Hi. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of being falsely accused of med diversion due to giving meds 1-2 hours after pulling them out of the pyxis.
I am so upset and frustrated since my manager recently told me that the pharmacy put me on an alert list for possible medication diversion. The only reason for this is because I have pulled out morphine at times and not given it until 1-2 hours later. There isn't any medication missing. No accusations from patients. NOTHING else.
I am so upset that this is happening. I work on a really busy floor and I often have pulled out a pain med in expectation that the patient will ask for it, though when I go into their room, they are sleeping or don't want it at that time. Rather than return the med immediately, I hold onto it until they need it so I am prepared for the next time. I am on a floor where there aren't any CNAs at times, nor a resource RN and sometimes no unit clerk and every minute counts. I have been beyond frustrated with the work environment and now I am being falsely accused of this. I am trying not to get upset but it's truly difficult.
Gypsy nurses should be WAY down on a Nurse Manager's concern list. We are expected to perform at or above the Standards for our specialty, with minimal orientation or supervision. I have been travelling for years and even now keep my antennae up for any possibility of a question about my practice. Saves time, money and gets me good references.
It is never even a slightly good idea to put any medication in your pockets for hours. It an especially bad idea when it is a pain medication. While I do believe the nursing profession is too harsh on nurses on this one they are completely correct. You should really go back over medication administration and clean up your entire technique. It disturbs me that you are not seeing that this was poor judgment and you are trying to justify it. Not trying to be mean but this looks really bad, at the very least.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Yes, in any area where narcotics are involved, one must be so careful. Being sure never to place narcotics of any sort in one's pockets is huge. Making sure all wastes are properly disposed of immediately and witnessed properly, critical. It's so important to be sure everything is done properly and by the book, EVERY single time. Yes, time to do things by the book can be a problem, but you never, ever, want to be accused of diversion; it's a nightmare.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Y'all are misreading what OC said. She said maybe the MANAGER isn't decent. NOT that the OP might not be decent!
So I just read this entire thread and what a roller coaster. I too misread who OC implied wasn't decent. But at one point I wanted to grab OC and Been There and knock their heads together. So I was very happy it was all cleared up and worked out.
OP of the thread clearly learned their lesson and later stated so. I liked Ruby's post about printing the patient arm band again and taping it to the headboard as I might have done that before for scanning labs and printing new lab stickers. Or I might not have after seeing the replied to that!
Sometimes I love how entertaining this forum can be!!!
Oh and the story about the PCA Morphine vial and patient accusation reminded me of a FF patient we would get in the ER. He was a well known seeker, he was however legit sick and one of the hottest messes I have seen, one of the only people I couldn't get IV access on. They couldn't even get ultrasound guided IV on him without multiple attempts. Anyway he ones told me I didn't give him percocet. He watched me scan it and open it but he wanted to see a manager because he said it tasted different then his percs he had at home.
That's a bad way to do thing's. I too worked on a very busy surgical floor and we gave pain meds out the wazoo. The patient can wait the few minutes it takes to get their meds. Narcotics in your pocket can you fired on the spot.
I understand how you feel because something similar happened to me. However, the difference is that I was also drug tested. Therefore, I WAS accused of diverting. I was allowed to return to work after the drug test came back negative. I was written up for not having perfect charting regarding narcotics. I too was on the pharmacy alert list. The lesson I took from that is to slow down and take narcotic dispensing seriously!
.thumb.jpg.5aa4d55557c0228e31b94de19666bbbb.jpg){kind=small}
EKUGRAD, BSN, MSN, RN, CNS
73 Posts
Gypsy nurses should be WAY down on a Nurse Manager's concern list. We are expected to perform at or above the Standards for our specialty, with minimal orientation or supervision. I have been travelling for years and even now keep my antennae up for any possibility of a question about my practice. Saves time, money and gets me good references.