Teacher offering Ativan scripts....?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I am in second year of nursing school and during our orientation a teacher (he happens to be an N.P.) offered his help in providing anti-anxiety medication for testing purposes. He mentioned something along the lines of "It has worked tremendously well for other students... amazing turn around". He can teach very well, but I can't stand how he/the program itself, have decided to handle certain issues 'at hand'. Right now, I feel like I have been pushed around and I'm not sure who to go to (other than a lawyer). I am going to post another topic that is related to what I have had to deal with in previous semesters, but I wanted to really address this ativan issue. Is this more than weird? As in.. illegal? Seems the position of power and the sense of 'showing off' is rather obvious.. to me anyway. I'm looking for other opinions that can see it from the outside in (as I'm already biased)!

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

Yeah, it is. It seems as though there is an underplaying of the significance of prescribing benzos on a mass scale without taking the time one normally would to do a thorough history.

I don't think any mass benzo prescribing happened.

Specializes in Pain, critical care, administration, med.

As a NP and an clinical instructor it's not funny, not professional and not being helpful. You never offer to write scripts for anyone especially a student. If a student is having trouble and you are concerned then sit and have a heart to heart. I would report him because he has crossed the line .

Specializes in Hopefully NICU.

OP, asking for and accepting help is not a bad thing. Obviously your okay with it seeing as how you seeked outside opinions. But receiving help doesn't always mean it turns out the way you want it to. You seem to feel extremely victimized by your nursing school and this professor. Maybe an anti-anxiety medication may help because the world is not out to get you and they are not trying to ruin your life. Your teacher and administrations job is to help you. If your balking this much simply because he mentioned Ativan might help, you should ask yourself why am I reacting this way to this situation? Just trying to help. Good luck to you

Huh? Seriously?! You haven't enough information to make those, very vast, assumptions.

... also... accepting help nobody asked for? Accepting help by the power at hand? Seriously... this isn't not about offering help. How the heck does he know all of us on the first day or orientation anyway? Why would that even be a topic. I do not think it's right. If I come to a point of having to say yes or no.. I want to know what my student rights are. Which are totally under-rated in this culture of nursing/student nursing. The bullying is present - there is literature to support this. At what point does it change and at what point does it get worse? It takes someone to question circumstances, fairly. For me to state that I am 'already biased" is not a poor me statement - please, address the question at hand and not analyze it into something else... or at least ask questions before you make assumptions.

Since when is office hours also pharmacy pick up. They are in different places for a reason.

Hold on.. in his defense.. I have no idea what has happened after orientation... if anyone has gone to to him or not. However, the invitation is a red flag enough.

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I want to know what my student rights are. Which are totally under-rated in this culture of nursing/student nursing. The bullying is present - there is literature to support this.

What does this even mean? You have the right to pay money, go to classes/clinicals, and say no to drugs.

You definitely need to report this. I think that is inappropriate! I wouldn't trust a professor like that in all honesty. So much for learning holistic nursing in that class?

Dear OP

This is the Internet we only know you from your posts. And we hope you do what makes you comfortable.

Just a little story. I had a friend that was clearly depressed. Every prescriber she would every see from her skin doc to her obgyn would offer her some meds for help. She would get extremely offended. Yell. And get defensive. Took her a decade to get help.

You teacher might of just been offering help. It might not of been the best place to offer help. But it's the Internet. We the readers can only assume the best from both parties.

Good luck.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I don't think any mass benzo prescribing happened.

OK, then it seems as though there is an underplaying of the significance of offering benzos to 20 people without doing a thorough history. Perhaps he intended to treat the students exactly the way he would treat someone who made an appointment to see him in his office setting. Perhaps what he really meant was "those who have crippling test anxiety and have tried non-pharmaceutical remedies without success please see me during my faculty office hours so we can discuss all possible alternatives".

It still seems weird that he made an unsolicited offer to prescribe Ativan at an orientation filled with people he doesn't know.

Specializes in critical care.

OP- one more thought and then I am walking away. You asked for opinions. Multiple times you have reminded us that you are seeking opinions. If you were hoping for validation, you should have asked for that instead.

+ Add a Comment