How exactly should I handle this?

TDCHIM · Sep 9, 2010

Oh lord, this is real trouble. I'll let the experienced nurses on here handle the drug issue. However, the prying into your personnel file without clear management approval and supervision could easily turn out to be a big problem in its own right. I have never worked anywhere, in any kind of business, where employees had complete and unfettered access to their employee files. Access to portions of it, sure - some employers have things set up so that you can alter certain parts of your personnel materials online (like your tax forms/deductions, choice of health care plan options - that sort of thing). But total access to your complete paper-based personnel file without at least an HR/company representative there as a witness? No way.

Think about all the things your file could contain that you could be perceived to have a motive to change - write-ups, background check materials, reviews by superiors, etc. I know you said you're a new employee, so it probably didn't have much in it, but the principle of the issue remains. Worse, if you had access to your file, then in theory you had equal access to a lot of other employees' personnel files. Management or coworkers could claim you altered materials or snooped into other files and acquired sensitive data from them (for instance, bank account numbers are often kept in those files if the employer uses direct deposit). That sort of breach of trust can lead management and employees to unite against you.

I am sure you didn't mean any harm, but this was an inappropriate thing to do, and it has backfired on you in a major way. We learn our best lessons from our mistakes, so I'm sure you'll never do something like this again! For now, I'd be very sure to do as 2ndwind suggested - write down exactly what you did and why you did it. You can soften the wording - instead of saying you were angry your hours were being cut, you can just say you wanted to check your file for information about the terms of your employment - but tell the truth. The drug situation is obviously the bigger mess, but don't assume your unsupervised foray into the company's personnel files will be overlooked as a result. Honestly, if you haven't started looking for a new job, do so now.

Best of luck to you. We all make rookie mistakes, and I'm sorry this has the potential to end up being such a harsh lesson. However, if the business is run in that sort of fashion, it may well prove to be a blessing in disguise.

klone, MSN, RN · Sep 9, 2010

i work hospice .

Ah, that's the answer right there. IME, hospice (especially smaller companies) tend to play kind of fast and loose with leftover pt meds. It's not legal, but when you have a pt who's expired and has a boatload of MSIR leftover, you might save it for the pt who is new and doesn't have his/her comfort kit yet, or is out of pain meds and it's Friday afternoon of a 3-day weekend and there's no way to get more until Monday....

Or so I've heard...

I'm guessing there is a similar bag of leftover meds in hidden places at hospice agencies all over the country.

Up2nogood RN, RN · Sep 9, 2010

Ah, that's the answer right there. IME, hospice (especially smaller companies) tend to play kind of fast and loose with leftover pt meds. It's not legal, but when you have a pt who's expired and has a boatload of MSIR leftover, you might save it for the pt who is new and doesn't have his/her comfort kit yet, and NEEDS some pain meds.
Or so I've heard...
I'm guessing there is a similar bag of leftover meds in hidden places at hospice agencies all over the country.

I agree with the above statement, doesn't mean it's right but you can't jump to the conclusion that it's a diversion (plus it's a new disorganized company). But never, ever, ever waste meds without a licensed witness or YOU will be suspected of diversion!

MassED, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2010

whose office is it now? That's a pickle to be in, for sure.... I'd definitely put out in the open to everyone of what you found, that way everyone knows narcotics are in a specific location and need to be dealt with while also not leaving them open and available. What kind of office is this, you mention homes - is this a ALF of some sort? What is the policy for narcotics there? I would imagine a DON or administrator, likely both, need to be made aware, in case the previous (or current!) DON or administrator is the offendor who took these and hid them. Yikes.

MassED, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2010

we are allowed to have access to our files as far as i know..no one told us otherwise. maybe i should check on that too.. but no, the filing cabinet was not locked, neither was the office door it was in. i work hospice and the doctor that just bought this company is usually there, and we aren't fully staffed yet so we don't exactly have a DON, well..that i know of. is there a DON in hospice? needless to say we didn't get a very good orientation. if the doctor isn't there in the morning, i think i should just ring her cell. can i get in trouble for being in the filing cabinet though? and when she asks why i was in there, i'll have to explain the fact that i was mad bc she was cutting my hours. oh joy..tomorrow i'll be a bag of nerves.

oh crappity crap crap, you mentioned a doctor. What if he/she is the taker? crappity crap crap. Even worse scenario, but now that you say hospice, I would *imagine* there are more instances of out and about narcs with needing disposal after passing... what do you do with them? Are they stored and then disposed of? That's a sticky situation. Probably other hospice nurses will have some great advice about this.

MassED, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2010

I am reading other comments on here about coming clear about being in those files. Well if they weren't locked, do you REALLY need to say you were looking at your personnel file? Why not say you were looking for some sort of document and pulled open every file drawer, and there were papers and things in disarray everywhere, and then what you found. It's plausible that you were just doing your job, looking for paperwork, and stumbled upon this. Whether you were snooping in your own file is really a needless piece of information that will get you into trouble. Why give them that information and cloud the BIGGER piece of info, the drugs? I wouldn't throw yourself under the bus. Geesh!!

caliotter3 · Sep 9, 2010

I am reading other comments on here about coming clear about being in those files. Well if they weren't locked, do you REALLY need to say you were looking at your personnel file? Why not say you were looking for some sort of document and pulled open every file drawer, and there were papers and things in disarray everywhere, and then what you found. It's plausible that you were just doing your job, looking for paperwork, and stumbled upon this. Whether you were snooping in your own file is really a needless piece of information that will get you into trouble. Why give them that information and cloud the BIGGER piece of info, the drugs? I wouldn't throw yourself under the bus. Geesh!!

This makes sense. Or just keep quiet and go about your business and stay out of the cabinet from now on. :cool:

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2010

So I have been thinking about you all day and hoping that you were not sweating bullets when you sat down with your manager to talk this over.

One of the posts suggested that hospice sometimes will not waste meds immediately and it made me remember something...when my Mom died, her hospice nurse took all of her meds with her in a baggie. It was a weekend, and my guess is that the nurse took them back to the office and put them there in the filing cabinet in order to waste with a fellow nurse when she could have a witness to do this with. Not saying that it is proper procedure (I am talking out of the side of my neck here, because I am only guessing), because technically it should have been in a locked cabinet and there probably IS a proper procedure to waste meds in just this sort of instance.

I don't know if I agree with the posts about not mentioning that you were looking in your own file...it is a dilemma. I personally would be up front and honest because if you tell a white lie and it seems as if you are covering up a white lie, they may look to the bigger issue of "what else is she covering up?" I would not want to be in that situation, because you really DID make an honest mistake. If you were never told that you could not look in your file, then how would you know that you couldn't? It IS an unspoken rule that you can't do this-kind of like you can't look at your own medical record without written permission. I do understand what the other posters meant when they expressed that you shouldn't throw yourself under the bus...but that is a decision only you can make. Hence my feeling of anxiety on your behalf. It truly is a very hard predicament.

I only hope that this situation does not spiral out of control with you being pegged as the bad guy. I think that if anything untoward happens, you will be better off coming clean and telling the entire truth. You gotta protect your license first, and if this does go to any kind of legal level, you don't want the added pressure in the back of your mind being "If only I had told them I was really looking for my own file." Do you know what I mean?

LaurenNicoleRN · Sep 10, 2010

so the dreaded day came, and of course i did sweat bullets. i spoke with the Dr. that owns the hospice (i asked my office manager who my supervisor was and she said at this time I didn't have one..wtc? oh well to the dr. i went) i just came clean and told her that i was looking for my personnel file (it wouldn't have really mattered i don't think since they keep them in the same filing cabinet with extra papers, ie: nurses notes, verbal orders, etc). Doesn't make much sense. I didn't tell her that I was angry but she did want to know why and I just told her I was upset about my hours getting cut and wanted to see what I had originally agreed to. Explained the fact that I was a single mom and had just signed a lease on a very nice (and costly) apartment to move down there to be closer to work, when my hours got cut back. I showed her the bag of narcs and told her that I was concerned about them not being locked up or either disposed of properly. I even through around the statement "its just that I honestly care for this place & would rather a nurse have found it instead of state...yes, i did it..i threw out the word "state"...walking in and finding it themselves without you or someone else in charge knowing about it. She didn't look to happy. At all. I just knew I was about to get the 5th degree. What happened next? Well I could have picked myself up off the floor when she told me that she was happy to have a nurse like me on her team and that if half her staff cared as much as I did, it would turn out to be an alright place. She said she was going to look into it, and took the bag..don't know what happened after that, don't really care to be honest. Its off my conscious and I survived. I think next time I'll steer clear of any filing cabinets. Lesson learned. Thanks for all the input and advice, it's always nice to hear an outsider's opinion!

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2010

Dang girl! Good for you! I am happy that she saw that you were protecting them and didn't lay the blame on you for anything. I am so glad that things turned out well.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2010

Ok so yesterday I was looking for my employee file in our filing cabinet bc my hours got cut due to low census and just wanted to look over things I signed in the beginning..to see if there was anything about hours and stuff like that..
to make a long story short..
In a filing cabinet (and we just relocated to this office and there's stuff EVERYWHERE), behind some folders and a divider I found a bag of medicines. We don't keep meds at the office bc our pt's keep them in their homes. Well...it had vials of morphine, ultram, a few other pain meds and some various pills in containers for various medical problems. The meds that I found were for pt's that I have never heard of. I just took this job with this place about a month ago. There's a homemaker service that just moved into this office with us, and I'm not exactly sure whose pt's these were, but the meds are obviously not supposed to be there and if they were, they wouldn't be hidden. Um..what do I do? I started to go waste all the meds myself and put the empty pill containers and vials back in the bag (just to **** off whoever did it bc there's NO way this is right). Any input would be greatly appreciated.

You CANNOT waste these yourself...you need to contact your manager and turn in what you found.

That is flat-out theft and obviously diverted or stolen meds.

nsaids_nurse420 · Sep 10, 2010

you shouldn't have wasted medications without a witness, let alone being an unlicensed student. you need to contact your state board of nursing for information. the police should be notified. you should request a drug test, preferrably blood over urine, to cover yourself incase they try to take you down in the process. the physician and head of nursing also need to be notified.