BYOB at work?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. What would you do if you caught another nurse doing this?

    • 11
      Mind your own business, this happens all the time.
    • 52
      Report it, there is no place in nursing for this activity.

63 members have participated

Need your excellent, expert advice! Recently while at work, it was brought to my attention that another nurse had brought beer FROM HOME and gave it to a vulnerable adult in our Special Care Unit as a 'treat'.

Nurse was on duty at the time and is not a friend or relative of this resident.

Resident has no doctor's order for alcohol whatsoever.

Thoughts? Actions? I was told to ignore it because this nurse has been doing this for years.

(Later I'll tell you what I did).

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
BREATHE! (Are you always this defensive?) "Attack mode" is not a healthy state to live in. Wow.

Another example of tone not coming across well via written medium. I'm not defensive or attacking. The tone in which I wrote that post was one of amused incredulity.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
D'oh! Sorry!

No need to apologize

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

Look at me! I boldly throw my co-workers under the bus! Because I'm superior to them!

I will find a way to turn every molehill into a mountain and then convince myself that every mountain is an active volcano about to explode on my patient, unless I sacrifice a co-worker!

Do you think I'm right?

A. Yes, you're an ass covering rockstar!

B. No, keep your head down and allow patients to be harmed by reckless people who bring in beer FROM HOME!

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Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

OP, you have used the term "vulnerable adult" several times, and mentioned that the board of nursing requires you to report this. Are you suggesting that this other nurses behavior should be considered elder abuse? I ask because if you DO think that this rises to the level of elder abuse, then I am not sure that writing up the events and informing the appropriate department at your facility would fulfill your duties as a "mandated reporter". To be clear, I am not suggesting that you go call the police, but I am suggesting that none of the boards of nursing that I have worked under have had a rule that elder abuse be reported to the employer.

I do recognize that potentially, someone could be taking advantage of an elder in a scenario like this. It sounds like you think the nurse had nefarious intent. Do you think it went beyond just wanting the patient to be a bit sedate to make the shift easier...is there something else that you are hinting at?

Also, waaaay back on page 1, you mentioned that "this resident is unable to make decisions for bathing, dressing or grooming." Are they coherent enough to feed themselves or know what they would like to drink/eat? Or is this nurse assuming they would want beer?

I'm undecided on what I think the right thing to do would be (need more info, and perhaps to have been there), but I do think you are being unnecessarily aggressive in some of your responses. This could be a good discussion, but its gone off the rails.

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Look at me! I boldly throw my co-workers under the bus! Because I'm superior to them!

I will find a way to turn every molehill into a mountain and then convince myself that every mountain is an active volcano about to explode on my patient, unless I sacrifice a co-worker!

Do you think I'm right?

A. Yes, you're an ass covering rockstar!

B. No, keep your head down and allow patients to be harmed by reckless people who bring in beer FROM HOME!

If you are going to be the self-appointed defender of the Universe you really should wear a nice satin cape. Something to match your eyes. Nice bait by the way did you buy it in a can?

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I'm undecided on what I think the right thing to do would be (need more info, and perhaps to have been there), but I do think you are being unnecessarily aggressive in some of your responses. This could be a good discussion, but its gone off the rails.

To save space I'm not going to quote the whole thing, but this is the most thoughtful post of this entire thread.

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JS -

With the clarifications received, I do believe this nurse's behavior is inappropriate on a level that requires reporting, and you are correct, this would be reported to APS, not the BoN (however, many places have an approved process through which individual mandated reporter employees raise their concern to a designated person, such as a social worker in their institution, who then files the report - - personally I insist on making my own direct reports to eliminate the chances of someone else dropping a ball after I have already declared my concern).

Which brings up a question for the OP, in all seriousness: Given the fact that this behavior has apparently been tee-hee'd and blown off for quite some time, what are the realistic chances your report will make it to APS as is likely state mandated? There may be incentive to simply handle it internally.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

If you think OP did something heroic please post where you work so I know where not to apply for my next job.

And to be clear there was only one way to handle this appropriately.

Talk to the nurse yourself. Tell her the CNA was worried and came to you. So you told the CNA you would make sure she had an order.

You have an order right? No? Ok, you need to get one.

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Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.
If you are missing the outrage at a nurse bringing alcohol from home and giving it to a vulnerable adult without a doctor's order? Then I have no words for you especially as a DON with 30+ years of experience.

I'm still mystified why you are more intent on being outraged than trying to fix the problem! Maybe THIS is where my 30+ years of experience is shining thru here, keeping the focus on FIXING the problem rather than wasting time creating drama. Have you picked up the phone and discussed this with the Dr. or spoke with the family yet?

I notice you eventually imply that the person is giving the resident beer to keep them quiet - that was NOT mentioned in your original post and is a whole different problem if in fact true. That would be abuse and if this is true have you directly reported it to your administrator because that is what the federal law requires you to do.

So what have you done to resolve this issue at this point?

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
Nope, the point was you brought up Nazis and that is an inappropriate comment. Just say you are sorry. Let's try to talk our way through this so no one gets reported.

Ironic post of the century right here.

After saying that giving an ltc resident a beer is a slippery slope to sprinkling cocaine on a residents food, and accusing a coworker of elder abuse for the same action; OP now threatens reporting a poster for bringing up Nazis. Because that's ... inappropriate.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

O

I LOVE THIS PHOTO!!! Saving it.

So here's what I did. I snuck outside and made sure this nurse's car was unlocked. Then I grabbed two big bags of fermenting BM and urine filled briefs and I hid them under the nurse's back car seat. Then, I went online and I signed this nurse up for every dating site I could find under titles like, "Sasquatch needs a mate", "Dating in the Himalayans", "The Russian Penninsula is calling you for Love".

THEN, I registered this nurse for as many political online forums I possibly could and listed the nurse's phone number and requested calls DAY OR NIGHT.

THEN, I registered the nurse with the Foreign Legion.

THEN, I caught a wild racoon and turned it loose in the nurse's car.

I'M TOTALLY JOKING I DIDN'T DO ANY OF THAT.

I simply wrote it all down as it happened and reported it like I should and then got on with my shift because I was BUSY!!

Oh my gosh, you had me crying in laughter, until at the end, you said you really didn't do all that, but I still love your way of thinking

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Ironic post of the century right here.

After saying that giving an ltc resident a beer is a slippery slope to sprinkling cocaine on a residents food, and accusing a coworker of elder abuse for the same action; OP now threatens reporting a poster for bringing up Nazis. Because that's ... inappropriate.

The ironic part is that you have a background in psychiatry.

The ironic part is that you completely missed that I was being sarcastic.

Sigh...delete, delete, delete. I totally get it, you want me to really, really know that you are the great defender here of the thread. You want me to fully understand that if I cross you then I will pay for what I've done. VERY interesting that you are so hostile and angry towards me for wanting things to be right in nursing and you aren't angry and hostile towards the nurse doing this.

A really good friend of mine slowly developed an attitude just like yours years ago. He was a brilliant nurse, very sharp he should have been a doctor. He was also one of the funniest people I've ever met. The day to day struggle in nursing dealing with stupid people got to him and slowly, ever so slowly he turned into a bitter, mean, critical person. He was completely burned out. He would jump to conclusions and have very harsh criticisms. He would voice his opinion loudly and often and anyone who would disagree with him was viewed as a foe and someone he should destroy.

In fact, he had all the symptoms of PTSD. Seeing enough trauma over the course of many years in nursing had greatly impacted him.

Eventually he was quarrelling with everyone he worked with and he made life for new hires absolute hell. Finally, by mutual agreement he was let go. People can only tolerate just so much of that kind of hostility in the work place and it becomes a problem. He took years off of nursing and now is a salesman which apparently suits him much better.

Just FYI.

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