The other night, the day shift nurse who was leaving looked rather "off"....glazed eyes, appeared unsteady, had a general "stoned" look. When I asked her if she was OK, she said she had taken 1/4 of a benzo that morning, and she still "felt" it. Keep in mind that this was at 2300 when we spoke. This RN has a lot of seniority, and is well respected. Another colleague noticed her odd behavior, and agreed that something was "off".
I ended up letting the supervisor know, because overall, it did not sit right with me.
But now I feel badly. Could 1/4 of a benzo really leave someone looking like that 12 hours later? Would you have done the same in telling your supervisors?
Personally, I would have sat down and take wry her first...not just asked her if she was "ok". Is voice my concern over her appearance and tell her you think that she is under the inflence. I think reporting her is the very last thing to do wihout really consulting her first.
So what I am getting from a lot of you is that if you have a suspicion that something is definitely NOT right, to shut up and not say anything? I would not have said anything if I thought she was simply "tired". This nurse came right out and said that this very small dosage of benzo was not sitting right with her.....over 12 hours later. My other colleague who suspected something was wrong is a very quiet person who minds her own business, and is not one to "stir the pot".
I am smart enough to know that I did the right thing, yet as colleagues, you are somehow making me doubt this. I have no ill will toward this nurse, quite the opposite. I wish this had never happened. I was actually worried about her driving home, which is the main reason I asked her if she was feeling OK.
I'm not sure what will happen to her, if anything. I hope I am wrong in suspecting anything illegal.
I'm sorry, I certainly don't think its wrong of you to voice concerns to a supervisor. After all what if your worry is perfectly valid?
I can be somewhat doubtful on a person appearing 'stoned' because I personally appear very VERY blank, stoic like I have no emotions majority of the time and was harrassed about this when younger. So I have tired of people making such a big deal of appearances relating to affect.
It is why a general affect of an individual does not warrant to me personally a mass of attention, unless I see something disturbingly out of character for them. (Which I am assuming is what you saw)
Personally I think you did what you felt was right and meant no ill will whatsoever.
So what I am getting from a lot of you is that if you have a suspicion that something is definitely NOT right, to shut up and not say anything? I would not have said anything if I thought she was simply "tired". This nurse came right out and said that this very small dosage of benzo was not sitting right with her.....over 12 hours later. My other colleague who suspected something was wrong is a very quiet person who minds her own business, and is not one to "stir the pot".
I am smart enough to know that I did the right thing, yet as colleagues, you are somehow making me doubt this. I have no ill will toward this nurse, quite the opposite. I wish this had never happened. I was actually worried about her driving home, which is the main reason I asked her if she was feeling OK.
I'm not sure what will happen to her, if anything. I hope I am wrong in suspecting anything illegal.
You can't expect for all nurses on this site to agree with you. First of all none of us were there . Secondly, other nurses including myself agree that you did not intend to "stir the pot" and that you are looking out for the patients' first and foremost which is great of you. If you feel you did the right thing you don't need anybody else to validate that. You should be able to go home and know you did the right thing no matter what anyone says. Yes its nice to get reassurance from colleagues but I've learned a long time ago that it can go either way when posting. I think we can all agree that patient safety should come first and no one should be working impaired with a prescription or not.
You're right, it's unrealistic to expect everyone will agree. I am trying to make myself feel better about this is some ways. I f have worked with this nurse before, so I trust my judgment when I say it was not simple fatigue. This nurse is "on the ball" so to speak, and that day she most certainly was not. After my colleague approached me with her own suspicion, I felt like "Well, we both know something is wrong, so if we both do not say anything, and something happens, either tonight or in the future, we cannot deny we thought something was amiss".
I sure as heck hope I don't get "charged with slander" as someone posted here. I did not go around saying this person was drugged, I went to my superior and voiced my concerns.
I don't think you can be charged with slander, voicing a worry or idea is not slander as it's not public knowledge to everyone in your workplace and it wasn't done in a malicious way to cause her suffering or lack of respect in the eyes of her supervisor. Just seems a simple concern just like a preceptor would speak of a new grad, or staff on a new orientee, with no ill will.
Pretty much Slander has to be either a false statement or a malicious one and you didn't do either.
So I guess its safe to say you only posted this receive confirmation that you did the right thing...and that you really didn't want to know what someone else would have done in this situation. If you didn't want an opinion, you shouldn't have asked for it. Making accusations of drug use is a serious action and unless you really sat down and talked with her, you really don't know what is going on with her. Is she on any other meds that would increase sedition? Did she only sleep 1 hour last night? How long has she been taking this medication? I'd be angry as hell if someone decided to go to a supervisor without really talking to me and allowing me the opportunity to fess up if need be.
Not saying she drunk or anything of that nature, but they might have a problem that finally crept into their work life they've tried to keep separate for so long. I know this from personal experience with a family member RN.
So I guess its safe to say you only posted this receive confirmation that you did the right thing...and that you really didn't want to know what someone else would have done in this situation. If you didn't want an opinion, you shouldn't have asked for it. Making accusations of drug use is a serious action and unless you really sat down and talked with her, you really don't know what is going on with her. Is she on any other meds that would increase sedition? Did she only sleep 1 hour last night? How long has she been taking this medication? I'd be angry as hell if someone decided to go to a supervisor without really talking to me and allowing me the opportunity to fess up if need be.
OP, take this poster with a grain of salt.
You do what you feel is right - even if it turns out that nothing was wrong with that person. I wouldn't feel bad if someone suspected me, and it turned out all right. That person does what is best for patient care.
milksteak
185 Posts
Personally, I would have sat down and take wry her first...not just asked her if she was "ok". Is voice my concern over her appearance and tell her you think that she is under the inflence. I think reporting her is the very last thing to do wihout really consulting her first.