I do agree. No nurse should be taking narcotic pain medication while at work. If you need it to control pain, fine, but stay home and definitely stay off the roads. We tell our patients upon discharge not to drive while taking these medications, why are we exempt? Just because someone does not feel the effect of a narcotic does not mean it is not decreasing their response time, mental reasoning, etc. These are things we can not judge ourselves. Just as a chronic alcoholic can function with a blood alcohol level of 0.20, he would still be considered legally drunk even without signs of intoxication. The other issue with this is she was driving while extremely fatigued. This is the same as driving drunk. Common sense should have been used and no police officer should encourage you to continue to drive when you say you can not. At the end of the day, you are responsible for yourself. Working while actively taking narcotic pain medication when you have people's lives in your hands is irresponsible on the part of the nurse and the employer. It is a huge liability.
