Criminal or just Bad Judgement?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.
Holy cow, your co-worker is off his rocker on so many levels it isn't even funny. You need to report this to someone high up in the food chain because this co-worker is rather unsafe in many of his practices. Talk to your NM and give a very objective report of what you saw. Leave out anything that isn't objective and let your manager decide if this guy is safe or not in the situations he is in. Also, I would quit talking to the co-workers because you don't want your statements to be jaded by the rumor mill.

:yeahthat:

Your gut instinct was telling you something, listen to it!

You may have always enjoyed working with this guy but don't let that stand in the way of doing what you need to do.

If you report it and nothing happens, then protect yourself. Don't ask him to help unless you absolutely have to, then don't leave him alone with your patient. If you think he's being inappropriate with the patient, then try to stop him. if you don't, and the patient complains, it's going to look as if you stood by and watched him and did nothing and were a willing accomplice.

"Oh, is there a lump under that bruise? Here, let me put my gloves on and palpate it, since I'm going to be documenting it. Let me whip out my trusty tape measure here and measure the bruise and the lump."

"I think you can stop massaging the injection site now, I was taught in nursing school that you only massage for 2.5 seconds (or whatever) and I want to get this band-aid on it."

Document everything and keep a copy. That includes documenting who you report him to and what the outcome was. Keep this at home!

Good luck to you!

Specializes in Med/Surg, ER, L&D, ICU, OR, Educator.
"Asking around", discreetly or not, is akin to contributing to the gossip mill.

This is exactly right. If you talk to anyone, it should be a supervisor.

I also agree with the poster who said something like, if something sets off alarms in your head or raises your eyebrows, it is probably not appropriate.

You sound like a good patient advocate...talk to a supervisor.

Specializes in ICU/PCU/Infusion.

I definitely agree with reporting your observations to your NM. Never, never should you make reports to other people unless you are moving up the "chain of command". That is a huge no no. As others have stated, this only fuels gossip, and even though your intentions are pure, the outcome will probably not go the way you intend. Your intention seems to be to protect the patient. There is nothing another RN in a lateral position can do to protect your patient. Only someone higher up the food chain can reprimand or write up the other RN.

As far as stepping out of the room- WTH? This is YOUR patient! You are obligated to make a thorough assessment of YOUR patient. What this other nurse did by asking you to step out was akin to undermining your position! I would have a HUGE problem with this aspect of your problem.

Definitely document, document, document! If you haven't adequately assessed your patient, it could come back to bite you in your gluteus.. pun intended. ;)

sunnyjohn

2,450 Posts

This is exactly right. If you talk to anyone, it should be a supervisor.

I also agree with the poster who said something like, if something sets off alarms in your head or raises your eyebrows, it is probably not appropriate.

You sound like a good patient advocate...talk to a supervisor.

"Asking around", discreetly or not, is akin to contributing to the gossip mill. If others have noticed something, your info will add to it. If they haven't, your info will start the rumors. You should not be asking anyone anything except for your NM. This needs to be reported because it was most definitely inappropriate.

I agree. "Asking around" will set the gossips off and running. That gossip may even come back to hurt you later. Trust your instincts. Talk to the Nurse Manager ASAP!

can

14 Posts

Meerkat,

Have you checked the National Sex Offender registry, it sound to me like he may be on it if he can't work or be around kids. You just need his first and last name and you can search the entire country. Good Luck.

Specializes in Developmental Disabilities, LTC.

This guy's a weirdo. Trust your gut & don't second guess yourself. Not to freak you out, but if this continues, the title of your post could be written by somebody else about you! :eek:

GardenDove

962 Posts

I don't understand the policy of having a male nurse present for examination of a male pt. Not every man is oriented sexually towards women, but one thing that is pretty consistant is that most sexual offenders, straight or gay, are male. No offense guys, but that's a statistical fact. Women, whatever their orientation may be are very rarely sexual offenders. Sorry guys if I offended you, most of you are great, I love men.

gitterbug

540 Posts

Speak with your NM, repeat only facts and your observations. Keep a very detailed record of any further occurances between this nurse, yourself, and other male patients that seem to cross the professional line. You do not need the name of the patient, room number and date will be sufficient to identify for problems.

While it is a sad but true statement that males seem to be more reported for sexual misconduct, I want to say I have worked with some females who conduct themselves in a less than professional manner. I am old-fashioned, I would never put my hands on anyone without permission. Yes, I have told an unconcious patient I was going to assess them. Dignity and respect for our patients is still something many nurses refuse to give to others but expect for ourselves.

cant_not

34 Posts

As a male, and as a nurse, I can tell you that this situation would make me entirely uncomfortable. I’m with you about feeling wired about the male nurse doing all that rubbing, barehanded, especially. I would report it. This guy may be getting off in some weird way. You never know who people really are.

When I was working LTC, and I was the only nurse in the building, every time I had to do an assessment on a female resident (or a male resident for that matter!) I ALWAYS made sure that a female aide was in the room with me. Not only to make the resident a little more comfortable, but to cover my own butt. You never know what people are gonna turn things into.

I would defiantly speak to a ‘higher’ up about this. But I would do it very confidently. I would not mention this to other coworkers. You never know, something like this could have been reported before and just brushed off. I think his actions are very inappropriate.

Meerkat

432 Posts

Thanks, everyone for your input, also for pointing out the reasons for not talking to co-workers. I never thought about the rumour mill thing. I will talk to my supervisor today when I go for a team meeting. Your opinions have confirmed my instincts. You are great!

By the way, for the poster who said she had never heard of a protocol where we get a same-sex witness for skin assessments, the reason at our facility is because it is a psych unit, and our patients have been known to make allegations of sexual misconduct by staff. Who knows, they might have been right....

TrudyRN

1,343 Posts

He's a freak....report his ass stat!! The felony is probably not true as most states won't allow a felon with that type of history to get certified.

Joe, he's not certified. He's licensed. She said he was a "nurse". Sadly, felony convictions might not preclude licensure. Although I don't think every felony should necessarily bar someone being licensed or certified.

TrudyRN

1,343 Posts

I just had a flash - what about speaking directly to him? Just say what you told us and ask him about it. Before going any higher.

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