My coworker was high and got away with it

[Volley88]

Happy 4/20 I guess?

This particular RN (I'll name him Jon) has been working for our unit for two years. We work in a MedSurg unit at a county hospital. Apparently, we DONT do drug tests at all.

Our morning was going fine, we both took report in the same area and had our breaks at the same time. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary (aside from saying "I'm sleepy/tired," but we all say it). Jon did one discharge and completed one admit. He helped me start an IV for one of my patients and cosigned my insulin.

It wasn't until lunch I noticed Jon's phone Snapchat(?) of him consuming edibles. I also saw Jon's text messages saying "he was still high this morning."

I immediately went to the charge nurse and reported my discovery. Our charge nurse was in disbelief and found it difficult to believe. We confronted Jon and he denied everything.

Our charge nurse discreetly followed up on his patients, and they reported nothing but excellent nursing care. We checked his charting and everything was within policy. We also checked all his pyxis pulls and there were no discrepancies. Lastly, we privately spoke to an MD that Jon was speaking to in the morning who also reported that his behavior was completely normal.

I apologized to Jon as there were no evidence of him being high towards the end of the shift. As we were leaving the hospital, one of Jon's friends (from another unit), came up to him and ask him about his 4/20. I saw Jon winked and nodded. I got upset and just left.

The next day, I reported it to the charge. She said to leave it alone since there wasn't any proof and no patients were harmed. I am not sure what else to do at this point.

[donsterRN, ASN, BSN]

OP if you are reading this at all or checking in can you PM me please, I would really like to see about getting Jon on the boards. I wasn't kidding. I would love to meet this kid!

I doubt she'll be back. She's been told by lots of professional nurses that she's not the princess she thought she was. I would love to know how this works out!

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

I doubt she'll be back. She's been told by lots of professional nurses that she's not the princess she thought she was. I would love to know how this works out!

I think she still reads. I just want jon here HAHAHA

[Extra Pickles]

I was gonna post that although I felt the OP was out of line, eating her is a bit excessive. :|

Especially since it would only lead to charges of NETY.

[audreysmagic, RN]

Especially since it would only lead to charges of NETY.

Amazing...I actually laughed out loud at that.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Especially since it would only lead to charges of NETY.

I remember the good ole' days when you could just nibble on the nurse a little and not be brought up on bullying charges! Now if you even throw a little salt at them to season them up, you're sitting in front of a disciplinary board.

[HalfBoiled, BSN, RN]

Hi all,

I am writing this post in response to this thread from last month

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/my-coworker-was-1100114.html

I would like to point out:

1. Whatever you do OUTSIDE of work is your own business.

2. I do not condone the use of recreational drugs/activities prior to any occupation.

With that said, here is my story.

I have been working as an RN for 3 years in a med/surg floor. About 8 months ago, we hired a new grad (for story's purpose naming him) George. He has great personally and a a lot of enthusiasm that he brings to the already stressful work environment. George just got off his orientation and will soon be off on his own. We are a team and we will "try" to help him when he needs help.

Over the course of George's orientation, the staff developed a great connection with him and, as a result, are friends in social media. Even on our "fridays," we spend time after work with most of the staff to "de-stress" at the nearby bar (no scrubs of course).

During 4/20, I was browsing snapchat and saw George smoking a bong the night before our shift started. Again, it is his business. It didn't affect me too much until I noticed the time stamp was 0330. Shift report starts at 0700. George was on his second week on his own.

When I got to the floor, George's eyes were bloodshot red. He said it was allergies and he was tired. I believed him since there were several RNs sneezing with a runny nose on the floor due to the Spring time weather transition. I didn't think much about it because I had my own 5 patients to prioritize on.

After lunch time, I checked in with George to see if the newbie is "drowning" in nurse work so I could help him. I called his name 5 times. George was blindly staring at his computer and his eyes are still red. I remembered about his snapchat and voiced my concerns to the charge nurse.

After speaking with the charge nurse, she knew about George long before shift started. She kept tabs on George's charting and patients when she got the time. Not an investigation, but rather 5 minutes scrolling through eCharting and checking in with his patients. Who all remarked, "He looked very tired." I went back to my own patients and minded my business until shift ended and I went home. Never got to see the end result.

======

I wouldn't have even made this post until my coworkers were passing the gossip around. George has now transferred to another unit after he gotten his 6 months experience to the ICU (that's another topic for another day). Cinco de Mayo was a few of my coworker's "Fridays" and we went out to the bar. The charge nurse from that day came with us and the gossiping began.

Ever hear of the saying "Nurses know everything"? Didn't take long for our nurses to hear about George. The charge nurse at the time did confront George about being under the influence. He admitted it due to the stress of working alone. Fortunately for George, no patient harm was caused. However he wasn't discrete in hiding it from the staff. The charge nurse chose NOT to report it to oversight. Instead she gave him LONG LONG LONG LECTURE of consequences and potential harm. George is fresh out of college, in his mid-20s and he has his whole life ahead of him. She told him to do whatever outside of work, but please do not bring it back the workplace. This was her warning.

We never heard any complaints about George since then.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Hi all,

I am writing this post in response to this thread from last month

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/my-coworker-was-1100114.html

I would like to point out:

1. Whatever you do OUTSIDE of work is your own business.

2. I do not condone the use of recreational drugs/activities prior to any occupation.

With that said, here is my story.

I have been working as an RN for 3 years in a med/surg floor. About 8 months ago, we hired a new grad (for story's purpose naming him) George. He has great personally and a a lot of enthusiasm that he brings to the already stressful work environment. George just got off his orientation and will soon be off on his own. We are a team and we will "try" to help him when he needs help.

Over the course of George's orientation, the staff developed a great connection with him and, as a result, are friends in social media. Even on our "fridays," we spend time after work with most of the staff to "de-stress" at the nearby bar (no scrubs of course).

During 4/20, I was browsing snapchat and saw George smoking a bong the night before our shift started. Again, it is his business. It didn't affect me too much until I noticed the time stamp was 0330. Shift report starts at 0700. George was on his second week on his own.

When I got to the floor, George's eyes were bloodshot red. He said it was allergies and he was tired. I believed him since there were several RNs sneezing with a runny nose on the floor due to the Spring time weather transition. I didn't think much about it because I had my own 5 patients to prioritize on.

After lunch time, I checked in with George to see if the newbie is "drowning" in nurse work so I could help him. I called his name 5 times. George was blindly staring at his computer and his eyes are still red. I remembered about his snapchat and voiced my concerns to the charge nurse.

After speaking with the charge nurse, she knew about George long before shift started. She kept tabs on George's charting and patients when she got the time. Not an investigation, but rather 5 minutes scrolling through eCharting and checking in with his patients. Who all remarked, "He looked very tired." I went back to my own patients and minded my business until shift ended and I went home. Never got to see the end result.

======

I wouldn't have even made this post until my coworkers were passing the gossip around. George has now transferred to another unit after he gotten his 6 months experience to the ICU (that's another topic for another day). Cinco de Mayo was a few of my coworker's "Fridays" and we went out to the bar. The charge nurse from that day came with us and the gossiping began.

Ever hear of the saying "Nurses know everything"? Didn't take long for our nurses to hear about George. The charge nurse at the time did confront George about being under the influence. He admitted it due to the stress of working alone. Fortunately for George, no patient harm was caused. However he wasn't discrete in hiding it from the staff. The charge nurse chose NOT to report it to oversight. Instead she gave him LONG LONG LONG LECTURE of consequences and potential harm. George is fresh out of college, in his mid-20s and he has his whole life ahead of him. She told him to do whatever outside of work, but please do not bring it back the workplace. This was her warning.

We never heard any complaints about George since then.

The timeline on this story is incredibly confusing. It was on 4/20 but 8 months ago. It was a medsurg floor but he left after his 6 months of ICU experience?

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

Hi all,

I am writing this post in response to this thread from last month

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/my-coworker-was-1100114.html

I would like to point out:

1. Whatever you do OUTSIDE of work is your own business.

2. I do not condone the use of recreational drugs/activities prior to any occupation.

With that said, here is my story.

I have been working as an RN for 3 years in a med/surg floor. About 8 months ago, we hired a new grad (for story's purpose naming him) George. He has great personally and a a lot of enthusiasm that he brings to the already stressful work environment. George just got off his orientation and will soon be off on his own. We are a team and we will "try" to help him when he needs help.

Over the course of George's orientation, the staff developed a great connection with him and, as a result, are friends in social media. Even on our "fridays," we spend time after work with most of the staff to "de-stress" at the nearby bar (no scrubs of course).

During 4/20, I was browsing snapchat and saw George smoking a bong the night before our shift started. Again, it is his business. It didn't affect me too much until I noticed the time stamp was 0330. Shift report starts at 0700. George was on his second week on his own.

When I got to the floor, George's eyes were bloodshot red. He said it was allergies and he was tired. I believed him since there were several RNs sneezing with a runny nose on the floor due to the Spring time weather transition. I didn't think much about it because I had my own 5 patients to prioritize on.

After lunch time, I checked in with George to see if the newbie is "drowning" in nurse work so I could help him. I called his name 5 times. George was blindly staring at his computer and his eyes are still red. I remembered about his snapchat and voiced my concerns to the charge nurse.

After speaking with the charge nurse, she knew about George long before shift started. She kept tabs on George's charting and patients when she got the time. Not an investigation, but rather 5 minutes scrolling through eCharting and checking in with his patients. Who all remarked, "He looked very tired." I went back to my own patients and minded my business until shift ended and I went home. Never got to see the end result.

======

I wouldn't have even made this post until my coworkers were passing the gossip around. George has now transferred to another unit after he gotten his 6 months experience to the ICU (that's another topic for another day). Cinco de Mayo was a few of my coworker's "Fridays" and we went out to the bar. The charge nurse from that day came with us and the gossiping began.

Ever hear of the saying "Nurses know everything"? Didn't take long for our nurses to hear about George. The charge nurse at the time did confront George about being under the influence. He admitted it due to the stress of working alone. Fortunately for George, no patient harm was caused. However he wasn't discrete in hiding it from the staff. The charge nurse chose NOT to report it to oversight. Instead she gave him LONG LONG LONG LECTURE of consequences and potential harm. George is fresh out of college, in his mid-20s and he has his whole life ahead of him. She told him to do whatever outside of work, but please do not bring it back the workplace. This was her warning.

We never heard any complaints about George since then.

What was the point of this? Is this supposed to be the same situation as the one in the OP???

I don't care about George, I want to find Jon.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I keep seeing this stupid thread, can't believe its still alive. The nurse WAS NOT HIGH. But if I worked with such a nosey Nancy, I'd drop hints too, just to see her squirm.

[caliotter3]

I keep seeing this stupid thread, can't believe its still alive. The nurse WAS NOT HIGH. But if I worked with such a nosey Nancy, I'd drop hints too, just to see her squirm.

This zombie thread is going to audition for The Walking Dead.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

I love this thread. I wish the thread about the tall nurses wouldn't have been moved. Anytime they get moved to the other side that's the last I see of them.

[vanilla bean]

AN PTB, may I respectfully request that you give us a beating a dead horse emoticon for occasions such as these?