Feeling bad, like I "ratted out" a nurse

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

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'm guessing that you'd get 50/50 of whether to report or not.

and it doesn't matter if it was 1/4 of a benzo, overtired, a neuro event...

the bottom line is she appeared impaired, and unable to perform her job.

fwiw, when a nurse is considering reporting another nurse, it is common to elicit confirmation from another trusted colleague.

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.

someone suggested you were slanderous?:lol2:

funny, and incorrect.

relax.

I agree that "you just never know", BUT unless I'm missing something, this nurse had just completed a 12 hour shift and could just be having an off day. I'm sorry to say it so plainly, but in my opinion the OP is a rat. This had nothing to do with patient safety because the nurse was leaving. If she was just coming on, I STILL would talk to her first and if something were amiss, I'd give HER the opportunity to go to the supervisor herself! If she didn't, then I would! I believe you should never say something behind someones back that you won't say to their face. This was not a patient safety issue, it was gossip. I'd love to know what the OP said to the supervisor. I work with enough "well meaning" nurses to know when someone is concerned and someone is a rat, I think I smell the latter. I think the OP just wanted someone to cosign her BS....sorry, not gonna do it.

i reported a nurse that was nearing end of shift, and approached her about her slurring, stumbling, eyes half-closed behavior.

she said she was tired.

i claim liar...and i was concerned.

another nurse shared same concerns with me.

i arranged for a ride home for her, then went to adon.

pt safety is always my first concern...even above and beyond "sisterhood" and protecting their well-being.

oh...and gossip? for real??

signing off, over and out

Again, why would another nurse come to you instead of going to THAT nurse??? OMG....this is why I can't stand working with mostly women AND I AM A WOMAN!! This is gossip! You don't go to another nurse, you go directly to the source of your concern! I swear if I was this nurse and found out that you two reported me without ever giving me the opportunity to explain, I would go ballistic. Ugh....nurses...when will we learn?

why the hell would i go to a person that is messed up?

as stated, many nurses confer with another, for guidance and input.

fwiw, i do believe i'd report you...just because.;)

out of here...

leslie

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Specializes in Telemetry.

why the hell would i go to a person that is messed up?

as stated, many nurses confer with another, for guidance and input.

fwiw, i do believe i'd report you...just because.;)

out of here...

leslie

OMG....LOLOLOLOLOL....you just made my morning!!!:heartbeat

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Only one side of the story here folks. This was a good nurse with a good reputation. Im on her side, and I don't care what you others think. Im not going to pull quotes here and rip others apart. When someone says someone "APPREARS", this is not proof. Many times on the news someone is reported to have been impaired, only to find out the truth later. Look into the PNC park fan who got beat with a club, and now the entire story that was told on day one is FALSE. I would love to hear this nurses side of it. No one wants to work around an impaired nurse. No where in the OP post does it say there was one problem with care. I'll play devils advocate here for sure.

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Only one side of the story here folks. This was a good nurse with a good reputation. Im on her side, and I don't care what you others think. Im not going to pull quotes here and rip others apart. When someone says someone "APPREARS", this is not proof. Many times on the news someone is reported to have been impaired, only to find out the truth later. Look into the PNC park fan who got beat with a club, and now the entire story that was told on day one is FALSE. I would love to hear this nurses side of it. No one wants to work around an impaired nurse. No where in the OP post does it say there was one problem with care. I'll play devils advocate here for sure.

i agree. nurses are notorious for telling on each other any and every time there's a chance. also, i can't tell you how many times i've heard in report that a patient who was involved in a MVC was drunk, etc., and it turned out to be completely false. it's like they just thrive on drama. just last night everyone was getting a little lecture about keeping meds safely contained and a nurse spoke up about a nurse who wasn't there and said, "the other day all of susie's med drawers were unlocked. there wasn't one that was secure." i was thinking to myself "what a snitch." why would she do that? it was over and done with, susie wasn't there, nobody knew, and nothing bad happened. i don't understand why, but some people take pleasure in that sort of thing.

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
Only one side of the story here folks. This was a good nurse with a good reputation. Im on her side, and I don't care what you others think. Im not going to pull quotes here and rip others apart. When someone says someone "APPREARS", this is not proof. Many times on the news someone is reported to have been impaired, only to find out the truth later. Look into the PNC park fan who got beat with a club, and now the entire story that was told on day one is FALSE. I would love to hear this nurses side of it. No one wants to work around an impaired nurse. No where in the OP post does it say there was one problem with care. I'll play devils advocate here for sure.

There's only one side of the story but you're gonna defend the other side that you know nothing about? I think it stinks that the woman didn't get to show her supervisor how she "appeared" at the exact time of the behavior for which she was being reported, but I'm not gonna put her up for Nurse of the Year considering I don't know her from Adam, lol

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Specializes in ICU, Public Health.

What ever happened??????

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