Accused of sleeping

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

In all honest, do not close your eyes for just five seconds. The risk would be too great. Are you allowed to read? I don't know how the board handles it but there probably would be a good cause to consider firing you if your agency doesn't like you.

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

If you need to close your eyes for a few seconds, do it while standing.

Davey Do · Nov 27, 2015

any thoughts?

I've known of a CNA who was fired due to sleeping at the Nurses Station, cdhorste, when an LPN took a pic of the slumbering CNA and turned it in to Administration. What a cad!

The LPN was later canned due to general inappropriate behavior. What goes around comes around.

No outside agency was informed, to the best of my knowledge.

As you've stated, cdhorste, it's your word against theirs. But, as they say, the customer is always right.

Best of luck to you. Please let us know how this all pans out.

cdthorste · Nov 27, 2015

My agency actually does like me a lot. So I have that going for me. They also tend to err on the side of retaining nurses, as opposed to thinning the herds like some facilities do. So it's not them I'm worried about.

But if a patient's family member just complained "I saw nurse X" asleep, and took it to the state board, how on earth can they justify filing charges against her? As I said, unless there's photo evidence, it's their word against the nurse's.

in a court of law, it would probably be considered insufficient evidence. But I'm wondering if nursing boards have different standards for evidence?

Davey Do · Nov 27, 2015

If you fell asleep on the job, cdhorste, and the Patient's well-being was jeopardized, perhaps there would be a cause for concern.

I do not think you have a grave concern here. In my career, I have been accused of "patient neglect/abuse" "rape", etc. etc. and have skirted through them, of course, not guilty of the allegations.

I've known of Nurses who have been guilty of inappropriate behavior, lost their jobs, and continue to work as Nurses.

Closing your eyes for five seconds is small potatoes and you have too much going for you, cdhorste!

elkpark · Nov 27, 2015

I haven't worked home health, but I've worked nights a lot in inpatient facilities, and, everywhere I've worked over the years has had a policy that being caught by a supervisor with your eyes closed, even briefly, was grounds for being fired, no explanations, no excuses (because, as soon as someone is seen with her/his eyes closed or head down, the "I wasn't really asleep, I was only resting my eyes" excuses start). Get a cup of coffee. Get up and walk around. Turn on a light. Whatever. Don't start down the road of "resting" your eyes, however briefly -- eventually, you'll get caught asleep on duty (and people fall asleep sitting up all the time). We are all only human, we're diurnal animals, and working nights is tough -- you're fighting your own biology. Best wishes.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Nov 27, 2015

Parents and caregivers will take pictures. And some will bypass the agency and report to the BoN directly of patient abandonment. In my agency it's grounds for termination. The fact that you were on your phone or book in hand like an awake person is irrelevant.

The board of nursing is not there for nurses they are there to protect the public and are obligated to investigate allegations of neglect or abandonment (which is what sleeping on a night shift falls under). They don't necessarily have to file legal charges or official reprimand. The board is obligated to err on the side of public safety not the nurse's.

This happened in my former agency. The parent took a photo. Reported to BoN and agency. Agency failed to act even with a warning and were cited. The BoN investigated and the nurse received an official reprimand on their license and had to take a board approved ethics class. Granted there were multiple factors and issues in the case (my state did not post details of reprimands online back then so nothing to link).

It's not a court of criminal necessarily but administrative law and the rules of evidence are very different.

Why risk it if you KNOW you are nodding off? Drink coffee. Move. Stand. Adjust your sleep schedule. Take naps. Don't work nights, most people can't.

cayenne06, MSN, CNM · Nov 27, 2015

Once i was "fired" from a HH case because the mom thought I was sleeping. She didn't want me to have a light in her patient's room, and there was no where else in the house where I felt comfortable setting up shop for the night. So if I didn't have any charting to do, and was done with my homework and bored with clicking around on my laptop, I would literally have to sit in the dark and do nothing. Luckily my charting was thorough and showed the care I gave throughout the night, and nothing ever came of the complaint. But it was frustrating and my impetus to get serious about leaving HH!

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Nov 27, 2015

And to add the published cases I found on BoN all had additional issues aside from sleeping at work. But the issues alleged with sleeping on the job were abandonment/neglect (can't care for client

if sleeping) and documentation fraud (can't work if sleeping)

Likely...agency initiates company disciplinary proceedings (verbal warning through termination). If chronic they are obligated to report to BoN (one single 5 second nap session not likely to garner a BoN notification but if they terminated some BoN mandate all terminations be reported to the BoN). A family member can file a complaint at any time. The BoN is obligated to investigate but has guidelines whether to file an official complaint, mandate fees or classes, or sanctions against a license. Could you be sanctioned for falling asleep on a case? Technically yes and the BoN tends to err on the public side (not a nurse who states they were playing on a phone or who sits like an awake person with a book in hand excuses not likely to be accepted) is it likely the BoN would take action for a 5 second eye closing with photo or video evidence? Depends.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Nov 27, 2015

I worked nights for a long time. Most of the people caught with their eyes closed had them closed for more than 5 seconds, despite their protestations. I've worked with nurses who could doze off mid-sentence, doze for 30 minutes and wake up and continue the sentence with no break. It is entirely possible that you're "resting your eyes" for longer than you think you are. That needs to stop. If you MUST "close your eye for five seconds", do it either standing up (not that standing is total proof you're awake) or in the rest room where no one can see you.

BSNbeauty, BSN, RN · Nov 27, 2015

Number 1865 reason why I hate night shift. Sometimes I need to close my eyes because they are so freakin dry at 4am. If I get fired over that for "sleeping". Then oh well. Guess I'll get a new non night shift job.