BYOB at work?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. What would you do if you caught another nurse doing this?

    • 11
      Mind your own business, this happens all the time.
    • 52
      Report it, there is no place in nursing for this activity.

63 members have participated

Need your excellent, expert advice! Recently while at work, it was brought to my attention that another nurse had brought beer FROM HOME and gave it to a vulnerable adult in our Special Care Unit as a 'treat'.

Nurse was on duty at the time and is not a friend or relative of this resident.

Resident has no doctor's order for alcohol whatsoever.

Thoughts? Actions? I was told to ignore it because this nurse has been doing this for years.

(Later I'll tell you what I did).

I couldn't pick either poll choice.

It would've made me uncomfortable simply because I wouldn't want to be mistaken for an accomplice or find myself in trouble for not acting upon my knowledge.

I would've tried talking to my coworker > "Hey, I know this hasn't ever caused any problems and good on you for trying to do something nice for the guy. Why don't we just get an order for it so no one has to worry about it - - and while we're at it we can figure out the right way to get it in here without essentially bootlegging."

I have to say, I will usually run the other way from making federal cases about things that haven't hurt anyone for "years." Since I personally believe this whole world would be a lot better off without the commoners feeling obliged to police each other at every turn, I refuse to be reactionary or to play "gotcha," as much as reasonably possible. So I would talk to her first and cross my fingers that she would see reason.

Often times when we read something we can infer that there is a 'tone' to what was written.

As I re-read my original post, I don't see anywhere in that text that I have suggested a "Gotcha" mentality, or a "Tattletale" self-appointed hall monitor to the world of nursing title.

I do not have to defend myself or my actions because my board of nursing has already given me very clear directions on what to do when I am in these situations. I will always error on the side of the patient or resident. I will always be a patient advocate, I don't care if I'm friends with someone who is doing this kind of crap. These kind of friends I don't need.

Nurses ARE the gate keepers to this whole thing. We have to monitor ourselves and each other's actions. If not us then who?

As far as "Crossing my fingers and hoping"? Good luck with that in a court of law. This resident has multiple medical issues and is on a ice cream bucket full of pills. There is a reason he doesn't have an order for alcohol. Aside from that, this person is a vulnerable adult. There are laws in place in this state concerning the treatment of vulnerable adults and as long as I take a breath and hold a nursing license I will defend these people no matter what. If I can't do that? then what am I worth?

Maybe next time she decides a little cocaine would be a good thing. Or ? a little something else sprinkled on his cereal. Where does it end?

By the way I did speak with this nurse. You have to be very, very careful when talking to someone about this type of thing. If I ignore it and the the patient has an adverse effect and this heads to court? I'm done.

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My pulse quickened. My eyes widened, pupils dilated. My breath bated.

I truly believed I'd found my soul mate.

Then, reality came crashing down.

Alas... and forlorn...

OH YOU MAKE ME LAUGH!!!! My pulse quickened and my cheeks were flushed when I read your response! I've always wanted a soul mate but I've been around the block more times than the Girl Scouts selling cookies. No hope for me. (big sigh).

P.S. I may have done these things but would never admit to it online! Baahhhhaaaa evil laugh.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I LOVE THIS PHOTO!!! Saving it.

So here's what I did. I snuck outside and made sure this nurse's car was unlocked. Then I grabbed two big bags of fermenting BM and urine filled briefs and I hid them under the nurse's back car seat. Then, I went online and I signed this nurse up for every dating site I could find under titles like, "Sasquatch needs a mate", "Dating in the Himalayans", "The Russian Penninsula is calling you for Love".

THEN, I registered this nurse for as many political online forums I possibly could and listed the nurse's phone number and requested calls DAY OR NIGHT.

THEN, I registered the nurse with the Foreign Legion.

THEN, I caught a wild racoon and turned it loose in the nurse's car.

I'M TOTALLY JOKING I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THAT.

I simply wrote it all down as it happened and reported it like I should and then got on with my shift because I was BUSY!!

I'm glad you didn't do all those things. The song "Dueling Banjos" started playing in my head as I was reading your post.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Maybe next time she decides a little cocaine would be a good thing. Or ? a little something else sprinkled on his cereal. Where does it end?

Really? You don't think that's a ridiculous, hyperbolic leap?

Davey, can you do a cartoon on beer being a gateway drug to cocaine?

Beer is cheap. Cocaine is not (from what I've been told). Who's going to waste perfectly good cocaine on a patient?

Wait, though - what kind of beer was it? Was it PBR or, like, Fat Tire or Dale's Pale Ale? Because that will definitely factor into my level of outrage.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I didn't hear this second hand, after the CNA told me about it I immediately went to investigate what was going on because that is what I am legally required to do in my state. (I'm beginning to really love my state). You assumed that I spoke to my co-workers about this other nurse and used her name. Wrong assumption.

Sorry for misinterpreting, but how else was I suppose to take this comment other than you were talking to coworkers about the situation:

"The idea by some of my co-workers that, "Well it was JUST a beer, don't get so excited" really saddens me"?

Also, you did state that you were taking the CNAs account of how the nurse brought a beer to the resident. You did not witness it, yet you reported. That is basically the definition of secondhand.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
Really? You don't think that's a ridiculous, hyperbolic leap?

Plus, I though we we talking about legal drugs. Next thing you know, the Nazi's are going to be brining in the beer. Mr. (Dr?) Godwin on line 1.

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Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.
CNA saw it. Let the CNA report it. I think your concern is larger and wider (who brings ANYTHING from home to give to a patient???)

I once brought thanksgiving dinner to a dying patient with no family who was in the hospital on my floor. I would do it again in that situation.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I once brought thanksgiving dinner to a dying patient with no family who was in the hospital on my floor. I would do it again in that situation.

Occurred several years ago...we had a pot luck holiday lunch at work. We had a patient who had been on the unit for several months. One of the nurses made a plate of food (from the food we brought from home) for this patient. After the fact, she told one of our NP's about it...never did get a verbal nor written order.

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Specializes in PMHNP-BC.
No, we didn't miss it; we understand it just fine.

I laughed when I read this... we are all pretty sure they aren't brewing beer at the nursing home...and yes, all of that was bad and wrong, but this part was funny.

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General Question: Is alcohol allowed or ever provided in long term care? I understand there are a handful of diseases where ETOH is contraindicated. But, for your average LOL who needs to spend her final years in a SNF, is a glass of wine (not provided by the nurse) out of the question? Genuinely curious.

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General Question: Is alcohol allowed or ever provided in long term care? I understand there are a handful of diseases where ETOH is contraindicated. But, for your average LOL who needs to spend her final years in a SNF, is a glass of wine (not provided by the nurse) out of the question? Genuinely curious.

We had residents who had wine or some other alcohol based drink stored in the fridge in the med room, but each one had a valid order from the MD and it was on their care plan. When the resident would pass away and it was forgotten to give the remaining alcohol to the family, some of the nurses would vie for the 'honor' of getting rid of it to make room in the fridge, of course. Not unheard of. As stated before, this is their home. If they have had wine with dinner or a glass before bed for decades, why deprive them at the end of their life? That would seem cruel.

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At the LTC facilities where I consult, the majority of the residents have an order for 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages "daily, prn."

This is meant to accommodate families bringing in a special meal on holidays, for those in long term.

It is not meant for staff to bring in booze because they feel sorry for the patient, or whatever the strange motivation may be.

On a related note, dementia secondary to alcohol abuse is much more common than I would have guessed.

It is a fairly common reason for LTC admission among people in their 50's.

Food for thought.

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