reported a nurse stealing narcs and not giving meds, shes friends with the DON :(

Nurses Safety

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HI I'm fairly new at the SNF I'm currently working at.. (Less then two weeks to be exact) and in the past week the nurse I follow (she works days and I work evening shift) she was constantly leaving me in a hot mess and not wanting to count narcs until it was 30 to 40 minutes after the time I had clocked in for my shift. I started noticing medications that are due 4 times a day that I give twice at night and she gives twice during the day where on the same count that I had left it at the night before and she was signing she gave them (this would be blood pressure meds to be exact). On these same patients she was signing out routine narcotics and prn narcotics as soon as she could sign them out. I kept up with her pattern. She had picked out four people who get routine hydrocodone or oxycodone that also have PRN orders to go with it. I pointed this out to the preceptor I had during my orientation and she reported it to the DON immediately. Both her and I found shortly after that she is neighbors/best friends of the DON :( nothing was done about it and the situation has become worse. 20 PATIENTS are being affected.

The facility I'm at has a corporate number to leave tips anonymously about whats going on there. Both the preceptor and I called the line and the state has been called. We have copied the med cards and are dated and stamped of when the cards came in. There is patients that have been there for a week to two weeks and most hadn't got their blood pressure meds but their narcotics are being signed out. A patient was recently put on antibiotics and out of the past 5 days that patient has only gotten one dose of the medication.

I truly feel my job within the facility is at risk now cause this so called nurse stealing drugs is best friends with DON who is doing nothing about it. Is there anything I can do? Do I fall within the whistleblower act? I'm so lost and astonished of what I'm seeing, but I know I can't continue to work there knowing these patients lives are in jeopardy and possible hurting cause they are not getting their medicine!! Its so bad that the patients that are alert and aware of whats going on are complaining and have went to administration but nothing has been done. We called the ombudsmen for one that is alert enough to explain.

Im just truly astonished and this week has been so stressful.

Specializes in ICU.

Could it be that the DON is monitoring this nurse, and you just don't know it? Maybe they need actual proof, not just "hearsay." Usually if you give someone enough rope, they manage to hang themselves. I really doubt that the DON would simply ignore what you said, because she surely values her job, license, and reputation.

Yup, I'd be out of there in fear of being thrown under the bus and the one to blame for everything.

I can hear it now.... "It is not about the other nurse, it is about YOU. YOU discovered that the meds were not given. YOU discovered that this happend numerous times. YOU did nothing but complain about it! What is it you SHOULD have done? YOU should have given the missed meds. YOU should have called the MD and explained the missed meds. YOU should have (

Specializes in critical care.

I wonder if they did a UDS on her and it was negative. Could explain why nothing has been done yet.

I just passed the NCLEX not even a month and haven't landed a job so I don't understand all of this. Can all of you clarify a few things?

1.) Can an RN give meds to a patient that isn't theirs? Ex. An RN sees that BP meds haven't been given for days, checks the pt's BP and it's sky high. Can that RN give the meds or must they be given by the RN assigned to that patient? What if the assigned RN won't?

2.) What's the chain of command if an RN reports to the DON and nothing is done? Should the RN call the MD or I guess what I mean, is the RN required to call the MD when their orders aren't being carried out in this unsafe and patterned manner? I'm glad that the OP and her preceptor call the tip line!!

Thanks in advance!!!

Specializes in Law, Operating Room.

You are doing the rights things. If the corporation is not responding appropriately, call your state's licensing agency for LTCs and your state's nursing board and pharmacy board and make reports to them asap. The DON should also be reported to the nursing board. You can also make an anonymous report to The Joint Commission or the facility's accrediting agency.

Specializes in Hospice.

Or if you're really feeling vindictive call your state pharmacy board and the DEA.

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