A question of ethics

:jester:i work as a part time night nurse on a long term care unit. :jester:i have learned that a day shift rpn has been furnishing her home with funiture and plants from the residents. i am not sure how she has obtained the items because i don't get how that would come up in a conversation with a resident who has expressive aphagia. i heard that she told a resident his plant was dying and she'd take it home. staff saw her leave the resident's care suite with the plant over her shoulder. on another occasion, the family of another resident helped her carry a recliner chair to her truck and took that home too. i'm not sure what else she has furnished her home with.

every year, there is an auction held by the nursing home to sell the old belongings and items that have been donated to the home. there is also a large garage sale held by the residents and tenants of the seniors complex. i felt that was a more appropriate time for this nurse to purchase the furniture. nothing was documented in the nursing notes either.

i don't know why this bothers me. i had trouble with this particular staff before too. she had told a number of residents that she had to get a second job because i stole her shifts. it was totally not true because they have to go by the union contract and seniority. this bother's me because i feel there is a better way for her to get furniture than to burden the residents with her personal situations so the residents feel compelled to help her out by giving her their stuff. i don't want to be grouped in with that. i don't tell the residents my personal problems. i don't want them to worry about me. plus, i believe it reflects poorly on the rest of the team.

i'm not sure what to do about this particular situation. i wish she would stop asking the residents for their stuff. should this bother me or should i just stay out of it? i would rather stay out of it but on the other hand, i don't know why i can't stop thinking about this. it seems so wrong.... unethical. this particular staff has financial difficulties. she told me and apparently, everyone knows of her financial challenges. she even told me that a resident offered to loan her money to help her out. i don't know why she even told the resident. i think this places an unfair burden on the residents. i'd never want to bother them with my problems especially when my job is to help them feel better. i don't get her.

any ideas on what i should do? :bdck::flwrhrts:

thnx