Nurse using drugs at work - ? violent

Q. · Apr 7, 2001

NOTHING, as it is none of my business unless she compromises patient care.

chili2641 · Apr 7, 2001

Peggy,

You should talk to her first and see what is going on with her. Let her know about your concerns. You are the boss so it is your responsibility to be proactive and prevent any future harm if this person is endangering any patients. I am not a nurse and have only heard the term ativan so it is up to you to use good judgement.

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Nursing assistant

e-nurse · Apr 7, 2001

You need to intervene, preferably in a non-threatening and confedential manner. You could try to approach him/her on your own before going to management /c it. These are really tough situations to be in but the bottom line is that the nurse can't be on drugs while at work, period. I don't know what kind of facility you work in, but most hospitals have an EAP ( employee assistant program ) to deal /c situations like these. Management could get him/her counseling, or maybe rehab through this program, and there would be the possibility that the person could resume work if they have success /c counseling/rehab. I went to school /c a person who used heroin and I watched him try to get clean on his own several times. I finally got sick of seeing him polluting himself like that so I went to a professor that he was real close with and told her confedientially. I don't know exactly how she handled it, but he ended up graduating on time and on methadone (something he was trying to avoid). The thing that got me to intervene was that I thought to myself- if I were already a nurse would I feel comfortable/safe working side by side with a known heroin user, and then it was a no brainer. Good luck to you and to your collegue. I hope you both make the right decisions.

duckie · Apr 7, 2001

If she is taking it by order of her own doctor, then I personally feel this is a private matter unless you can see that her patients are being neglected or harmed in some way, in which case then I would go to the Supervisor and explain your concerns. I noticed you put "? violent" with your post. Does this mean she is behaving violently toward staff or patients or that you are concerned she could become violent? If she is behaving in a non-appropriate way, then you must take action immediately. You cannot sit back if danger could occur to someone else. Did she tell you she was on this? If so, maybe she was reaching out for someone to listen. Since only you know the full circumstances here, I would say, weigh everything carefully and then follow your heart and gut instinct. Taking a drug may only mean there was a problem for which she got help for. I know many nurses that need medications to control depression, anxiety, stress and even pain. This profession can do that because we see a lot of suffering and deal with a lot of stress. One caution though, I hope her need for the drug does not cause her to begin diverting from patients when her ordered dose no longer controls the symptoms. I have seen this happen also. Just some thoughts. I hope this helped a little.

Q. · Apr 7, 2001

You all are comparing ativan to narcotics and/or psychotropics.

Ativan is like valium, etc, used to treat anxiety/depression as Duckie stated. People who take ativan are usually not violent (you may be confusing ativan with haldol)

Unless she is compromising patient care, it is none of anyone's business what prescriptions this nurse is taking. What if she were taking prozac? You can't leap to conclusions about a person's functionality simply by their medicine cabinet.

theboss · Apr 7, 2001

lots a people take medications and are still able to function and perform without complications. i have seen many people in the er that take ativan and yes they to get violent.. you have to ask yourself is she harming the pts or herself at work? if she is putting the pts in danger then as a nurse it is our responsability to report it. pts 1st. and if not leave her be. also it could be that the dose of ativan is to much for her or maybe she is taking something else also.. there is alot to consider but i would have all the facts before assuming or reporting. ( 2 cents )

peggy101 · Apr 7, 2001

Thank you everyone for the response - unfortunate thing is she made many medications and treatment errors on the day she admitted to co-workers that she takes this drug at work - I understand that many people require treatment for depression, enxiety and stress - I am worried that she will do more serious harm - although omissions of her magnitutde are serious enough for me - put it this way fellow nurses - in a 12 hour shift this nurse omitted 83 treatments and 14 meds - and did nothing but pass about 70 meds to 23 residents - thats under 2 hours of med pass time - she did not do anything else for resident care that day. YIKES!! she is defensive and non-responsive when asked if we could help her in any way - denies stress or job related stress. She was asked if we could change her assignment and whatever we could do - she refused and now wants to put in a harassment complaint. She was removed from the schedule due to the errors and called the facility at 12 am and 12:30 am that night to demand phone numbers of administration - threatening to report to work if they did not call her before 7 am even though she had been removed from the schedule by her supvsr. That is scary behavior - yes??

Y2KRN · Apr 7, 2001

Hello Peggy,

I think as others have said that if she is taking ativan it is physician perscribed and should not be an issue at work, however all of the errors are a concern. What is her work history like, is this a huge change in behavior, do you know how long she has been on medication? These are all things that management should look into. Anxiety can be very debilitating, maybe she feels now that she has admitted that she takes ativan she is like a fish in a glass bowl? Just a thought. I used to work in an OR before I became a nurse and one of the best nurses I ever worked with took ativan for anxiety and it did not effect her job performance. As for heroine in other countries people are given enough supply of heroine to function in their job positions, while getting them counseling and in programs to help them stop. I guess the point to saying this is that when used in conjunction with therapy medication could assist with improving function. EAP would have all of these resources as stated previously, and would be able to assist with this situation. I hope all works out for this nurse, you and your co-workers, and most of the patients.

theboss · Apr 7, 2001

Originally posted by peggy101:
Thank you everyone for the response - unfortunate thing is she made many medications and treatment errors on the day she admitted to co-workers that she takes this drug at work - I understand that many people require treatment for depression, enxiety and stress - I am worried that she will do more serious harm - although omissions of her magnitutde are serious enough for me - put it this way fellow nurses - in a 12 hour shift this nurse omitted 83 treatments and 14 meds - and did nothing but pass about 70 meds to 23 residents - thats under 2 hours of med pass time - she did not do anything else for resident care that day. YIKES!! she is defensive and non-responsive when asked if we could help her in any way - denies stress or job related stress. She was asked if we could change her assignment and whatever we could do - she refused and now wants to put in a harassment complaint. She was removed from the schedule due to the errors and called the facility at 12 am and 12:30 am that night to demand phone numbers of administration - threatening to report to work if they did not call her before 7 am even though she had been removed from the schedule by her supvsr. That is scary behavior - yes??

WOW THIS IS A PROBLEM! this person obviously has a big problem and while getting help should not be on the job to endanger pts, co-workers, and herself..NO IFS ANDS OR BUTTS!!!no one should be allowed to work while in this kind of shape...GETTING HELP OR NOT!!!ativan is also considered a narcotic that is why it is in lockup!!it is mind altering, may not be the right drug for her because obviously its not working or in this case also working to much!!!!

[This message has been edited by theboss (edited April 07, 2001).]

mustangsheba · Apr 7, 2001

I find it interesting that she was expected to pass 70 meds to 23 patients in under two hours and do 83 treatments. Without knowing anything else, that sounds like a recipe for stress to me.

A-Man · Apr 8, 2001

Originally posted by theboss:
ativan is also considered a narcotic that is why it is in lockup!!
[This message has been edited by theboss (edited April 07, 2001).]

I'm sorry, I'm new to the board and I just had to post. I have never, ever, ever seen ativan classified as a narcotic! According to the PDR, the correct classification is a tranquilizer, hypnotic and antimanic.

Narcotic it is NOT. Morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, fentanyl....THOSE are all narcotics/analgesics.