Co-worker stole my ID

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did you ever use someone elses idenity to steel narcotics form an acudose machine? How did it make you feel when you had to work with that nurse again that you stole her idenity from?

To cherryrose, didto from what Cattitude said!!

I do have something somewhat related---- I re-started at a small facility, and the second week I was back I followed a nurse that I had problems with the first time I was there. This nurse had signed off all the MARS that the meds on the patient were given. When I gave my first med (a topical, and I always date, time, and initial these), I noticied that the last one I put one 12 hours before was still on. Well, didn't think much about that, went on and did what I always do. At am med time, I started taking the meds out of the pixis, and noticed that the last time these med were taken out was 12 hours before, by me. I double checked the MARS, the pixis, ect. It apperared that the nurse before me had signed that the meds were given, but obviously not given them, because they had not been taken out! :uhoh3: What to do? What to do? :confused: SOOOOO. I went to my supervisor, and remember now, I have already had problems with the nurse before, and told my long story. Long story short, the nurse had not given ANY meds that night, had slept the night away (per other staff), and signed all the MARS as meds given. :eek: This nurse was dismised, but the facility gave a GOOD reference to the facility this nurse IS NOW WORKING AT!!!!! By the way, this is ICU, cardiac, pulmonary, ect. :smackingf

:banghead: Can't win for losing sometimes! My opinion, :twocents: worth, this nurse should not be working as a nurse AT ALL!!

's RN

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Specializes in NICU, Pediatrics,Med-Surg.
Originally this thread started out talking about having your ID stolen and used by someone else to divert drugs and that happened to me a little over 2 years ago and i'm still dealing with it. The hospital was using an Omnicell machine and someone got my password and used it for several months before the hospital decided that I was doing it and without talking to me at all they called the police and there was a investigation. I live in a small town so I found out about it when a co-worker called me and said that she was told that I had been arrested. After working as a nurse for 18 years I knew what it meant to be accused of stealing drugs so after talking to a few other people I called my BON and contacted an attorney immediately and had a UDS done which was negative. The BON then called the hospital. This is a very long story and i'm trying to make it as short as possible. We had the previous month had a pharmacist arrested at work for being caught stealing drugs on camera so they were already fired up. When the police wanted to question me I wouldn't talk to them without my attorney and I couldn't get ahold of her at the time (she had already told me not to talk to them without her). So they ended up arresting me on 44 counts of possession of a controlled substance. My bond was $91,000. It cost me $12,000 just to get out of jail. When I went to court for arrainment they had dropped it to 2 counts but nothing else had changed. All of that started in May of 2005. I still have not gone to court and I still don't have a nursing license. The Louisiana BON do not try to help. When I went and talked to them in person I was told that if anyone called them they needed to be able to say they were doing something about it. She was referring to the headlines in the New Orleans paper. I know that the reason this hasn't been settled yet is because they jumped on it without thinking and now they have nothing to use against me except computer paper. Nothing of mine was ever searched so of course they have no evidence, my UDS was negative, I had letters from co-workers written and sent to BON attesting to my character, and there was even one of the times that a drug was pulled that I wasn't on duty and it states that in the police report. Anyway, my point to all of this is that even though I did not steal any drugs it is 2 years later and I still can't work as a nurse. And when it finally is over I will sue and I think they know that but in the mean time I have been living in hell over something I didn't do (and i'm a single parent). There isn't any help in place for people in my situation. So stealing someone else's ID to steal drugs is something I wouldn't do to even my worst enemy, much less my friend.

I didn't have a good disposition about all of this at first but I live in Southwest Louisiana and all of this started right before we were hit with the 2 hurricanes. I've lost a lot (and I try not to think about it because it is so depressing) but there are people around me who have lost a lot more and they didn't do anything to deserve it either. That is the only way that I can stay keep a good attitude

As far as impaired nurses go I think that if people would get rid of the attitudes and just stop and think about it they would realize that no one ever hopes that they become addicted to drugs, it just happens slowly and quietly. Just like the people who have to have coffee or that smoke. Although i'm not addicted to drugs I do smoke and I know that if someone took my cigarettes away that eventually I would probably find some even if it hurt other people. Not because I would want to hurt them but because addiction is that strong. So I try very hard not to judge about things that I don't know about. So good luck to all of you!

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Specializes in Lie detection.
as far as impaired nurses go i think that if people would get rid of the attitudes and just stop and think about it they would realize that no one ever hopes that they become addicted to drugs, it just happens slowly and quietly. just like the people who have to have coffee or that smoke. although i'm not addicted to drugs i do smoke and i know that if someone took my cigarettes away that eventually i would probably find some even if it hurt other people. not because i would want to hurt them but because addiction is that strong. so i try very hard not to judge about things that i don't know about. so good luck to all of you!

great post and you have a good understanding of what addiction is. it's astonishing to believe that you have been hurt so deeply and yet you have this intense understanding.

that shows that anything is possible when you open your mind and heart:yeah::redpinkhe:w00t:

thank you again for sharing your story and your thoughts.

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WHOA!!! So by your definition nurses who divert narcs for their own use deserve to be drawn and quartered, but alcoholic nurses who steal containers of isopropyl alcohol or come to work smelling like they fell into the vat should be patted on their happy little butts and sent off to recovery to return as functioning nurses?

You need some major eddimacating, my dear! It is not alcoholism specifically that is considered a disease, it is chemical dependency. There is no difference between the two, except that one is purely a liquid ingestion and the other takes many forms. Many drug addicts are born of alcoholic parents but never touched alcohol......or it does nothing for them. The ADA covers anyone with a chemical dependency, not just people who drink alcohol.

I respect your right to your own opinion, but at least base your opinion after some education, please!!!!

For those who want to flame me for my words http://www.na.org/bulletins/bull17-r.htm

"This is one of those questions about addiction that is difficult to answer. There is much public debate over the question of whether addiction is a disease, and we do not choose to become involved in this debate. (This is a debate that should not be discussed here if you wish to debate this start another post. The fact that you only picked up on this and not the entire post does not surprise me though).

To Tazziern, MY DEAR (does not sound very nice does it), you missed a very essential part of my post and it is this "I am only talking about drug addicted nurses not alcoholics because I wish to keep with what the OP started in the original post." I did not mention the drunk nurse because that is not what Cherryrose was talking about in her post.

Cherryrose my heart goes out to you. What you have experienced should make every drug addicted nurse just shake. I am so sorry this post got stolen by a select few and we ended up discussing all about their hx of alcohol addiction and recovery and not about identity theft and drug Diversion. My experience with identity theft and drug diversion pales in comparison (I was fortunate my supervisor believed in me and did not involve the DPH and BON except to say I was a victim only).

Cherryrose, it does not seem fair though that you were innocent but you cannot work as a nurse. The scary part here if they ever catch the person who did the diverting, if it was a nurse according to many on this site, you should understand that that person has a disease and it was only a cry for help and he/she should not be proscuted and lose his/her license. It is also many's belief this drug addicted nurse should be able to work as a nurse after a short rehab while you stay home and if you ever get a chance to work as a nurse again, it is ok if you work beside one of these nurses who may or may not come out of recovery and steal your identity again and divert drugs again. (Again I am only talking about a nurse who diverts drugs using someone elses name or license). Because remember if drug addiction is a disease like diabetes, as do many scholarly people say I have to admit, then like diabetes, THERE IS NO CURE ONLY CONTROL'

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Specializes in Lie detection.

miss jessic did you miss this from the na site???

""however, it is our fellowship's collective experience and understanding that addiction is, in fact, a disease. we have no reason to challenge that perception now. it has served us well. our experience with addiction is that when we accept that it is a disease over which we are powerless, such surrender provides a basis for recovery through the twelve steps. ""

so yes in fact na does believe addiction is a disease.

as for the rest of your post, i feel for you, i really do. i am so glad that in my life i don't harbor any hateful ,spiteful feelings towards any one group of people.

it's easy to see that you have taken this issue very personally and will not budge on your stance, even to think about anything else that anyone has said.

see, myself? i do listen to other's opinions and understand them even if i don't agree. i know that the best thing is to come together and try and help one another, not to fight each other on this issue. who wants any more chemically dependent nurses? no one. my goal is to educate and one day do a lot more to help others in this process so that we have less not more addiction.

as far as cherryrose, it isn't fair as to what happened to her. it stinks! and the nurse that did it should get punished. but she should get treatment also. that is my point. you cannot just punish and walk away thinking the problem is solved.

punishment is not always jail. i know i'm being repetetive but i feel like no one is reading. it seems as if punishment is not what some want then it is not really punishment. that's crazy.

we can't all have what we want in life at all times.

as far as the topic of the thread morphing, that's the way of the internet. i don't see the op here complaining.

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The OP said "drug addicted nurses" because only non-chemically dependent people separate drugs and alcohol. If you look closely at the posts by recovering nurses, we say both because they are both inclusive of each other.

I give up. I'm getting a headache everytime I come in here.

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I give up. I'm getting a headache everytime I come in here.

Tazzi--I completely agree. And to Catitiude--yup!!! This is the way I see this forum and posts morph. Isn't it a way of learning and teaching each other?? :confused:

's RN

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
I bet I ALSO know alot of nurses that are in recovery and I DON'T know they are. I agree will you, Tazzi, we are no different that any Tom, Dick and Harry on the street, but we, at least I am, just living "one day at a time" instead of carefree. I have a much better outlook on life now that I am recovering :lol2: (just a compulsive gambler, but still recovering--I have an addition just like you). Some people don't see it that way, but believe me, I went thru h---(sorry!!). Long story.

Angel's RN (can't get my angel up!)

Are you talking about me again

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
Tom - I have been catching up on the posts on this thread and see that no one has been able to budge your ideas on this subject at all. I will pray for you tonight that you never "catch" what us addicts have. I will also pray that any addicts that come through your facility truly ill and in need of medications are assigned to another nurse.

Anne, RNC

I didnt know that it is contagious.

And I am not the type to become addicted, except to GOLF.

And I take good care of all my patients. Now they can not read my thoughts. But we cant all be psychotic can we

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Are you talking about me again

Teeieuptom,

I am afraid that I don't know you, so therefore, no, I am not necessarily talking about you. My point was that there are many, many addidited nurses - H---:chair: (sorry!) anyone in the public that I may know - that I have no idea that they have a problem. If you have an addidition, I hope that you are getting help, like I did, and taking it :Melody:"one day at a time", like I am.;)

's RN

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
Teeieuptom,

I am afraid that I don't know you, so therefore, no, I am not necessarily talking about you. My point was that there are many, many addidited nurses - H---:chair: (sorry!) anyone in the public that I may know - that I have no idea that they have a problem. If you have an addidition, I hope that you are getting help, like I did, and taking it :Melody:"one day at a time", like I am.;)

's RN

That was a joke as you brought up Tom Dick Harry

and trust me I am not the addicted type.

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That was a joke as you brought up Tom Dick Harry

and trust me I am not the addicted type.

I AM SOOOO SORRY!!!!!!!!!! :bowingpur:sofahider I didn't mean to offend you.

's RN

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