I am a CNA currently in nursing school and just need some honest opinions and direction on my current situation. A couple days ago I was found sleeping at the end of my night shift. I had a headache and finished my round, at about 6:20 I told my coworker that I would be in the relaxation room for a few. Went in sat in the massage chair and next thing I know my co worker is waking me up saying it's shift change. It wasn't just shift change....it was 7:20. Instant panic. Charge told me to speak with her after report. She said that corporate would be calling me. I asked if she would speak with me in private so she called the house supervisor and we went in the break room. They said they thought that I was intoxicated. I immediately said I would be happy to submit to any test in order to disprove this. We go down to the ED where I was told I was twitching and my eyes were dilated by the doctor. While speaking with the doc I began to cry out of embarrassment of the whole thing. Everyone I spoke to said that I wasn't acting like myself even though I had never met this doctor or had any interaction with day shift charge and house supervisor. I provided 2 urine sample and had blood drawn twice. They also did a CT scan.
After all of this was completed they said I need to get a ride or call a taxi because they didn't want me to drive my vehicle. I put my foot down with this and would be driving myself home. They informed me the would have to notify the sheriff department that I was leaving in my car. About 10 min after getting home the sheriff stopped by and said he was just checking on me and left immediately. I'm waiting on the results of my tests that were sent to an outside lab. The labs will be 100% negative. I have never been this embarrassed and humiliated before, just typing out this post has me crying again. I know that I majorly screwed up by falling asleep, that is not OK. Period.
But I am mortified about how public this all was and I do not understand why I was accused of of inebriation. I don't know what to think or do currently right now. I'm scared of being fired and even more so that I destroyed my reputation completely. IDK I'm just looking for some insight and guidance and I'm seeking overall opinion on the situation.
I believe you, and they are coming down too hard on you. Of course, the sleeping is not good, but night work is very hard, and you are in nursing school which is brutal. This will pass. Get your ct results, etc, make sure all that is OK. You might just have been shell shocked from waking in a panic and tired, circuits overloaded, and sleep deprived.
Sadly, in health care we are not nice to each other. They will make you feel like a terrible person over really nothing. I am extrapolating that no patient was hurt. That is the most important part. Your results will be negative for intoxication, but it is insulting that they assumed that right away. Still they do have to check because there are so many addiction problems.
We tell patients to put their feet up, but if a nurse or CNA that are working hard, "we frown upon that". Most of us are sleep deprived, especially night workers. While we cannot leave a patient unattended, we should be able to leave the patient with someone and take a power nap. You know driving while sleep deprived is up there with intoxication, it's very similar. That may very well have been what was going on.
CNAs and nurses, and others in health care are always dealing with staffing shortages, irregular hours, and other factors, so we are all overworked. Give yourself some levity here, and try to get some sleep. Even power naps when you are off. It will help with your studies too. Don't let this discourage you. Deal with the HR, and all the powers that be, and this will pass. If the workplace doesn't understand this, and it turns into a bad environment, you are in high demand, so you can just start over elsewhere. Try not to fall asleep, of course, but in 30 years as a nurse, I have seen so many hard and competent workers, professionals, snooze over the years, because sometimes your body just needs it.
I work nights and fight sleep constantly. I do everything from munch on crunchy things to play real upbeat music into one ear at 2 am. I walk around and try to keep moving because sometimes if I sit, I just go away. I also have alarms on my phone even to check or turn the patient. On my days off I really sleep and make times with no interruptions to get good deep sleep. Anyway, you will be fine, wishing you the best.
That's crazy. I worked NOC shift as an RN and can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep on the job and I'm not the only one. The CNAs sleep every night, sometimes they sleep even better than the patients. I don't know any CNAs who stay up on the NOC shift.
The OP did not get a CT scan because her employer demanded it d/t her falling asleep at work.
S/he got a CT scan due to the assessment by the EP. That has been my belief/suspicion all along. Since this thread is still ongoing with people still posting about how outrageous it all was, I've gone back and re-read the OP and the OP him/herself states as much as what I am saying: they were told of abnormal assessment findings the EP. No one's getting a CT solely because an employer feels like harassing someone; it doesn't work that way [when I worked in ED we've told everyone from concerned parents, nasty employers, schools, LEOs and everyone in-between "no" quite a number of times, when they think they know best about what needs to be ordered in the ED. We even nope out on things written in warrants from time to time]. ED provider is quite capable of making their own decisions and don't appreciate outside "help" telling them what needs to be ordered.
The OP wrote of being informed of abnormal physical exam findings and ended up getting a CT. THAT is something a provider would order when intoxication doesn't apply and/or doesn't explain the findings or when a relevant medical cause needs to be ruled out. Diabolical reasons for irradiating someone unnecessarily are significantly less likely.
This! I don't find the CT scan to be outrageous. Let's not forget the OP originally went to the relaxation room with complaints of a headache and fell asleep (unusual, never before behavior for her). Add to that her symptoms in the ED-eye twitching, dilated pupils and reportedly not "acting like herself", and being emotional (crying)-a CT was a good call by the ER physician. Take the CNA who fell asleep out of the equation and just look at it as any patient who came in with those symptoms and denies intoxication as a cause. Most, if not all, would get a CT to rule out an organic cause.
I can also understand the concern by the charge nurse for impairment upon finding a staff member asleep. This wasn't a slight nod off, she was asleep for an hour. Intoxication is, after all, one thing that could explain the situation (so is just being tired from going to nursing school and working NOCs!). We all have a duty to report if there is suspected impairment. By OPs own admission, the day charge nurse didn't have previous interactions with the her. She didn't have anything to go by other than what was in front of her. It wasn't outlandish that she suspected impairment as a possible cause. I'm sure she didn't relish the situation either. As far as the ride/taxi and OPs refusal necessitating a welfare check by the sheriff's dept.-it's all part of the litigious society we live in. Everyone has to CYA. The OP did exactly what she should have given the situation and submitted to testing. Was it embarrassing and stressful to go through all of this? I'm sure it was. Do I feel for her? Absolutely! But was it overreaction and mistreatment requiring legal action-not at all. All and all it turned out the best way possible. Tests proved there was no impairment restoring OPs reputation and OP was able to keep her job (where many would have been fired). OP by her own admission learned a valuable lesson in the importance of making sleep a priority.. OP I'm so sorry you went through this. It must have been very stressful and scary at the time. Maybe one day it will be a funny story you can share with the future nursing students you mentor.
as soon as the test come back negative, (and u obtain proof via medical records) quit effective immediately or do a no call, no show and never show up again. Or keep calling in for every shift they have you scheduled until they fire you. (hopefully u can use pto). or get placed immediately on stress leave so that you still get paid and they can't retaliate and as soon as u have to come back to work keep calling in or Send a I quit effectively immediately 10 minutes before start of shift.
You can't work with people like that bc those people will mess up your whole nursing career. It's not worth the headache. And u absolutely cannot ever take a position as a nurse at that place ever! Trust me. You have to protect your livelihood. U do not want to waste all those years of hardwork down the drain due to jealous, evil, bitter individuals who are miserable in their personal lives.
Can someone explain to me what I'm missing? I'm not being facetious; it's an honest question. I don't understand where the advice for the OP to consider legal action, to quit-no call/no show, etc. is coming from. I will be the first to admit I sometimes see the world through rose colored glasses and can be naive and too trusting at times so what am I not seeing that others are?
Can someone explain to me what I'm missing? I'm not being facetious; it's an honest question. I don't understand where the advice for the OP to consider legal action, to quit-no call/no show, etc. is coming from. I will be the first to admit I sometimes see the world through rose colored glasses and can be naive and too trusting at times so what am I not seeing that others are?
How old are you? and how long have you been a part of the working world? and, if so, how long have you been in the healthcare field?
Some of the most toxic and stressful areas to work are in healthcare. People can be very malicious. You would think that the caring field had more graceful individuals in it but it's the opposite. People are very critical, bully-like, judgemental, retaliatory and even join the career for selfish reasons and actually view pt care as beneath them as opposed to honorable duties. We work under brutal conditions and often times battle nefarious individuals and principles.
"What am I not seeing that others are?" You are not seeing the ***POTENTIAL*** for a lifetime or at least years of potential unnecessary stress or hardship. When you are dealing with lives (possible death, harm, life long injury/handicap), you can be sued/fined/jailed personally (house taken or foreclosure, reputation destroyed, humiliated, car taken, any inheritance taken, misdemeanor/felony, license revoked, suspended, limited practicing privileges which makes it hard or impossible to be hired in certain roles lessening other opportunities for higher wages). Out of all of those scenarios aforementioned, being a no call no show is the best case scenario. You may not ever be hirable again at that company but thank God there's more than one. You just cannot afford to be around coworkers who (although possibly well intentioned on behalf of patients or just covering themselves) accuse you of being on drugs while at work. For God's sake, it's over nightshift towards the very end of her shift and no one gave her the benefit of doubt that she was just tired. These are supposed to be intelligent medical professionals so actions like reporting are taken very serious. That situation will show up in her little folder/file, even if when she proves them wrong by having a negative test. So moving forward if she has any other ridiculous unfounded complaint or even a legitimate unintentional innocent mistake made, they will use that against her. That lady is in nursing school and she need to have a spotless record and maintain it for life if she plans to be a nurse. Play around and find out. Meanwhile her evil, jealous, miserable coworkers will be moved on with their lives and she still dealing with bs.
How old are you? and how long have you been a part of the working world? and, if so, how long have you been in the healthcare field?
Some of the most toxic and stressful areas to work are in healthcare. People can be very malicious. You would think that the caring field had more graceful individuals in it but it's the opposite. People are very critical, bully-like, judgemental, retaliatory and even join the career for selfish reasons and actually view pt care as beneath them as opposed to honorable duties. We work under brutal conditions and often times battle nefarious individuals and principles.
"What am I not seeing that others are?" You are not seeing the ***POTENTIAL*** for a lifetime or at least years of potential unnecessary stress or hardship. When you are dealing with lives (possible death, harm, life long injury/handicap), you can be sued/fined/jailed personally (house taken or foreclosure, reputation destroyed, humiliated, car taken, any inheritance taken, misdemeanor/felony, license revoked, suspended, limited practicing privileges which makes it hard or impossible to be hired in certain roles lessening other opportunities for higher wages). Out of all of those scenarios aforementioned, being a no call no show is the best case scenario. You may not ever be hirable again at that company but thank God there's more than one. You just cannot afford to be around coworkers who (although possibly well intentioned on behalf of patients or just covering themselves) accuse you of being on drugs while at work. For God's sake, it's over nightshift towards the very end of her shift and no one gave her the benefit of doubt that she was just tired. These are supposed to be intelligent medical professionals so actions like reporting are taken very serious. That situation will show up in her little folder/file, even if when she proves them wrong by having a negative test. So moving forward if she has any other ridiculous unfounded complaint or even a legitimate unintentional innocent mistake made, they will use that against her. That lady is in nursing school and she need to have a spotless record and maintain it for life if she plans to be a nurse. Play around and find out. Meanwhile her evil, jealous, miserable coworkers will be moved on with their lives and she still dealing with bs.
To answer the questions asked (which seem to imply I'm young, inexperienced, and have no clue in the ways of the world): I'm 56. I've worked since I was 16 minus some time on disability. I've been a RN for 21 years next month. In full disclosure, I've not worked since July 2020 due to contracting severe covid from work and suffering permanent lung damage and multiple other complications.
I'm not so naive as to think that bullying, NETY, maliciousness, etc does not exist in healthcare. I've not seen it on the large scale with which you imply it exists. Not that it doesn't happen but I did not see anything in this particular scenario that indicated maliciousness, intentional harm or retaliation. The OP fell asleep. She didn't just nod off for a minute while charting-she was asleep for an extended period of time. By her own admission the oncoming charge nurse did not have previous interaction with her or know her. OP was acting out of sorts-possibly due to being startled awake-but impairment is another potential explanation. The charge nurse had a duty to report suspected impairment. In the same way you're asking for benefit of the doubt for OP, you have to extend benefit of the doubt to the charge nurse that she was acting in good conscience. She was put in a difficult situation. When OP was taken to the ER for testing the physician who saw OP was concerned enough to order a CT scan. As I said in a previous post-take out the CNA who fell asleep out of the equation-and the symptoms described by OP herself were enough to warrant further work up. You now have two independent people concerned with OPs actions/reactions/symptoms. I have a hard time believing everyone involved was conspiring to end OP's career. I just don't see it.
And you are mistaken in your assumption-I DO see the potential for a ruined career and as I said previously, I feel for the OP. It had to be scary and humiliating. But I have to go with the "but for" argument here. But for the OP falling asleep, none of this would have happened. That's another reason I don't see the maliciousness and evil intentions on behalf of OP's coworkers. (Again, not saying it doesn't exist out there, just that I don't see it in this particular case.) I don't see any where others were targeting OP or trying to set her up and ruin her career. If you see something I missed please point it out to me.
HiIt's typical nursing cultures..a bunch of witches who will burn or attempt to at the stake. Good for you driving yourself home. The entire thing is insanity. If you stay in nursing expect more & more of this mentality. You are human & fell asleep. The horror. I'd tell em to jam it.
Hi cupid. Were you asking me? I had to re read my comments. I'm 65 yo. RN retired. Worked Critical care, ER. ICU. Pacu. I left hospital care after 12 years. Got my RN 1990. Was lpn 10 years before that. I feel it was ridiculously overboard. People get tired. Fall asleep. The fact this nurse really doesn't know her also disturbs me. Let's jump to impairment..all that drama is ludi cris. As for ER Dr, likely just covering his bases. Just incase wise move. But seriously..all this because she fell asleep. Is RN capable of doing an assessment? It's the authority power trip some nursed are on. I left hospital work after 12 years or so. I enjoy self employment. Away from drama such as that.. I'm guessing shift was near over. She not near any clients. That was a huge jump. It's embarrassing for CNA. Waste of time energy ; effort. Did she want a I gotcha moment. People need to use common sense. I'd leave & go work for a normal environment. That nurse sounds on a power trip & over reacted. She was trying to make evidence to fit the story in her head. She sounds tad off..I know or can spot possible impairment. In this case sounds like overreaction..all for naught. Forgetabout working in psycho environment. Just my opinion..my assessment skills are sharp. Not going to run of to a hospital tell her can't drive. She sounds mental.
Hi cupid. Were you asking me? I had to re read my comments. I'm 65 yo. RN retired. Worked Critical care, ER. ICU. Pacu. I left hospital care after 12 years. Got my RN 1990. Was lpn 10 years before that. I feel it was ridiculously overboard. People get tired. Fall asleep. The fact this nurse really doesn't know her also disturbs me. Let's jump to impairment..all that drama is ludi cris. As for ER Dr, likely just covering his bases. Just incase wise move. But seriously..all this because she fell asleep. Is RN capable of doing an assessment? It's the authority power trip some nursed are on. I left hospital work after 12 years or so. I enjoy self employment. Away from drama such as that.. I'm guessing shift was near over. She not near any clients. That was a huge jump. It's embarrassing for CNA. Waste of time energy ; effort. Did she want a I gotcha moment. People need to use common sense. I'd leave & go work for a normal environment. That nurse sounds on a power trip & over reacted. She was trying to make evidence to fit the story in her head. She sounds tad off..I know or can spot possible impairment. In this case sounds like overreaction..all for naught. Forgetabout working in psycho environment. Just my opinion..my assessment skills are sharp. Not going to run of to a hospital tell her can't drive. She sounds mental.
I worked with a nurse with a known drinking problem. We sent her home because her behavior was off (this was in the olden times when we didn't know much about our addiction problem in nursing) and she died...of a slow heart rate induced by an overdose of Inderal. An enforced visit to the ER might have saved her life. It's a good policy not to pay people to sleep at work. The Great Whoever invented jumping jacks to keep us awake until the end of the shift. We also got blessed with two hands so one hand could drive and the other could hold the other eye open. It's so much easier to have a non-negotiable work ethic which dictates that we don't sleep on the job. The OP suffered no harm for her behavior and I'm pretty sure she won't do it again. That's a great lesson.
I worked with a nurse with a known drinking problem. We sent her home because her behavior was off (this was in the olden times when we didn't know much about our addiction problem in nursing) and she died...of a slow heart rate induced by an overdose of Inderal. An enforced visit to the ER might have saved her life. It's a good policy not to pay people to sleep at work. The Great Whoever invented jumping jacks to keep us awake until the end of the shift. We also got blessed with two hands so one hand could drive and the other could hold the other eye open. It's so much easier to have a non-negotiable work ethic which dictates that we don't sleep on the job. The OP suffered no harm for her behavior and I'm pretty sure she won't do it again. That's a great lesson.
I'm sorry about your coworker. She had a "known" drinking problem It's up to the starter of this thread to determine how to proceed forward. I just simply gave my opinion. She didn't suffer any harm for her behavior but she suffered from humiliation, she will be suffering from a big ER bill and she may actually "potentially" really suffer in the future should she remain being a human (no one is perfect) and stay working with unfavorable coworkers.
I'm sorry about your coworker. She had a "known" drinking problem It's up to the starter of this thread to determine how to proceed forward. I just simply gave my opinion. She didn't suffer any harm for her behavior but she suffered from humiliation, she will be suffering from a big ER bill and she may actually "potentially" really suffer in the future should she remain being a human (no one is perfect) and stay working with unfavorable coworkers.
I doubt that a hospital employee will generate a big ER bill. She SHOULD feel humiliated! Her humiliation intensity score will be regulated by her, not her colleagues. Anyone can be fired at any time for sleeping while being paid. It has nothing to do with being "human." What else do we excuse for being "human." I doubt rhat pedophilia is "human" in your book. Where does the excuse end? You will never hurt yourself if you decide not to sleep while being paid to work. Never. She got off easy because no harm was done. I'm sure that feeling of humiliation was painful enough for her not to do it again , nor tolerate it in employees if she is ever in a leadership position. She appears to realize she made a mistake and not interested in becoming the martyr for sleeping at work that others are making her here.
Garden,RN, ASN, RN
144 Posts
I believe you, and they are coming down too hard on you. Of course, the sleeping is not good, but night work is very hard, and you are in nursing school which is brutal. This will pass. Get your ct results, etc, make sure all that is OK. You might just have been shell shocked from waking in a panic and tired, circuits overloaded, and sleep deprived.
Sadly, in health care we are not nice to each other. They will make you feel like a terrible person over really nothing. I am extrapolating that no patient was hurt. That is the most important part. Your results will be negative for intoxication, but it is insulting that they assumed that right away. Still they do have to check because there are so many addiction problems.
We tell patients to put their feet up, but if a nurse or CNA that are working hard, "we frown upon that". Most of us are sleep deprived, especially night workers. While we cannot leave a patient unattended, we should be able to leave the patient with someone and take a power nap. You know driving while sleep deprived is up there with intoxication, it's very similar. That may very well have been what was going on.
CNAs and nurses, and others in health care are always dealing with staffing shortages, irregular hours, and other factors, so we are all overworked. Give yourself some levity here, and try to get some sleep. Even power naps when you are off. It will help with your studies too. Don't let this discourage you. Deal with the HR, and all the powers that be, and this will pass. If the workplace doesn't understand this, and it turns into a bad environment, you are in high demand, so you can just start over elsewhere. Try not to fall asleep, of course, but in 30 years as a nurse, I have seen so many hard and competent workers, professionals, snooze over the years, because sometimes your body just needs it.
I work nights and fight sleep constantly. I do everything from munch on crunchy things to play real upbeat music into one ear at 2 am. I walk around and try to keep moving because sometimes if I sit, I just go away. I also have alarms on my phone even to check or turn the patient. On my days off I really sleep and make times with no interruptions to get good deep sleep. Anyway, you will be fine, wishing you the best.