quick question...i recently quit my job...long story...anyway....can a mental health counselor be a former patient in a former hospital where i used to work and now be a MHW in another hospital? i was made aware by this by a MHC who worked in same facility as i do who voiced her concern to me and currently working in my unit. as an orientee and probation (newly hired full time RN)....i brought this to the attention of the nurse manager...if this is a rumor...i still need to let her know bec i as charge nurse on nights have to identify safety risks to patient care
and communicate to nurse manager what was going on....
1. i asked her i thought in other hospitals...if staff is diagnosed with dual diagnosis /psychiatric diagnosis...cant work on the floor? she did not do anything about it....
i cant just look on the floor ,smile sweetly , play innocent and not say anything and hope that i will get my incremental sign on bonus after my 90 day so i made her aware....i only get 1$/hr as charge nurse and be smoking gun for staff who are ganging on me in a heartbeat because i dont want to play their game at night...i quit yesterday exactly 2 and a half mos before my 90 day was up.....i have a clear conscience and rumors or not..i still need to voice any concern to her bec my license on fire...she turned around and suspended me for "spreading rumors":eek:...so i quit.....
I have no issue someone working in psych while being in treatment, but they should be cleared by occupational health for their competence in working. It would be like working with a diabetic who was in diabetic acidosis they would be competent 99.9% but not when their diabetes is out of control.
The question for me is how to do you verify the person has been cleared ? To me I would speak to the nurse manager, but I would be very careful since you will be asked how do you know? If you worked in the facility caring for the patient you have broken HIPPA, if a friend told you have also broken HIPPA. So I guess the only way to ask if the person wasn't performing their job.
The question for me is how to do you verify the person has been cleared ? To me I would speak to the nurse manager, but I would be very careful since you will be asked how do you know? If you worked in the facility caring for the patient you have broken HIPPA, if a friend told you have also broken HIPPA. So I guess the only way to ask if the person wasn't performing their job.
It seems to me that that is the responsibility of the person's supervisors, not random coworkers. Private medical information is just that, private. If a coworker of mine is away from work on medical leave and then returns to work, I assume that the return to work has been cleared by the appropriate administrative people -- I don't feel that I'm entitled to be personally informed of any details of the person's condition/status ...
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
I don't understand what the OP is trying to say in the rest of the post, but a mental health diagnosis does not mean someone is not allowed to work on a psych unit.
Some of the best mental health employees have at one time or another had some sort of psychiatric difficulty. These people can be a tremendous resource for patients with similar problems, both as examples of people who have overcome the condition and people with precise insight into what the patient is experiencing.
There are also those, however, who gravitate toward mental health as therapy for themselves. These people can do more harm than good - like the RN who bragged that she had bipolar disorder and did just fine without her medication, while everyone noticed her bouncing off the walls and noted her inability to concentrate. There was also the LPN who (1) shared far too much with alcoholic patients about her own experiences in AA, and (2) validated a paranoid patient's delusions by sprinkling salt on the windowsill to keep the evil spirits out of the patient's room.
Some of the best mental health employees have at one time or another had some sort of psychiatric difficulty. These people can be a tremendous resource for patients with similar problems, both as examples of people who have overcome the condition and people with precise insight into what the patient is experiencing.
There are also those, however, who gravitate toward mental health as therapy for themselves. These people can do more harm than good - like the RN who bragged that she had bipolar disorder and did just fine without her medication, while everyone noticed her bouncing off the walls and noted her inability to concentrate. There was also the LPN who (1) shared far too much with alcoholic patients about her own experiences in AA, and (2) validated a paranoid patient's delusions by sprinkling salt on the windowsill to keep the evil spirits out of the patient's room.
charge nurse on days on my last job comes to work with funky alcoholic breath, always whispering when he can get a piece of my @@@@, can bearly make eyes open when we count narcs, sleeping while i give report,eyes are blood shot red, complaining to the boss that i did not do this and that when things were endorsed to him, rubbing my legs while i am giving report..the list goes on...staff / nurse manager knows but since he is a male nurse ....staff/we pretend we dont smell anything and just act normal....
charge nurse on days on my last job comes to work with funky alcoholic breath, always whispering when he can get a piece of my @@@@, can bearly make eyes open when we count narcs, sleeping while i give report,eyes are blood shot red, complaining to the boss that i did not do this and that when things were endorsed to him, rubbing my legs while i am giving report..the list goes on...staff / nurse manager knows but since he is a male nurse ....staff/we pretend we dont smell anything and just act normal....
What you are describing is an entirely different situation, and at least part of it is obvious sexual harassment, which is illegal. I don't understand what you mean by "but since he is a male nurse ..." -- ?? If you are not getting an adequate response from your boss about the sexual harassment problem, I encourage you to go to your human resources department -- the magic words to use are "hostile work environment" (which is what this coworker is creating for you). That is the language OSHA uses regarding sexual and other types of prohibited harassment at work (are you in the US?), and it is your employer's legal obligation, under OSHA rules and regs, to protect employees from a "hostile work environment."
Since you mention that you've already left the job, I'm not sure how much you can do "after the fact," but it would certainly be worth reporting at least the sexual harassment to your previous employer's HR department. If he did this to you, he's probably doing it to others, also. As long as no one speaks up, he's free to continue ...
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
charge nurse on days on my last job comes to work with funky alcoholic breath, always whispering when he can get a piece of my @@@@, can bearly make eyes open when we count narcs, sleeping while i give report,eyes are blood shot red, complaining to the boss that i did not do this and that when things were endorsed to him, rubbing my legs while i am giving report..the list goes on...staff / nurse manager knows but since he is a male nurse ....staff/we pretend we dont smell anything and just act normal....
Someone who has a past history of mental health issues is a far different case than someone who comes to work impaired. The rest of it is sexual harassment, plain and simple. The guy ought to he barecused - along with his supervisor, who apparently turns a blind eye to reports of misconduct by this individual.
Since you mention that you've already left the job, I'm not sure how much you can do "after the fact," but it would certainly be worth reporting at least the sexual harassment to your previous employer's HR department. If he did this to you, he's probably doing it to others, also. As long as no one speaks up, he's free to continue ...
I have some experience with a situation similar to this this. Several years ago I worked for a stand-alone rehabilitation hospital. I worked days, my wife worked nights. The night shift charge nurse was known to come to work intoxicated, and he developed a habit of harassing my wife (not sexually, just riding her all night long). Rather than me taking him out in the parking lot and rearranging his thinking before my shift, we both decided that we should leave this place of employment. We reported the situation in writing to administration. I never heard whether they did anything, but I rather doubt it. I found out later that the DON (who was female) and this male charge nurse were drinking buddies.
Not to continue to drag this out, but, if the harassment is reported to administration and nothing is done about it, there is always the option of reporting to your state or the federal OSHA. Employers are required by OSHA to protect employees from "hostile work environments" (like being sexually harassed by co-workers) and the employer gets into trouble, faces fines, etc., if they're failing to do this. And, of course, if a licensed (nurse) co-worker is coming to work obviously (or apparently) impaired, it's been reported to administration, and nothing has been done and nothing has changed, there is always the option of reporting the individual to the BON.
thanks elkpark and orca...our BON dont take anonymous complaints .....i dont know about osha....how is hostile environment defined? the counselors in my unit can do anything they want (25$/hr) because they belong to the same church as the nurse manager. ..as for me, i just want to move on and find a real job and provide food for the family....the abusive list in this facility just goes on and on ...im sure one of my coworkers are also allnurses addict.....
The federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) website is http://www.osha.gov -- you can find information there about rules and standards re: hostile work environments and sexual harassment. You also have a state office similar to OSHA (in my state it's the Board of Labor -- different states call it different things), with similar standards and rules.
I'm surprised your BON doesn't take anonymous complaints. However, some of the situations you described in your PM to me are violations of the federal (CMS) rules/regs for mental health, and, probably, your state healthcare licensing agency's mental health rules/regs, too (I mean the state agency that licenses facilities, not the BON -- every state has one, and it's usually a division of your state department of health (which also gets called different things in different states :))). I'm sure that agency would like to hear about what goes on at your former place of employment.
Sounds like a good thing that you left -- good luck with your job hunting.
I am a psych RN, have been since '02. I am also a person who happens to have bipolar d/o. I treat my condition aggressively. I 'm on the right combo of meds and if I didn't take them I wouldn't be competent to do ANY job. In fact, stats say that I would probably be dead.
I have been inpatient twice. The first time was shortly after I was dx'd. We just couldn't get my meds right and I was feeling like things would never get better. In the hospital they got the meds right, and I was stable on them, aside from some dose tweaking, for 5 yrs. After a miscarriage I had a huge rise in my lithium level which caused one hell of a delirium. I was so out of it, thank god my DH called my NP and took me to the hospital. I could have ended up on dialysis.
I had been working in psych on and off before my dx and didn't specialize in it because I had been a pt myself. I've always been better at it than other specialties.
IMHO I think the the people with the biggest issues are the ones with the "us vs them" mentality. They can't put themselves in other's shoes and therefore judge without thinking.
Also, I have had many many co-workers who definitely had an Axis 1 or 2 disorder but were not dx'd or being treated. They were the ones who caused the problems, and made others as miserable as they were. If someone truly thinks that they're normal- watch out.
IMHO I think the the people with the biggest issues are the ones with the "us vs them" mentality. They can't put themselves in other's shoes and therefore judge without thinking.
Also, I have had many many co-workers who definitely had an Axis 1 or 2 disorder but were not dx'd or being treated. They were the ones who caused the problems, and made others as miserable as they were. If someone truly thinks that they're normal- watch out.
Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN
3,181 Posts
I have no issue someone working in psych while being in treatment, but they should be cleared by occupational health for their competence in working. It would be like working with a diabetic who was in diabetic acidosis they would be competent 99.9% but not when their diabetes is out of control.
The question for me is how to do you verify the person has been cleared ? To me I would speak to the nurse manager, but I would be very careful since you will be asked how do you know? If you worked in the facility caring for the patient you have broken HIPPA, if a friend told you have also broken HIPPA. So I guess the only way to ask if the person wasn't performing their job.