Help! Accused giving more narcotics than peers

[h8bootheel_mo_rn]

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!

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

I have a question that maybe someone can answer for me here. How does a nurse get accused of this? Don't you have to have a MDs orders to issue the narcotics? So how does someone get into trouble for issuing the meds? Wouldn't the MD be in trouble? I was just wondering how this can possibly occur. I get there are PRN orders but that still doesn't make sense to me. Even someone had a PRN order they still had an order for it. So if someone with more knowledge than me can explain it, I would appreciate it.

[catebsn25]

This happened to a friend of mine, when her drug screen came back negative they apologized and did some education with her to "convince" patients to take their po narcotics before IV. good luck I hope it turns out in our favor

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Offering to take a UDS on-the-spot doesn't automatically prove one's innocence. Yes, a negative UDS does help the accused's case...but employers are very aware that many nurses divert not to use the drugs themselves, but to sell/supply the drugs to others. So one should not expect that passing a UDS will immediately resolve any diversion matter. It might end things...or the facility may continue to investigate.

OP: it's been a while since you posted this...hopefully everything has worked out for you.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Travel nurses are under a microscope. Especially when it comes to narcs. Did you read the information provided to you about travelers and the facility's higher expectation?

As a traveler. I saw different standards applied to travelers VS staff.

Is it fair? NO! Does the facility name start with an 'M' by any chance?

If you administered more narcs than staff nurses, and you documented accordingly, the issue should be ...staff is not responding appropriately to pain control standards.

Good luck. Keep us posted. Feel free to PM me.