Coming to work after taking a narcotic?!

steelydanfan · Mar 25, 2011

I agree with weezy. The CNA knows that if she calls off the majority of the facility will behave like children and begin to tear her up for it. Best she come in and let a supervisor make the call on whether she can work or not.
Narcs, are totally individual. Vicodin = tylenol for me. My issue is with her hand. Bad injury? or enough pain where she might drop a patient.

I have a question about this statement. Is Vicodin like tylenol because you are a really big person; or is vicodin like tylenol for you because you have taken a lot of pain meds in your time? Or is it something that "Just doesn't work on me"?

I just have a hard time relating tylenol to a drug that makes ME feel out of my skin, jumpy, distanced and COMPLETELY stoned all at the same time.

I took it after surgery for 3 days once; and felt as if I needed detox afterwards. It just would not get out of my system.

linearthinker, DNP, RN · Mar 25, 2011

I didn't read the whole thing, but short answer: no, not OK.

**NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN** · Mar 25, 2011

I believe she shouldn't be working.

FYI, driving while taking narcs, such as Vicodin, is a DUI. Make sure she's aware just in case she did drive herself.

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 25, 2011

I was prescribed Vicodin for a tonsil abscess that was excruciatingly painful. Once I was cleared to work, infection-wise, I took one Vicodin during my shift once or twice to manage the pain. I knew that one Vicodin did not affect my mentation (two would, though).

bjaeram · Mar 25, 2011

I don't buy the it effects everyone differently theory. Alcohol does too. Does that mean if you can handle it it's okay to have a couple beers before work? Just because you THINK you can function normally doesn't mean you are and it certainly doesn't mean it's okay.

GM2RN · Mar 26, 2011

I don't buy the it effects everyone differently theory. Alcohol does too. Does that mean if you can handle it it's okay to have a couple beers before work? Just because you THINK you can function normally doesn't mean you are and it certainly doesn't mean it's okay.

Agreed. We aren't allowed to work under the influence of narcotics regardless of how we think it affects us.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Mar 26, 2011

Yet another NA trying to get away with as little work as possible.

It is SHOCKING that they verbalize they under the influence of a narcotic.. legitimate or otherwise.

Call the supervisor, have them escorted from the unit.

Hope you will get additional help, not likely.

kids · Mar 26, 2011

I don't buy the it effects everyone differently theory. Alcohol does too. Does that mean if you can handle it it's okay to have a couple beers before work? Just because you THINK you can function normally doesn't mean you are and it certainly doesn't mean it's okay.

Narcotics unlike alcohol do affect everyone differently for a variety of reasons.

A good example of this is the habituation experienced by people on opiates for chronic pain, they experience the benefits of pain contol without the euphoria or other effects.

Anyway, the CNA should have been sent home, more so because she has what sounds like a serious injury.

Chin up · Mar 26, 2011

It just like coming to work after drinking. Yes drinking is legal but that doesn't mean it appropriate to do right before work. Besides how did she get to work? She shouldn't be taking vicodin and driving either.

This is simply not true. You can't drink and drive, but you can take meds and drive if you are not impaired. People with chronic pain, drive and work every day. I bet some of you pop Xanax all day long. People do respond differently to different medications. These sweeping generalizations, are killing me. Whatever happened to thinking things through? But, you would rather, put all the folks who take pain meds to bed. They have no right to work or play, just sleep all day.

JDZ344 · Mar 26, 2011

A CNA injured herself (not on the job) ...it was her hand. She comes to work ,sits down and says "oh man I need another Vicodin, my hand is hurting...I took one before I left and I am feeling sleepy now , but Ill be okay" She says she had a script from her doctor. In my experience , Vicodin always knocks me out when I have had to take it for a broken bone or something....but anywoo do you think this is acceptable? What would you have done?

Does the CNA know that it's a narcotic? Is her work performance impaired? How is she able to work as a CNA with a hand injury? To me, that's more of an issue- someone else picking up her workload because she is not able to do physical work. Narcotics affect people in different ways, as do any drugs.

GM2RN · Mar 26, 2011

This is simply not true. You can't drink and drive, but you can take meds and drive if you are not impaired. People with chronic pain, drive and work every day. I bet some of you pop Xanax all day long. People do respond differently to different medications. These sweeping generalizations, are killing me. Whatever happened to thinking things through? But, you would rather, put all the folks who take pain meds to bed. They have no right to work or play, just sleep all day.

Really? How do you define impaired? What's the legal limit?

Let someone with a prescriptioin for vicodin get into an accident after taking them and see if this holds up in court.

Just because people do it all the time, the same way people drink and drive all the time, doesn't mean it's legal.

JDZ344 · Mar 26, 2011

Really? How do you define impaired? What's the legal limit?
Let someone with a prescriptioin for vicodin get into an accident after taking them and see if this holds up in court.
Just because people do it all the time, the same way people drink and drive all the time, doesn't mean it's legal.

It's illegal in the UK, and I would imagine a similar law exists in the US:

http://www.bma.org.uk/health_promotion_ethics/drugs_prescribing/drugdrivingresource.jsp?page=4