Interesting case of the spilled pills

[KCMnurse]

This case intrigued me. Let me know what you think regarding the decision to fish wasted tablets out of the sharps container...

https://www.nurse.com/blog/2019/03/13/court-rules-with-board-of-nursing-on-spilled-pills-case-against-nurses/

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

What the actual what?? Just following orders isn’t a defense true... and it’s disgusting true... but why is anyone willing to risk their own safety like that?? The sharps container is a one-way street! ? And last I checked, pharmacy school doesn’t result in microscopic vision. His eyeball test doesn’t fly!!

[0.9%NormalSarah, BSN, RN]

Gross, what if the other substances, like BLOOD from the diabetic lancets or other syringes contaminated the pills? I would have told them there’s no way on earth I’m putting myself at risk by digging them out or my patient at risk by administering them. I feel bad for the pressure these nurses may have been under with those instructions, but I do think disciplinary action was the right thing.

[kp2016]

These nurses really put themselves in front of the bus here. The pills that fell on the floor should have been immediately collected and counted into a sealed envelope. Pharmacy should have them been notified that the pills were contaminated and needed to be collected and replaced.

“Never waste medications into a sharps bins” has been a rule for a long time now. I always thought the notion that people would retrieve a drug or fluid from a sharps bin was insane, but this proves I was wrong. Likewise if the money conscious pharmacist wanted to place the pills from the floor back into stock the nurses should have declined to participate and told them to call a manager to be their witness. Over the years I’ve noticed that nurses get used as the weak link to save money and then get left with the responsibility. Never hesitate to “manager up”. When things like this happen call a manager and demand they do it personally. It’s amazing how things change when you force the managers / facility to take ownership of these problems.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

If anyone ever asked me to retrieve something from the sharps container I would be on the phone with OSHA in a hot second. Workplace safety.

Was the pharmacist disciplined? How about the supervisor?

I am so sick of stories where multiple people screw up and the nurses take all the blame.

[Kitiger, RN]

23 hours ago, 0.9%NormalSarah said:

Gross, what if the other substances, like BLOOD from the diabetic lancets or other syringes contaminated the pills? I would have told them there’s no way on earth I’m putting myself at risk by digging them out or my patient at risk by administering them.

How could they give pills contaminated with BLOOD to an unsuspecting patient?

The pills should have been collected and handed to the nurse manager. Handing them off to pharmacy would also be acceptable, as long as the nurse manager was notified first.

KP216 said, "Never hesitate to “manager up”. When things like this happen call a manager and demand they do it personally. It’s amazing how things change when you force the managers / facility to take ownership of these problems."

Exactly.

[TriciaJ, RN]

On 3/15/2019 at 9:42 PM, Emergent said:

Yes, totally poor judgment, but you know what gets my goat? Prisoners get expensive treatments for free, hard working, law abiding citizens can't afford treatments and medicines. Hard working mothers and fathers go into debt paying for astronomical copays and out of pocket expenses while the indolent segment of the population gets a free ride.

And not only a free ride. When that inmate found out what had happened, you know his first thought was "SCORE!" and off he went to call his ambulance-chaser.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Actually this whole story made me laugh and not because it was remotely funny. It's just... so Corrections. And just when I thought I'd seen the nth degree of multi-layer stupidity...

Correctional facilities should have a state-approved formulary. Being a criminal should not guarantee access to meds the law-abiding population can't get its hands on.

As previous posters have said, if the pills needed to be counted - even if the inmate brought his own in - they should have been blister-packed.

Those nurses do not need remedial courses in pharmacology; they need a course on professional assertiveness. The pharmacist needs to get a nice job selling shoes somewhere.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

This is a great example that as a nurse, you have to stand your ground if you think something is wrong, even if it costs you your job.

Better to look for another job with a clean record, than look for another job with a flawed nursing license.

[Luchador, CNA, EMT-B]

Holy crap. What block heads.

[Luchador, CNA, EMT-B]

11 hours ago, TriciaJ said:

And not only a free ride. When that inmate found out what had happened, you know his first thought was "SCORE!" and off he went to call his ambulance-chaser.

Part of suing a person or institution is showing damages. Since nothing happened to the prisoner he can't really show any damages. So he could clearly win the lawsuit, but how much money is awarded for no damages?

The prisoner should sue, if only to bring more shame and scrutiny to this prison. What kind of a care provider gives somebody a pill that was fished out of a bloody bio-hazard container? What kind of actual physician tells a nurse to do it?

Mind-boggling.

[Davey Do]

[TriciaJ, RN]

1 hour ago, Luchador said:

Part of suing a person or institution is showing damages. Since nothing happened to the prisoner he can't really show any damages. So he could clearly win the lawsuit, but how much money is awarded for no damages?

The prisoner should sue, if only to bring more shame and scrutiny to this prison. What kind of a care provider gives somebody a pill that was fished out of a bloody bio-hazard container? What kind of actual physician tells a nurse to do it?

Mind-boggling.

Of course the inmate would lose if it actually went to court. But if you have a management that settles every lawsuit, no matter how frivolous, it's worth filling out the paperwork for a few grand.