I got a letter in the mail today saying that I’m being investigated by the Texas BON. Simply put, i have four months of unaccounted for narcotic meds. I was fired for not following the standard nursing practice and being an “unsafe nurse”. I admit that I made poor decisions and thought I was simply working smarter but it was wrong. I have since found another job and I don’t dare make those same mistakes.
I plan on hiring a lawyer but in need to know what my future will look like. Anyone been in a similar situation? Will the board care if I have learned from my mistake and regret ever doing it?
No patient was harmed. It’s just missing meds and undocumented narcotics and not following standard nursing practice.
I had been a nurse for almost 20 months when I was fired. This was my first job as a new grad. I never had any prior disciplinary actions before this occurred.
Specializes in Nursing Education, Public Health, Medical Policy.
On 2/5/2019 at 10:35 AM, Persephone Paige said:
It does not matter.
The BONs know that it is drilled into our heads all through nursing school that documentation and witness of wasting is priority number one. And that we KNOW that not doing that is a great way to bring down the wrath of the authorities on our heads.
They will not believe you when you say you were trying to work smarter. Not to mention the fact that from the Omni-Cell, to patient bedside, to bracelet, to scanner is your safety net to avoid accusations just like this. And the witness of waste is the final protection 'icing on the cake.'
What you may not realize is that the pharmacy has people whose job it is to do just this. And there are behaviors on the floor from the nurse in question that seal the accusation. They do not approach nurses that they don't have a solid case against.
All that being said, you still deserve a defense. Even a negative UDS will not help nowadays, because there are nurses who never take the meds, they sell them. Get an attorney...
^^^ this 100%. Get a lawyer and be prepared to have the next 4+ years of your life be under monitoring scrutiny. Your BON is not going to make this journey easy for you and they don’t care if you have learned your lesson. The BON is concerned with patient safety and your lack of judgment in handling medications is a safety issue. Sorry to sound so harsh but your nursing license is now in real jeopardy.
Missing meds/narcotics? Where are they? Did the patients get their meds or not, because if they didn't they were harmed
The unit uses paper charting. Med was signed out. Pt refused medication. The syringe was put in sharps but I didn’t write on the sheet the whole amount was wasted
Megan1977, MSN, EdD, RN
105 Posts
^^^ this 100%. Get a lawyer and be prepared to have the next 4+ years of your life be under monitoring scrutiny. Your BON is not going to make this journey easy for you and they don’t care if you have learned your lesson. The BON is concerned with patient safety and your lack of judgment in handling medications is a safety issue. Sorry to sound so harsh but your nursing license is now in real jeopardy.