Help! Accused giving more narcotics than peers

Nurses Activism

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I've been a RN for the past 9.5 years. Before becoming an RN, I was a Medic in the Air Force for almost 8 years. I have never taken narcotics personally; except when I had my wisdom teeth taken out at the age of 19. Of those prescribed I took approximately 5 of them because they made my stomach upset and I hated them and promptly discarded the remaining medication.

I recently took a travel assignment in the US in a small state that I have never personally lived in because I wanted the experience of living and traveling somewhere unfamiliar to me. (It was great by the way.)

After being at that assignment for about a month I met with my nursing supervisor at the time card clock (after working two shifts prior..at the end of my shift) and advised that a meeting had been arranged with HR.

When we arrived at HR, I was informed (in a accusatory manner), that I had been giving 6X the amount of narcotics VS my nursing peers and they informed me that had given them reasonable suspicion that I was diverting narcotics.

I took offense to this accusation. I had not only been given free access to any narcotic I could have wanted while I was in the military; but the hospital I worked at placed patient medications (180 30 mg Oxycodone and 40 10 mg Hydrocodone to be exact) in an unsecured bottle at the nurses station. I do not divert drugs.

When faced with these accusations, I demanded an immediate drug UA on the spot. (They werent going to give me one until the person who was on vacation came back....I DEMANDED ONE!) My wish was reluctantly granted and my results immediately resulted in a negative drug screen.

However, this did not stop the hospital I worked for from pursuing an "investigation" into my practices and I'm really worried that they are trying to make me look like a bad nurse when quite the opposite is the true. I care for my patients well-being, if my patients are in pain, I will medicate to to fullest extent of the law and doctors orders given to me.

My question is; is there anything the hospital can do because I was following nurse practice guidelines and state laws? Can they drag me thru hell and back just because they don't like the way I do things?

Please help me better understand what I have done wrong and if they have a case against me....in all of my years, I never thought that I would have to face such accusations for good and caring nursing practices.

Thanks you for your time and consideration with my concerns. If you have any questions that may be of help please feel free to contact me at the e-mail address provided. Thank you for your time and consideration!

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

First of all, if you have professional , contact your carrier right away. They will probably have resources. Also contact the BON before they do; explain the situation and ask them if they have any resources to help you navigate it. If there is an ANA-affiliated nurses' association in that state, you might want to contact them, too.

Request a meeting with the director of nursing at the hospital. Ask him/her to help you clarify what specifically is the issue. Ask them to show you the documentation that gives them reason for concern. And of course, let your travel agency know what is going on. Good luck.

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Something is not right here. If you were givng 6X the amount of narcotics as your peers, then your documentation reflects pain medication given, no?

Whenever you see an unsecured bottle of any drug at the nurses station, that is when you do a risk manaagment/incident report. And bring it to your charge's attention. There are patients who do, in fact, count every HCTZ they have in their bottle, as odd as that may be--drugs are expensive, and they want to be sure you are not "using theirs" when the hospital has them.

But back to the issue. We can not give legal advice per AN TOS, however, you need to protect yourself and your licesnse. Your malpractice carrier will be able to guide you. Be 100% vigilant in your documentation.

There are tons of instances where full time nurses try and "set up" travelers. There are some units where the culture is such that anything they can conjur up about a traveler, (who gets paid well--and housing, and bonuses) they will. If another nurse is diverting, they are very good at what they do, and can make it seem as if the manager themselves are diverting instead. Blame it on the traveler.

With all that being said, there are instances where a nurse diverts and are not users themselves. So managment gets a bit nudgy when there's inconsistencies. However, if you happend to have the assignments where everyone was on pain control medication (that again, you documented accordingly) then of course it would show that you are giving more narcotics. If you are mindful, follow up on the effectivness of the medication, and check on pain when PRN's are due, then some would call that good practice.

Call your malpractice carrier today.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

OP...I am sorry your are experiencing this. ((HUGS))

Unfortunately....yes they can drag you through the mud if they wish. One simple phone call about their "suspicions" can bring you one huge headache and damage to your license and reputation. I hope you carry malpractice especially because you are a traveler...CALL THEM NOW!

There are "patterns of behavior" that are "red flags" for behavior "consistent with diversionary behavior". ... Some facilities run daily "high user reports" looking for high users to "watch them". While at times this does indicate an issue...it is by NO means an admission of guilt. Or at lest it shouldn't be. I have also seen facilities that use agency/travelers look for ANYTHING to get out of the contract without paying the agency.....If for any reason they are NOT satisfied or the nurse is accused of wrong doing/unacceptable....they don't have to pay. This is ashamedly unprofessional and unethical....but I have seen it happen. I wonder of I know the facility....LOL

This facility may have had "issues" in the past or they may know of a facility that has been involved in a very public issue and they are hyper-vigilant. ALWAYS make sure your documentation is meticulous.

As per the TOS we cannot give legal advice...so my personal advice is..... call your malpractice carrier or call a lawyer. Don't forget to call your agency.

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Specializes in Education, research, neuro.

I can only assume someone has your ID or password or whatever you use to sign in to the system. Might want to see if any of those meds were withdrawn when you weren't there.

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First off, your former military so thank you for your service.

I agree with some of our peers, if your dispensing there should be documentation backing up what your doing. It's not like your pulling narcs and running through the halls throwing pills at people so if there is an order we fill it so to speak.

I am not saying this in an accusatory way but is there a reason that you may have been singled out? Have you ****** off anyone? If your doing everything correct and following SOP then maybe someone has it out for you. Seek legal advice and always document everything so you have a paper trail.

This isn't CA is it? They are bat **** crazy there, I spent 6 months there and I still have nightmares....ooOooo.

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Specializes in Critical care.

And some nurses don't want union protection. I don't get it.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
And some nurses don't want union protection. I don't get it.

I don't get it either. But for what it's worth, travelers and agency nurses typically don't have union protection anyway.

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Specializes in ICU.

This just smells. Now I - since I am ready to leave nursing anyway - might call the DEA and say look there are a lot of false accusations flying around. Something is way off I can not put my finger on it but I want you to be aware that these people are not on the up and up.

That is me. I don't have to raise a family or pay a mortgage.

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I don't get it either. But for what it's worth, travelers and agency nurses typically don't have union protection anyway.

Because Unions are fundamentally evil. I participated in union leadership at one point and behind the scenes they do not care about you. They care about money, getting free things and safety for themselves. That's why I flipped and am against it. Two different unions, sadly same story.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Peds, Geriatrics, Home Health.
Because Unions are fundamentally evil. I participated in union leadership at one point and behind the scenes they do not care about you. They care about money, getting free things and safety for themselves. That's why I flipped and am against it. Two different unions, sadly same story.

I agree. Unions now are not what unions were meant to be.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

Is there evidence that employers (particularly large powerful corporations) treat their employees with equity as a general rule and that collective bargaining is no longer needed or useful in the USA?

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