Reporting diversion

TriciaJ, RN · Sep 8, 2017

My first thought is that they knew about it and didn't want to deal with it.

My second thought is that they might have found you a bit over-eager. You should have kept log entries of each incident that you found concerning and arranged a face-to-face meeting with your supervisor. You give her the original document, but keep a copy for yourself. On your copy, document the date and time of the meeting and the name of the supervisor. And that's it. You'd have done what a responsible, prudent nurse is expected to do.

The follow-up emails and the copy to your supervisor's supervisor was a bit much and might have been what cooked your goose.

Anon3857 · Sep 8, 2017

Not emails, just 1 follow up email, because I knew that my manager had not been following protocol. She did not initiate a pharmacy audit. She did not contact security. I did not mention this in my email. I did not voice these concerns aloud. I simply asked if my concern had been received. I know it sounds as though I could be exaggerating or elaborating...i am wondering if whistleblower laws apply to situations such as these.

Anon3857 · Sep 8, 2017

More to add

psu_213, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2017

Not emails, just 1 follow up email, because I knew that my manager had not been following protocol. She did not initiate a pharmacy audit. She did not contact security.

Well, it was one email that you wrote that went to 2 different people...no reason to split hairs on this one though.

Anyway, how do you know that she did not initiate a pharmacy audit and did not contact security? Quite frankly, she not notify anyone about an audit taking place. What happens if the audit does not turn anything up? She has really done some damage to this person's reputation by reporting to other staff members that this nurse is under investigation. I think you would like the benefit of 'innocent until proven guilty' if someone levied an accusation against you--especially if someone accused you of something because "stories that didn't add up."

aflahe00 · Sep 11, 2017

Overstepping is correct. Here's some advice-I'd be 150% sure because these are very serious accusations to make and they come with severe consequences, possible disaplinary actions on your license which are permanent.

Anon3857 · Sep 11, 2017

I guess you had to be there. I haven't made a report of this kind in 17 years. And I wouldn't expect anyone to believe that I really did hope that I was wrong. The protocol as is it was written exists to protect that nurse, if innocent of wrongdoing, from ever knowing there was a suspicion. The same protocol protects the accuser from feeling as though they should not report suspicious behavior. It was not a mission to blacken a name or get someone fired.

Axgrinder · Sep 11, 2017

Wow, it seems a bit drastic to fire you for reporting concerns of possible diversion by another nurse. Any place I've ever worked took that seriously, and the "whistle blower" was not fired to the best of my knowledge.

Even if you mightily pissed off your immediate supervisor by CC'ing that email to her supervisor I can't imagine that would result in termination without at least a warning or disciplinary action first. Places I've worked had to have a paper trail of disciplinary actions and warnings to correct certain actions before termination occurs.

Perhaps there is a bit more to the story you might have inadvertently left out as seemingly unimportant?

Emergent, RN · Sep 11, 2017

In my 24 yrs of nursing I reported my suspicions once. I was advised by a confidante to talk to pharmacy. I chose to not leave a written record, and to call him and he called me back and we discussed the situation.

He did communicate with my manager, and I did get a text from her reassuring me that I did the right thing and that it was going up the chain of command.

I never mentioned another thing to another soul. 2 months later the nurse in question suddenly resigned. Almost a year later he had an action against him appear on the BON website. He is now in a monitoring program and gainfully employed in a nursing job that doesn't require the administration of narcotics.

caliotter3 · Sep 11, 2017

When one complains, especially when one is right about something, one is seen to be the problem. You were treated as being the problem.

jodispamodi · Oct 5, 2017

No, whistleblower laws do not apply to this scenario, whistleblower laws are for fraud against the government, double billing etc, charges for things that were never done.

Years ago I worked for a hospice that had the worst patient care I had ever seen, and they were also pretty blatantly committing fraud, I was asked to change assessments on patients, weights, keep patients on who were clearly not hospice eligible, not reporting neglect situations, and providing services patients clearly were not eligible for. Anyway when I realized what was going on I contacted a lawyer and said what could happen to me if I don't report, he said you could lose your license, I then called OIG and asked the same question, their response was the same. Even though I stood on my documentation and assessments (I never changed anything they asked), I asked what information I could provide without violating HIPAA, they told me if I reported what I considered fraud and my name connected to anthing as the reporter I would be immune (again all my assessments were honest) So I reported, in the meanwhile I started looking for another job, found one, didnt mention anything of the true reason I left that company and started my new job. 6 days after I started it I was let go because they found out that I had reported the other company, and they threw thousands of dollars at me in severance and said they wouldnt oppose unemployment. So this is my point: You were probably let go for a two-fold reason, they didnt like the idea of you watching so closely because they feel if you reported this are you then going to report every little thing? To DPH OIG, or state board. and secondly, why exactly are you monitoring somebody that closely? It scares them to their core. Why was I let go from that second hospice? because they probably padded their pockets and if I reported once, I was in their infinite wisdom likely to report again. In your situation if stories didnt add up, I'd quite frankly refuse to sign off/waste with that person. jmho.