Long story short, I had to report a registery LPN who was seen crushing, cutting, snorting, and then rubbing the residual powder on her gums by nearly an entire med floor. Most of her narc cards are missing several pills each. She was so intoxicated she could not stand at the cart and nearly fell over several times. She was escorted out and made the statement that she was already being investigated and was about to finish RN school. While waiting for the bosses to arrive some of the staff made it a game to shoot staples at her face and throw cups and tape at her, she was so impaired she didn't notice and just continued to look around the room we had her sit in. Her eyes were half closed and she would constantly fall asleep, while talking in a very slow and slurred speach! She couldn't even dial her phone to call her husband, someone had to dial for her...made we want to cry. I have never seen someone so completely intoxicated.
I feel bad that this nurse's promising career was cut short, I feel worse about her patients.
I am surprised that your facility cannot require a trip to the ER for drug screening and medical assessment when on the job behavior is abnormal or opiates are missing. Without a drug screen you can terminate her contract but have no actual evidence that she was impaired by the medications that were missing.
To have staff that were throwing things at her state that they saw her do this or that is hearsay...and their own behavior puts their credibility in question. He said/ she said is not easy in a legal setting. In the absence of lab work no one can "prove" she was diverting the medications and the words of obvious bullies don't carry that much weight. As some one stated before, you know she was not behaving normally and you know there were meds missing but you really don't know that she took them rather than having some other issue. As we all know, there can be other medical reasons for odd/abnormal behavior.
Since she was not an actual facility employee we cannot mandate her to take a drug test, her registery company was notified and informed of the situation, I hope that they requested the drug test.
The throwing things was indeed hearsay.
She could have had a medical condition and who knows, the drugs could have been hers. The missing drugs, who knows. Without the drug screen I cannot say that she stole or used illegal narcotics but what I can say is that she was impaired.
I wish there were cameras, it really was a crazy thing to behold, I would not have believed it if I did not see it myself.
Seriously -- some ******* was the first to shoot a staple, and others not only didn't put a stop to it, but joined in as well? These are adults we're talking about? Adult health care professionals who care for those not able to care for themselves? What a lovely workplace this must be ...
Junior high school students face serious discipline for actions less asinine than what apparently occurred here.
You didn't end her career, she did that herself. Absolutely right to discipline her and get the situation taken care of.
However, there is NO excuse for those other nurses to act like a bunch of jr. high school delinquents and throw things at an impaired nurse. As supervisor, you also need to reprimand them officially. What the LPN did was wrong, certainly, but so was what the other nurses did. So, these 'good' people treat their patients ok, so their lack of decency with a coworker is ok and forgivable? Ummmm NO.
I was not there to witness the incident, it is in the realm of the managers to deal with. My authority is fairly limited on issues like and it was after I had been relieved by the oncoming supervisor anyways but I will make sure to investigate it more.
I would not say it is ok or forgivable, I am not up in arms at the moment since it was infact hearsay and the investigation as to what happened by who and when is still going on. I am sure they will get their dues, my facility tends to be very good about that kind of stuff. Don't get away with too many things...come Monday there will be hell to pay I am sure.
This if nothing else, should be a WAKE-UP call. Many years ago I had an excellenct instructor in a critical care course- her speciality was Neuro ICU, ED Trauma- at the beginning of her part of the course, first day , she came in @ 8AM and began to pund her fists on the front desks and began shouting bizarre statements- we all sat up in our chairs, stunned and silent- like on high alert- she saw our reaction and stated 'No matter where you work as a nurse, you NEVER know what is going to be thrown at you or what is going to be walking in the door." From that moment on I learned- Be alert and the ABC's- airway breathing and circulation.
What is the difference between 'debriefing' and 'hearsay', just wondering? It's all something you heard, right? IJS, please as a supervisor, don't enable the bullies by calling their behavior hearsay when it was so glaring in the OP.
At least you brought the bully behavior out in the light with your thread. That is a positive from a negative incident. We've all learned more today about bullying.
Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.
Wow, I'm shocked by many of these responses. It seems the bullying by the coworkers has deflected the real issue at hand which is this woman with a license to practice nursing was entrusted to treat sick, vulnerable patients dependent on her for their basic needs while she could barely stand or keep her eyes open. The woman was high as a kite. What would have happened if she had OD'd a narc to a patient? Or failed to recognize someone going into hypovolemic shock? Or any number of other potentially tragic consequences? She deliberately endangered all patients and staff on the unit that shift by her careless, self-gratifying actions.
But oh no... let's blame the mean coworkers for teasing her, or the OP for not magically forcing her to stop using. Good grief, she is not the victim here, she's the criminal. Either get help, clean yourself up or go flip burgers at McDonald's where you can't kill someone with your actions.
So how did YOU end HER career? Sounds like she did that herself. And it's actually probably not ended. There are many, many nurses who have drug problems, get rehab, come back to work.
Ask yourself what else you could possibly have done? And what trouble would you be in if you did NOT report her?
I know what you're saying, but you did what had to be done, you did nothing wrong.
You certainly didn't end her career. What if she was in a taxi and then OD'd? It could've been her life ending instead. Sounds like a good thing you called her husband.:redpinkhe
It was very cruel of the staff to shoot staples at her face and throw cups and tape at her. That was very cruel and showed their total loss of respect for her. She is still human and I hope she wants to get help.
And fyi you did NOT end her career, she did it to herself if it gets to that point.
I mean~ how conveeeenient!
Asystole RN
2,352 Posts
Since she was not an actual facility employee we cannot mandate her to take a drug test, her registery company was notified and informed of the situation, I hope that they requested the drug test.
The throwing things was indeed hearsay.
She could have had a medical condition and who knows, the drugs could have been hers. The missing drugs, who knows. Without the drug screen I cannot say that she stole or used illegal narcotics but what I can say is that she was impaired.
I wish there were cameras, it really was a crazy thing to behold, I would not have believed it if I did not see it myself.