Being Belittled at Work

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello,

I have been a member of allnurses.com for almost 2 years now, and I have been working as a Medication Technician in the state of MD for about a year now. Hoping that this would help me decide whether nursing is for me. The problem is, I have always wanted to be a Nurse, it's always been my dream but because of situtations at work I am afraid I may end up losing my MED License. A Co-Worker of mine has been lying to cover up her own butt basically by saying I am not giving a certain patient a heavy dose of Valium and that this happening quite frequently. If I lose my MED license and get re-certified will this affect me in the long run when I go to take the NCLEX exam? I am just worried that I may of blown my chance. What's worse is my Co-Worker is constantly belittling my work habbits and always trying to get me into trouble. I am trying to find a new job but I am not sure anyone will hire me considering I may be losing my license eventually. I was just wondering if anyone knew whether this would affect me in the long run as far as my nursing careers goes? The Nurse of staffs seems to think so. Thanks.

~Poetryeclipse~

Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

It may also be a good idea to call the DEA in your area. They will do a complete investigation and also question the RN. It is ultimately her responsibility where there is a question of distribution/diversion. I agree with the others. She may well be the culprit.

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Specializes in Med/surg,Tele,PACU,ER,ICU,LTAC,HH,Neuro.

Nancy Drew here.

The nurse is allowing you to give narcotics so she has someone to blame.

She should have been tested.

Refuse to give any more narcotics.

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Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, Home Health, Oncology.

DO NOT GIVE ANY MORE NARCS!!

GET A LAWYER!!

You need to get this resolved. You could go to jail, your life could be ruined.

You need to understand how truly serious this is.

Just because you are moving, does not mean that this won't follow you, it very well might.

Get yourself re-tested even at your own expence.

Believe me when I say---THIS IS SERIOUS!!

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Yes, this "problem" or accusation could follow you if you move to another state. And it very easily could impact your chances of becoming a nurse.

NEVER let anyone accuse you of stealing/diverting meds, especially controlled drugs. Call the Board of Nursing and explain the whole situation. I highly recommend that you do everything possible to clear your name. These types of problems don't just disappear when you move. You are being scapegoated in the worst possible way.

Good Luck.

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You need to get a copy of MD's Standard of Practice. Med techs aren't to give out narcotics, so stop immediately. Unfortunately, you could be in trouble because you're supposed to know what your limits are through your training.

Report to the BON and the DON at your facility. To be honest there's going to be trouble all around. The staff nurse who is mis-delegating, the med techs for administering narcotics, the administration who may know all this is going on. But it's important that this get straightened out.

If you stop administering the narcotics and report it immediately, the BON may go easy on you.

Document everything. Turn in the keys to the narcs to your DON. And continue to document the staff nurse's reaction.

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Everyone is right in that you should not be giving narcs. Why is one of your co-workers giving any meds when she does not have her certificate? You need to get these issues fixed asap. And yes, a narc allegation will affect your ability to get a nursing license. It is at the BON's discretion that you are allowed to have a license, they can revoke it for almost anything, even if it isn't true unless you have undeniable proof in your favor. And even then, if they think there is something wrong, they can still deny you a licens.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Med-Surg, Cardiology.
Okay, let me explain my situation a little better. I am not sure why I am allowed to give narcotics to my patients seeing as I am not a LPN or RN. The staff nurse seems to think it is okay for us to do so, I'm assuming she is wrong? Other Co-Workers also do not believe we have the right to administer Narcotics and we are unsure of what to do. Should we go to the Nursing Board since we are apparently certified by them? The narcotics come in blisster packs that we have to intial beside but for some reason 4 blisster packs of Valium have gone missing on my shift in the last month, and since my Co-Worker is not yet licensed the blame is on me. This is the same Co-Worker who is saying I am stealing from the medicine cabinet. I have been tested and so has my Co-worker, but both of us have passed. Since the only other person who should have access to the Medication in my house is the Staff Nurse, I am being blamed for stealing the blister packs and administering outside of the facility. I am not sure what is going on but I am really scared of both losing my job and my license. I know this is a weird situation but my head RN says I shouldn't even begin to take nursing classes because of this problem occuring. I guess I'm just hoping that since I am moving to VA in another month or so, that all this drama wont follow me from MD to VA. I am starting to take classes in January at a local community college in northern va and I don't want any situations arising from this. Thank you for responding so quickly. I believe my best course of action is to talk to someone at the MD board of nursing ASAP and try to get this cleared up.

~poetryeclipse~

I know that if you are a cna or uap then your scope of practice should not involve giving medications. Only docs, lpns (po meds), rns should give them and respiratory personnel may give their meds within their scope of practice.

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Specializes in geriatrics and hospice palliative nursin.

Having worked in LTC for several years, and having worked in a state where med techs were the norm, I do know that it is not in their scope of practise to pass narcotics. As of at least 5 years ago, Valium was a countable narcotic, meaning there was a shift to shift count between nurses, and someone should have noticed missing Valium way before 4 blister packs went missing. I have to agree with most of these posters..you're in some deep doodoo here, the one who hands out tthe narcs should be looked at and if you as a tech have the key to the narcs box there is a big problem at your facility.

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

I worked as a med tech at a group home while I was in nursing school and we did administer "narcotics". Actually, benzos and barbituates, but a "controlled substance". There was often an LPN on duty and we still administered the medications to our residents for that shift. I know for certain that the company I worked for was extremely compliant with every law and regulation, so at least in my state, it is OK.

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deeDawntee's advice is right on.

1. Stop discussing this at work. Stop, stop, and stop. Now. Even with your boss.

2. Call a lawyer immediately. Call, call, and call. Immediately. In fact, get free consultations with 3 different attorneys. Find the most affordable and the most skilled and engage this person to represent you, in case something further develops. Try NOT to have to pay a retainer.

3. Absolutely find out what the law says in your state (not just what your facility's Policy Manual or your class notes say, although these could be vitally important to your case). Find out, find out, find out.

4. I fail to see what any of this has to do with your future as a nurse. I think you should plan on becoming one if you so desire, never mind what your boss says.

5. It sounds to me like whoever has a key to the controlled substance storage area(s) should be suspect. Who receives these from Pharmacy at your facility? Who logged in the missing cards? When were they first noticed to be missing? Who reported this to whom and when? Are counts done correctly at your place?

Keep us posted.

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But have you actually been CHARGED with anything?

If you were tested and cleared, then the accusations should stop.

Have you been following policy about counting with the shift you're relieving?

Sounds like someone has not been counting correctly.

When I count, I count EVERYthing, and I am the only nurse that has access to the narcotics in MY possession.

Again, this is just one more reason why I'm against med techs. Don't take that personal, it's just my own personal opinion.

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Med aids can give narcs at least in the ALF setting I worked at. We did a count out at the end of shift though and only the medication aid working that floor had keys that accessed the narc drawer so the culprit was obvious if anything happened.

I'm so sorry this happened to you but I agree with the previous posts. This is serious stuff you should get legal representation.

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