Can I lose my license???

Nurses Professionalism

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I have been going through some really stressful times - family wise. I was at work and I just felt lousy and dehydrated, so I gave myself a saline iv. I got caught, got fired and now they say they are going to report me to nc bon for practicing medicine without a license?????

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Specializes in hospice.

This post cannot be real. Why wouldn't you just drink and eat? If you had time to start an IV on yourself you had time to grab a sandwich and a drink.

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Thanks for that comment. It really helped. Is there anyone else out there who can actually help me without being judgmental about a decision I made, stupid or not, after weeks of not sleeping more than four hours a night

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Specializes in Oncology.

It's pretty hard to lose your license, especially for something that didn't affect patient care or involve narcotics.

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Thank you

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
Thanks for that comment. It really helped. Is there anyone else out there who can actually help me without being judgmental about a decision I made, stupid or not, after weeks of not sleeping more than four hours a night

That actually was a very valid question/response to your issue. It would never occur to most of us to start IV's on ourselves and give saline when we could simply grab a cup of water and eat a sandwich. I have no idea about losing your license, but given that it takes an MD order to start an IV & a bonus of saline, in my opinion, you were practicing medicine without a license.

i guess all you can do is hire an attorney and start to plan your defense/rationale.

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If you did it on your break, I can't see patient neglect being an issue. It's not like you were getting "high." So diversion isn't an issue. Nurses can start IV's so that's not out of scope practice. Yes, you would need a drs order before you did it. You did use their supplies too. BTW high five starting an iv on yourself. I'm not condoning it either. The only thing I see that they may have is if you have ever done this on a patient before. Wouldn't that fall on speculation? Gosh, keep us posted. I'm curious. And good luck.

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Specializes in hospice.
Thanks for that comment. It really helped. Is there anyone else out there who can actually help me without being judgmental about a decision I made, stupid or not, after weeks of not sleeping more than four hours a night

You're entitled to your reaction, I just think there must be more to this story.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Inaporopriate use of billable facility supplies, practicing medicine without a license..biggest issues I see. Contact your professional for advice or a license defense attorney.

In some states the BoN mandates an employer report any nurse terminated for any reason (whether diversion, patient neglect, or excessive absenteeism)

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Definitely practicing medicine without a license, definitely inappropriate use (basically, theft) of facility supplies. Since you were only practicing medicine without a license on yourself, you might not get into trouble with your license -- but that is serious charge, and you might well have to answer to the BON about the situation.

You've made it clear you're not interested in hearing anyone's opinion, but I gotta say, that seems like remarkably poor judgment to me. And I agree with some others that this scenario is so odd that I wonder if there isn't more to the story. I mean, over the years, there have been plenty of times I've been at work when I've been sleep-deprived, hungry, arguably "dehydrated," and felt lousy, but the idea of sticking myself for an IV and adminstering IV fluids never popped into my head as a possible answer to that.

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Out of curiosity, who was monitoring your patients while you were hanging out with an IV? Or were you dragging it around with you while checking on patients....? Were you sitting at the nurses' station charting? Can't imagine patients seeing you like that would garner much confidence in you that night ("my nurse is getting IV meds while taking care of ME??")

And if this was honestly just a 20 minute infusion during lunch.....WHY would you not get yourself something to eat and drink instead? I don't care HOW tired I've been (and believe me, nightshift, kids, charge duties, etc, I KNOW what tired is!!).....still don't understand this scenario.

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Specializes in Hospice Nursing.

If you were so sick that you needed an IV, perhaps you should have called off for your shift. Sounds like a bad idea all around.

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