Hey, is this legal????

[Jo Dirt]

At the last inservice/gripe session meeting required by my employer (LTC facility) the DON said the nurses needed to start being more careful about things we do because our carelessness is costing a lot of money.

She pulls out two bills and walks over to two nurses and says, "Here is a bill for medication each of you opened and wasted that had been d/c'ed." One nurse had to pay $6 for a card of Xanax because she accidentally removed one from the card and put it back when she realized the patient was no longer on the medication. Apparently this rendered the whole card as used.

The other nurse had to pay $25 for a box of smoking patches because she had opened a patch without realizing the patient was no longer using them. Again, must have rendered the whole box as used.

This nurse insisted that she wanted that box of patches if she had to pay for them. So the DON gave them to her. With these patches being prescription...is that legal?

What came to my mind is, "why were the meds still here if they had been d/c'ed?" but realizing the DON's volatile temper I kept my mouth shut. The DON closed with, "Maybe this will insure you are more careful from now on."

Sure, it got my attention, but was that legal?

[nursesaideBen]

I don't know if it's legal or not, but it sure sounds fishy.

-Ben

[SmilingBluEyes]

No this does not sound illegal, particularly the smoking patch situation. This should be reported to the BON.

[SFCardiacRN]

Not legal. The DON has no right to sell drugs or force someone else to buy them.

[SmilingBluEyes]

exactly this seems to be illegal sale/distribution of meds. BON issue, really!!!!

[kat911]

Board of Nursing and Board of Pharmacy issue, dispensing is not within the realm of responsibility for Nurses. If part of training said staff were responsible for the cost of meds opened but not used then MAYBE she could get away with it, but not likely.The stuff Bad Managers do and get away with amazes me sometimes.

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

OMG, what would have happened if the other nurse demanded the unused Xanax??? I would report this to the board ASAP!!!! It is definitley illegal and her license would be under investigation, i am absolutely sure.

[Jo Dirt]

OMG, what would have happened if the other nurse demanded the unused Xanax??? I would report this to the board ASAP!!!! It is definitley illegal and her license would be under investigation, i am absolutely sure.

This is in a very small town where about 2/3 of the people who work there are related (the DON has relatives in literally every department in that facility) plus the DON took over as DON at that facility in 1967!!!! She still wears her white uniform and nurse's cap!

She is very dedicated to what she does

I just think some of her practices are a little outdated.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I can't imagine this being legal.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

Legal? Of course not. But heck, if I had to pay for it, and no one else could use it (it would be thrown out), then I want it :roll :roll

All joking aside, how can they make you pay for something, when so much gets wasted in the system. I can understand the DONs rationale- "let's be careful b/c this is money down the tubes", but c'mon!!! Things get wasted. And it's sometimes out of our control. What if a patient refuses a med after you've opened it? What if a pt vomits, and you have to repeat a dose?? Is that the nurses fault? Or should we charge the patient x2??? Imagine that!!

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Well, the patches are OTC. The xanax, now...

[blynn]

When I think about how much money administrations will spend to wine and dine doctors that they want to come work for them, or to go to 'buisness meetings' in Las Vegas, stuff like that, it seems like MORE than a little petty to charge a nurse six bucks out of pocket for a wasted card of Xanax.