Helping nursing staff cope with drug diversion investigation

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

had this query come my way and need our members advice.

recently i was part of a leadership/management group that reviewed evdience that i had found that one of our employee's was misusing controlled drugs. an investigation found a second agency person was involved as well. a further investigation studied the controlled drugs use in our er for the last several months and that one found no addional misuses. another words the rest of our staff are in the clear. very little has been said due to legal reason which only causes the rumor mill to increase it's output. many of the nurses are nervous, some feel betrayed.

i would like to ask for peoples opinons and suggestions for helping the staff deal with this.

looked for advice online but came up empty .... so turning to our experts here.

scant info here:

narcotic use and diversion in nursing

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

dug up this info.

the impaired nurse

http://www.pohly.com/books/drugdiversion.html

management pearls: code n

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I worked in a large level one trauma center for 10 years and knew of three incidences where RN's were diverting:

1. First was a nurse who had been there for many years - was diverting Morphine for his own use.

2. Second was a a fairly new nurse who was diverting unknown med.

3. Third was a another experienced nurse who was diverting Zofran of all things.

In the first case, I had unwittingly signed for his waste which he didn't throw away. There were several of us. The second and third cases, I have no first hand knowledge about.

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

One of my colleagues (former DON) offers this advice:

First of all, the staff members feel betrayed, offended, and lose their trust in the individual who has diverted. During the inquiry, the staff can be very punitive due to these feelings. It is wise to have employee assistance to offer sessions to work through these feelings and move on to supporting the diverter because this person needs support from his/her peers.

My colleague states if this person needs further assistance in working with staff, she will be glad to talk with him/her. Have the person send me a PM and I will forward my colleague's work phone number or email addy.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Came across this tonight.

http://www.recoveringnurses.org/aware_project.html

[subnrs]

ask yourself if you would want to be in a hospital that you know covers up diversion...it is lying....report the incident to the state...and look for new employment

[sangreal]

Diversion has become a big problem in nursing.....that is for sure.