like I suggested above. At that level of monitoring, diverters can be ID'd BEFORE they get to the point where they are shorting pts (instead of just using 'unused' doses.)

~faith,
Timothy.

[gwenith]

As far as I know no-one here in Aust uses a Pyxis system just the old fashioned sign out book and locked cupboard. Unfortunately under those circumstances it is very, very difficult to identify the determined drug taker who is a nurse. Especially in the early stages, later when they have become sloppy - THEN is when you will catch them.