under the influence at work/sleeping on the job

Nurses General Nursing

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I have a co-worker that is 20 weeks pregnant and on all kinds of drugs: Lortab, Neurontin, Ambien just to name a few.:nono: She takes them at work, falls asleep at the desk, I think she is dangerous. I spoke with the ER director who told me that they are prescribed and she cannot do anything about it. I spoke with HR who inferred that I have something against this person, which I do not and I should stay out of it. Ok, I am venting but I am afraid that she is going to hurt someone and then what?:uhoh21:

Get another job. This situation is too dangerous to continue to stake your license

and future on a good outcome. RUN to the door and do not look back.

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Specializes in Tele, Acute.
Get another job. This situation is too dangerous to continue to stake your license

and future on a good outcome. RUN to the door and do not look back.

DITTO!

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Update: I went in to the er and this nurse has spoken to EVERYONE who will stand still about what happenned, her being taped and that I am out to get her. The reaction from most is that they could care less, they are all tired of her stuff. A few people on nights now are giving me a hard time. I called my boss again to discuss this womans unprofessional conduct and was told that HR told her staff are not allowed to video tape or take pictures on property!!!! I said " so they are protecting her again?" No, she said, there is serious action taking place and that will take place, Just keep defending youself. I was shocked. I am hoping that when she leaves for maternity leave in 2 weeks, she will not come back!!!!! Time will tell. I am thinking though that it might be illegal to fire someone while they are out on leave. Also, the PA went to see my boss and told her that she felt she was working impaired and that she had a fight with her and this woman went all over the ER talking about her!!!!! I am going to wait out the 2 weeks and see if things calm down. If not, I am going up the chain of command!!!! Hubby wants me to duck to keep my job. I said " I have never missed a shift, I have no write ups, no pt complaints, no noshows, if they fire me for whistle blowing, I will be able to retire when I am done with them!!!!!

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I need help: I recieved a call from my manager telling me that I am to report to her office on Tuesday at 9am to meet with her, HR and the girl who has been sleeping. I asked if I was being fired and she said no, that HR is just trying to cover their butts. I then came into work tonight and was told that this girl came in on her day off and went around asking people to write up statements for her stating that I was talking about her!!!!!!!! One girl did write something up for her AND wrote that I showed her the tape!!!!!!!!

I told my boss that I was going to deny the tape to HR, that I felt my telling her was supposed to be confidential between us and that I was going to tell HR that I have a legal and moral obligation to report people that are working impaired, whether they like it or not. This has turned from the subject of her drugs and sleeping into lets show how cafenurse is out to get me to HR!!!!!!!

I need suggestions on what to say to hr. Do I bring up her coming in on her off time and cornering people? Do I make up a list of the people that came to me to ask what was happenning? DO I bring others with me? Do I point out that she is evading the issues by trying to cloud it with me? What do I say and do? I would like to think that my record here speaks for itself but they have fired people here for nothing and it is an at will state!!!!! Any thoughts would be appreciated. I am going out of town and will be back Sunday to read your responses!!!!

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Specializes in pedi, pedi psych,dd, school ,home health.

I would make sure that I have backup from other staff; such as the PA..can you get her to write something up? there must be someone else who is tired of her stuff.

also, see if you can meet again with HR before the big meeting to explain the tape. Lying about it will not help; be honest and say that you were unaware that it was against policy; but that you feel that she is endagering her pts and your license!!

good luck; let us know how it goes!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Agree that you need to be honest - about the tape and everything else. Get written statements from others to take with you. Take someone with you to the meeting if it is allowed (and I think usually it is). Try to stay calm and professional and keep the focus on your concerns regarding your coworker working (or sleeping on the job) while impaired.

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.
For the respondent who asked about sleeping on breaks, I'd check with management to make sure that is ok as facilities have different policies regarding nurses sleeping while at work.

If the break is unpaid, no one dictates to me how I spend my time. If they want a say-so, then pay me.

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.
Agree that you need to be honest - about the tape and everything else. Get written statements from others to take with you. Take someone with you to the meeting if it is allowed (and I think usually it is). Try to stay calm and professional and keep the focus on your concerns regarding your coworker working (or sleeping on the job) while impaired.

:yeahthat:

I also think it's time to move-on to another place of employment. The fact that they are willing to have someone like this take care of patients should be a huge red flag that this not the place you want to work. Good-luck!

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First off i think this lady is really pushing her luck. Don't let it get to you too much, soon enough she'll be gone. Excuses only last so long. But I have a question. One of my friends works at a hospital on the night shift and she says that occationally during their breaks the staff will "shut their eyes". What does everyone think about that? their pts are taken care of and it technically is their break so i suppose they can do what they want, but what does everyone else think?

:heartbeat

I think they are perfectly within their rights to use their break time to sleep if they want to.

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ok, this makes no sense at all. This nurse takes narcs on job, and is preg, not to mention the mistakes she is making. Has anyone thought about going to the board?

This is unbelieveable. 2 to 3 weeks until she delivers, think how may people she can harm in that amount of time.

Is'nt this a form of child abuse, her baby is going to be born addicted for sure. What about the doc writing these meds?

I also thought a employee that is taking control substances cannot not work while taking the meds. If you're in that much pain and need to take the pills, then you should not be at work or driving.

This is the trouble in Nursing exactly. The bosses of this woman are afraid to offend this drug addicted nurse, who can care for a baby about as well as she can care for patients and herself, I'll bet, caring more about liability from her than about patient safety or this woman's colleagues. I am just amazed that no doctor has intervened and informed the ER Med Dir or the Chief of Medical Staff about this ridiculous and sick woman, who needs counseling and treatment. A good HR department could have gotten her out of there, I'd bet, but they are probably hoping she'll not return after her poor baby is born. HR are so good at sneaking the ball.

I think this needs to be told to the Board in the OP's state and I think the OP has liability for not reporting it. I must say it seems careless to post it here for all the world to see, yet not inform the state authorities or at least the Administration and Medical Director of the facility.

Abuse of the unborn child - I like that angle and think the OP and her colleagues need to report this child abuse to the authorities, as mandated reporters. That might be just the wake up tune the sick nurse needs to seek treatment.

God help us all to never be the patients in such a horrible place.

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well, here is my last post until the meeting. I have a neighbor who usedto work in HR. She stated that if I was fired, I would have an excellent case to sue them for " whistle blowing ". She thinks that I will be given a write up and that is all. She stated that HR will more than likely do nothing because this girl is pregnant and as such they are a afraid of a lawsuit from her due to discrimination.

She did say that I should bring up the fight with the PA where she was told to wake up, the incidents where she left the ER and left her pts unattended for over 1 hour, that she is working impaired, the wrong x-rays done on pts and the other incidents where pts were harmed and that from a liability stand point, they should hope no one is injured while in her care because they won't have a leg to stand on. She said that I should mention the "drama" that surrounds this woman and her unprofessional conduct ( ie calling everyone to tell them about the tape, coming in on her day off to ask people to write things for her, etc...) and that if I am handed a write up, I should write on it that my actions were to protect the ER patients and staff from harm, that no one was injured, and that this has been reported several times without anything being done and to see attached e-mails and then I should attach copies of the e-mails sent to my boss ( this goes in my file). I guess we will see what happens.

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Specializes in CTICU.

Have you been documenting the "whistle blowing"?

I would not attend a meeting with the other nurse present. I would inform HR that I am more than willing to meet with them, but I am not being put into a position for confrontation with another worker.

I would also point out if it's mentioned about being unlawful to video tape that my overriding concern is patient welfare, and that although you didn't realise it wasn't allowed, you'd still do it in the same position as this woman is endangering patients.

I would also report the situation to the board of nursing regarding working while impaired.

Watch your back - noone else will do it.

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