I work in a nursing home and follow the 8 hour 7-3, 3-11, 11-7 schedule. I work 3-11. I'm also a relatively new nurse. One of the patients that would've been on my assignment discharged on the 7-3 shift. By the time I came on by the 3-11 shift the patient in question was already long gone. However, my supervisor comes to me at 8pm and starts saying we have a problem. I ask why? My supervisor says the patient's wife is freaking out because she doesn't have a full day's medication and the pharmacy is closed. I say what am I expected to do? He left before my shift even started, I wasn't responsible for the discharge.
My supervisor tells me we still need to give her the meds for the patient, and I say well we get it from a Pyxis and he's officially discharged so he's no longer in the system. How can I pull meds for a discharged patient. So my supervisor tells me to pull the meds from patients who share his medication. My supervisor tells me I should be the one searching for his medication since I know him better since he was my patient two nights ago. My supervisor tells me to search the system for patients who share the meds and she watches me as I do so before watching me go to the Pyxis to pull the meds and then I give it to my supervisor. The supervisor tells me to label the envelope where the meds are held in and write down everything in it.
The supervisor then calls the patient's wife and she comes to pick it up. My supervisor then rings me and tells me that the patient's wife came and my supervisor tells the patient's wife that it was me who collected the meds for her husband, and stated my name.
I'm super irritated as I can plainly see that my supervisor is setting me up to be the fall girl in case of any liability or issue arises. I feel dumb for complying. What was the right thing to do in that scenario?
You've heard it said "Always protect your license". But what does that mean practically? It's protected through your documentation. Remember, "if it wasn't documented, it never happened" we tend to think of that only in terms of our charting, but the reality is that applies to everything when we are clocked in.
Fill out an incident report per facility protocol. Remember to stay objective. Ie "instructed by nursing supervisor (name) to pull Lipitor from... etc". Definitely, make those above the supervisor in the chain of command aware of this.
Moving forward, she definitely knows this is a no no, there is no reason she couldn't have pulled the meds herself. There was no need to involve you just because you took care of patient 2 days ago excuse makes no sense. This was well within her job description as a supervisor to handle.
Take this as a learning experience and if this is the work culture at that facility.. I'd be looking at an exit strategy.
Jeepers! this is way too harsh to someone just trying to navigate this thing we call a "helping profession". Haven't you done anything you wish you could have help with (before, during and NOT after) in our job?
Truly to the OP I do not hope you will pay the price for this. Yes, being a professional means making difficult decisions every day....I am glad you are questioning this on our forum. It will help many a nurse (new and old) know what is encountered in the work place even if it is a school like you SCUBA,
Scuba specializing in school nursing to eat the young, nom nom!
That was the WRONG thing to do. First, the patient was already discharged before you got there. If the supervisor was so concerned they could have handled it with the patient's provider. Also, you NEVER take meds from another patient just because they are on the same medication. Patients are billed for it and now you gave it to someone else. If the board found out your license would be on the line. Your supervisor gave you very bad advice all around and their behavior was quite suspicious. You need to look up your scope of practice for your state. Don't lose your license over someone else's shenanigans.
My first success in the early days was to be well acquainted w/pharmacists. Using pyxis snitching may help solve problem but is despensing and not nursing authorized. There should be on call pharmacists consulted for volume dispensing.
No it wasn't anything controlled like a narcotic. It was basic things standard meds like Lipitor and eliquis. Nothing narcotic or controlled.
STOP! your supervisor is ignorant , and self serving,,and not following LEGAL facility policy, or doesnt know it at all, or just too damn lazy to do the right and legal thing. DEAR GOD. why is she even in charge?
Here is what should have happened.
1. you were not involved. it wasnt your responsibility. It seems as tho your supervisor didn't do her job, and didn't know how to handle it at all when the patients wife complained. THAT WAS NO WAY TO HANDLE THAT SITUATION, LEGALLY, ETHICALLY, OR MORALLY. SHE PUT THE PATIENT AND YOU AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THAT FACILITY,,AT RISK>! The facility can be shut down for such an act as that, and you can lose your license, and so can she.
2. the supervisor should have , at that point, CALLED THE Dr. ON CALL, AND HAD HIM/HER CALL THE PRESCRIPTIONS INTO THE PATIENTS PHARMACY. The wife could then go and pick up those meds. And actually, no one was responsible at that point except the patients PHYSICIAN, because he/she should have left orders for refills at the pt pharmacy, or left WRITTEN PRESCRIPTIONS WITH THE DISCHARGE ORDERS TO BE GIVEN TO THE PATIENT AND HIS/HER WIFE/HUSBAND/SIGNIFICANT OTHER.
3. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER, did I say NEVER? NEVER ROB ANOTHER PATIENTS MEDICATION DRAWER TO GIVE TO ANOTHER PATIENT!! THAT IS ILLEGAL! NOT TO MENTION THE RISK OF GETTING A WRONG MED FOR A PATIENT AND HAVING DIRE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF. I cannot believe you did that. Are you aware your license is on the line if you gave that discharged patient another patients meds? NEVER DO THAT. REPORT THAT SUPERVISOR TO THE DIRECTOR! or the owner of the facility.
I would document this with the nurse manager and Human Resources. But then, I wouldn't have done it to begin with and let them explain to the state board of nursing why they fired me. Better to lose your job than lose your license!
My supervisor says the patient's wife is freaking out because she doesn't have a full day's medication and the pharmacy is closed.
First of all, the patient was discharged and care responsibilities was transfered to the patient and wife. The wife should have a handle on the patient's medications or asked about it at discharge.Waiting until the bottle was empty seems odd. Most refill a day or 2 before empty. Was he not receiving it prior to admission?
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Years ago, when I was a floor nurse in a famous New England teaching hospital, I was asked to float to CCU to do charge. I was told there were some "really good travelers and floats" on shift, but they needed a nurse who was permanent staff from the facility to do charge. I was a relatively new nurse -- two years of experience in a different state, and recently referred to an oncologist for biopsies, so I was scared to death of losing my job and my health insurance.
I said I wasn't qualified to work CCU, and I wouldn't do it.
The supervisor told me refusing and assignment was grounds for being placed on unpaid administrative leave or being fired.
"I'd rather lose my job than my license," I said. And stood there quaking, awaiting her response.
She wrote me up, but didn't put me on unpaid leave or fire me.
Doing the right thing sometimes has negative consequences. It is still the right thing.
RN_fr, BSN
5 Posts
You've heard it said "Always protect your license". But what does that mean practically? It's protected through your documentation. Remember, "if it wasn't documented, it never happened" we tend to think of that only in terms of our charting, but the reality is that applies to everything when we are clocked in.
Fill out an incident report per facility protocol. Remember to stay objective. Ie "instructed by nursing supervisor (name) to pull Lipitor from... etc". Definitely, make those above the supervisor in the chain of command aware of this.
Moving forward, she definitely knows this is a no no, there is no reason she couldn't have pulled the meds herself. There was no need to involve you just because you took care of patient 2 days ago excuse makes no sense. This was well within her job description as a supervisor to handle.
Take this as a learning experience and if this is the work culture at that facility.. I'd be looking at an exit strategy.