Help! Hospice RN under investigation for diversion

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey guys,

I’m an experienced RN-BSN nurse with about 10 years of experience. I am a hospice nurse, mainly seeing patients who live at home or with family. I received a letter from the BON regarding an investigation for “unethical conduct” in April of this year, I immediately called a nurse attorney who instructed me not to speak with the BON investigator.
Long story short-I had a patient who’s daughter was very anxious, and also the primary caregiver of my patient. She was constantly changing her mind about the plan of care/ medications she wanted or didn’t want for her mother. Anyway I just got a letter today that the BON is pursing my RN license for med diversion! Apparently this daughter has reported that I removed medications from the home. I have never diverted meds, nor do I have any history alcohol or drug abuse. Has anyone been in similar circumstances and faced the BON? I’m freaked out!

Thanks

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

I also had the unnerving experience of being investigated for an unfounded complaint. The investigators hinted throughout that it "might just be a vendetta". They asked me a zillion questions before telling me what I was accused of. By the time they got to that, I had already exonerated myself, not that I really even needed to.

I figured out much later that the complaint was likely filed by a toxic previous manager. No wonder the investigators asked so many questions about her, whether I left on good terms and were very interested to hear that she had given me a going away present.

The point is, the Boards of Nursing see this crap all the time. You've done everything you could: you retained an attorney, you wrote down all the details you can remember. If it comes to an interview, you can sit tall in your chair, refer to your exemplary employment record, your lack of criminal history and your account of the Family From Hell.

Good luck, but you won't need it.

7 Votes
1 hour ago, JKL33 said:

For the future, consider removing yourself from these situations. Sometimes challenging behaviors are primarily due to the acute stress under which good people find themselves, but sometimes behaviors are just part of lifelong toxic patterns and the people don't care who they hurt. These latter instances are not worth tolerating just so your employer can have a client/continue the case. If they want that particular client that bad they can put someone else on the case.

This is my modus operandi, unfortunately it has led to frequent long periods of unemployment for me. Were I to do it over, with my current knowledge and experience, I would think long and hard about doing extended care or hospice in the home setting.

3 Votes
On 6/6/2020 at 7:50 AM, Rohr.RN1990 said:

That’s what I was thinking too.. she was very anxious, constantly calling all hours of the day/ night wanting help with behaviors- but then refusing the options we had available after the MD had already ordered them. It was a messy situation, as they had a caregiver in the home too, that was not licensed, who would rearrange Med planner- change dosages of medications. What’s to say she didn’t take them? I’m just hoping the board will see the holes in this complaint. I’ve never been stressed like this!

Right down all of this information, with names, dates, everything you can remember. Do it now. Show it to no one except maybe your lawyer.

Are you sure you are not on camera or recorder of any kind?

Can you dig into the possible criminal history of your accuser? Go on casenet or maybe another site you might know of or learn of.

Best wishes.

1 Votes
On 6/6/2020 at 9:54 AM, rzyzzy said:

The holes will be easier for an attorney to find than for you to find yourself.

my board investigation experience was different, but similar - in that it was just an unsupported patient complaint.

I think it took eight months to actually get to that interview with the investigator, at which point I wasn’t even asked any questions, the investigator told *me* that the complaint was bull, and that’s when I was told that the patient was a serial complainer that had made multiple false claims, tried to blackmail a CNA after sexually assaulting her, yadda yadda..

I could have buried myself if I had chatted with the board at the first opportunity without an attorney, or if I hadn’t had an attorney’s help in crafting my response to their written questions.

The waiting is agonizing and terrifying if you’re actually innocent. And they didn’t provide me with any actual details of the complaint until they were dismissing it.

I thought multiple times about just turning my license in and walking away - and I hadn’t actually done anything wrong..

I feel you, I been there, stay strong..

So the louses at the Board didn't bother to tell you they were dismissing it at the first opportunity?

They should burn in hell for torturing you like that. !@#%*_*($%#(&*)%$

Too much power.

I wouldn't necessarily endow my attorney with such stellar attributes. Attorneys are only human. Some are lazy, some are inexperienced, some don't like practicing law, some are too busy to focus on what they might consider smaller cases, especially if they anticipate a good outcome. Perhaps they are beholden to a Board member or have some other reason for wanting a case to go a way that is not good for their client. Some are unethical and like to run up the bills as high as possible.

I'm sure most are the opposite of all of these things. Just don't blindly trust someone just because he or she is a lawyer or nurse/lawyer.

Best wishes.

3 Votes
58 minutes ago, Kooky Korky said:

Right down all of this information, with names, dates, everything you can remember. Do it now. Show it to no one except maybe your lawyer.

Are you sure you are not on camera or recorder of any kind?

Can you dig into the possible criminal history of your accuser? Go on casenet or maybe another site you might know of or learn of.

Best wishes.

I have text messages between my manager at that job describing the family dynamics and my concerns about medications/ narcotics in the home. Concerns over the caregiver who was in the home (rearranging medications) and messages to the Physician as well about the instability in the home. I’m not sure about the camera and/or recorder, I doubt it based on the home- but who knows. I will see what else I can find about the accuser.

Thanks

2 Votes
1 hour ago, Kooky Korky said:

So the louses at the Board didn't bother to tell you they were dismissing it at the first opportunity?

They should burn in hell for torturing you like that. !@#%*_*($%#(&*)%$

Too much power.

I wouldn't necessarily endow my attorney with such stellar attributes. Attorneys are only human. Some are lazy, some are inexperienced, some don't like practicing law, some are too busy to focus on what they might consider smaller cases, especially if they anticipate a good outcome. Perhaps they are beholden to a Board member or have some other reason for wanting a case to go a way that is not good for their client. Some are unethical and like to run up the bills as high as possible.

I'm sure most are the opposite of all of these things. Just don't blindly trust someone just because he or she is a lawyer or nurse/lawyer.

Best wishes.

No, the board didn’t tell me anything until I received a letter saying that I was being investigated. That was in April of this year, when I first reached out to the attorney. Fast forward, to this weekend, I received an email for the board with their intentions to pursue suspending my license, they contacted my last employer I’m guessing. The info the email contains is not factual to what actually played out, but I did quit without notice after we were extremely short staffed. Maybe that’s why this is happening. I have a meeting with the attorney I mentioned this week to discuss the details of that patient. I will update everyone!

2 Votes

does the letter from the board have stipulations for you to be evaluated as a condition to unsuspending your license?

even if it doesn't, go have a hair follicle drug test done as soon as possible.it will go back at least 3 months,longer if you have long hair.it will help disprove any idea they are trying to suggest that you took meds.this is very important.

I know you're not guilty,but tread very very carefully. I know you talked to a lawyer but make sure your lawyer is very very familiar with bon proceedings; keep in mind with the bon they will try to make you prove your innocence instead of them proving your guilt.

2 Votes
4 minutes ago, southern RN said:

does the letter from the board have stipulations for you to be evaluated as a condition to unsuspending your license?

even if it doesn't, go have a hair follicle drug test done as soon as possible.it will go back at least 3 months,longer if you have long hair.it will help disprove any idea they are trying to suggest that you took meds.this is very important.

I know you're not guilty,but tread very very carefully. I know you talked to a lawyer but make sure your lawyer is very very familiar with bon proceedings; keep in mind with the bon they will try to make you prove your innocence instead of them proving your guilt.

Yes, it talks about evaluation from the state to see about possible probation or a stay on license suspension. I believe it recommends a 3 year period.
It also recommends meeting with a state program for substance evaluation- which seems bizarre since I have no history of drugs or alcohol use, but I do understand drug diversion happens.

I was actually in the process of being hired by the VA when I quit this job, so I have access to blood work drug panel from that time frame that was free from all substances. I plan on bringing that to the meeting with me. I will look into the hair follicle test too.
I will see how the meeting goes this week as far as experience with the BON, otherwise I intend to find someone who is very familiar. We’ve all worked to hard to have this kind of power over innocent licenses.

3 Votes

I once had a home health employer whose office personnel would encourage clients to use 'demanding nurses speak languages other than English' as a method to get rid of nurses that they decided they didn't like. After working for such a family for more than a year (speaking English to the fluent speakers of English), one would have to conclude that maybe the agency had something to do with the out of the blue request. Don't discount that the employer may be implicated in this with your history of leaving without notice. All it takes is a little nudge for someone who is unstable to begin with. Not that this background makes a difference. In the future, you need to be more careful about how you maintain your employment, especially when you decide to end it. Always try to have a copy of your professionally worded letter of resignation as proof you did not step on any toes on your way out the door.

2 Votes

From all the posts here, one thing is concluded in my mind: any irresponsible complaint can derail your career. How fragile is Nursing becoming? Is there a rightful reverse complaint method to open a case against that primary carer daughter or the manager? They are simply attempting to harm you. What on-the-hand proof do they have to show? Where is the evidence? Just complaining stuff? I mean, if it is so easy, I want to complain, too. I will find some random nurse names, find out where they are working and then I will start to spam the complaints to managers, bons, whoever other vultures.

Headlight style wearable headcams or camglasses should be mandatory, then. Give your care, send the record of your caring to the bon, managers, patients, and their families and pharmaceutical companies. They might like us.

Update- after much back and forth with the board, they have decided that they will drop their original demands which was suspending my license and requiring drug test monitoring. They are now waiting to put a public reprimand on my license that reads “inappropriate disposal of narcotics.” The attorney I’m working with is saying this is likely the best we will get from this situation- despite mounds of texts/ emails and affidavits from other coworkers who worked at this same company and dealt with these types of patients and disorganized management- where we were told to just chart the narcotic disposal in the patient profile without an RN witness.

Has anyone had a reprimand placed on their RN license?

Specializes in Vascular access.

This all sounds so infuriating and familiar. I was falsely accused of narcotic diversion and it was the MOST terrifying and humiliating experience of my life. I have 38 years experience and have never diverted anything nor had the desire to. But it seems with these BONs and their all-ebcompassing power you can be accused ( without ANY  evidence) and punished without even being found guilty of anything! We have less rights as nurses than a person getting a moving violation. It's disgusting.  Why is this such a cutthroat profession? I'll tell you- there are many people making money off of us. I regret the day I ever talked my daughter into becoming a nurse...

3 Votes
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