I am in dire need of your help. I was called into the VP of nursing's office Monday and told that my name showed up on a pyxis discrepancy report showing that several doses of Tylenol # 3 were missing and had not been given to my assigned patients that day. I was in total shock as we had been having a problem lately with several discrepancies that I had brought to the attention of our head nurse and she said she would look into it. I was offered " counselling " if I needed it or a resignation if I felt that I needed to do that. I Instantly offered a lie detector test or a drug test as I am totally innocent. I also suggested several alternatives to the scenario - such as some one coming in after me and taking meds ( if I forgot to log off ) or that I gave meds to another patient not assigned to me. I was coolly informed that step one in the investigation was a negative drug test and that the suggestions that other staff were involved was none of my business. My drug test was completely negative but I am supposed to meet with the VP on Friday and she was just as cool and nasty on the phone as you can imagine. HELP What can I do - what are my options, do I have legal recourse, the human resources policy says that they can terminate me for suspicion. I am a single mom of 4 boys and I need my job.
I like Colleen's suggestion- they might be trying to smoke people out because they can't figure out what happened. I would just go to work, change your pyxis password immediately, and be very careful until they push the issue. If they do push the issue, that will be the time to get a lawyer. In that case...
Saying that you forgot to log out of the pyxis won't help you- every pyxis access request form I have ever seen has a statement that you are responsible for all meds removed under your electronic sign in. So you'd be left holding the bag there.
If it's a fingerprint pyxis, you would have to have left yourself logged in. If it's a code pyxis, you could be really screwed. Make sure your lawyer looks at the dates/times the pills were removed- if you weren't on duty that day, you'll still get fired but it will help a lot with your BON hearing. Also look at who else was scheduled each day the discrepancies were found- look for the same person on each of those days.
Also make sure your lawyer looks at the med sheet AND the nursing notes for every patient on the unit the days of the discrepancies- if you medicated a patient but didn't put it on the MAR, you might have mentioned it in your notes.
I'd be curious to know how many people found the discrepancies. If the same nurse entered the T3 compartment after you and "found" the discrepancy, it might be her that took them. All she has to say is "there should be 10 but there were 6 when I got there." Doesn't mean the missing ones aren't in her pocket, not
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Originally posted by BadBird
, I would not resign, I would let them fire me because then you could get unemployment until you are rehired.
Look into this before you follow this advice-eligibility for un-employment varies from state to state....You may NOT be eligible if fired.......good luck- we are pulling for you
ratchit
294 Posts
I like Colleen's suggestion- they might be trying to smoke people out because they can't figure out what happened. I would just go to work, change your pyxis password immediately, and be very careful until they push the issue. If they do push the issue, that will be the time to get a lawyer. In that case...
Saying that you forgot to log out of the pyxis won't help you- every pyxis access request form I have ever seen has a statement that you are responsible for all meds removed under your electronic sign in. So you'd be left holding the bag there.
If it's a fingerprint pyxis, you would have to have left yourself logged in. If it's a code pyxis, you could be really screwed. Make sure your lawyer looks at the dates/times the pills were removed- if you weren't on duty that day, you'll still get fired but it will help a lot with your BON hearing. Also look at who else was scheduled each day the discrepancies were found- look for the same person on each of those days.
Also make sure your lawyer looks at the med sheet AND the nursing notes for every patient on the unit the days of the discrepancies- if you medicated a patient but didn't put it on the MAR, you might have mentioned it in your notes.
I'd be curious to know how many people found the discrepancies. If the same nurse entered the T3 compartment after you and "found" the discrepancy, it might be her that took them. All she has to say is "there should be 10 but there were 6 when I got there." Doesn't mean the missing ones aren't in her pocket, not