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Discussion

Lost A Med

Was wondering if anyone could give me some input as this is a touchy subject and I am freaking out. As a side note I have been an RN just over a year. Over the weekend during the end of my shift I somehow lost a Norco I was supposed to return to the pixis. Normally I bring my bag of meds into the room with me and those the patient refuses i place back in the baggy and into my pocket to be returned. I had to have gotten a call or something distracted me to make me leave that patients room and not go to the pixis immediately. But I did not realize I had misplaced it until I came back for my second shift that night. Immediately I notified my charge, looked in patient room and in the trash (which was more than likely emptied in the am), looked in scrubs at home, and could not find it. I spoke with my ANA on Monday who told me to email our hospitals narcotic auditor. He had emailed me back explaining he would get back to me after he looked into the situation.

This is my first time ever losing a med however I have had two occasions in the past where I thought I had scanned dilaudid, threw it in the sharps, and found out after that the drug had not been scanned. Again let my charge RN know, who told me to document in the e-mar that they were not scanned. Nothing punitive ever happened, however I did change my practice from throwing the syringes into the sharps to throwing it in the trash (they did not have needles on them).

My fear is if this auditor sees that in addition to this lost med, that I could potentially be accused of diverging medication. It makes me sick to my stomach because I am not a drug addict nor do I steal patients medication. I made a mistake. I should have been more vigilant and careful. Just thinking about it makes me cry. I just cant imagine loosing my license or being under investigation. I was just trying to be honest. Now I feel like I am a failure and an awful RN. I feel like I let myself and my family down.

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    Things like this happen. Stay calm.

    When I made my very first med error, I flipped out. I cried, and called the director at home (I worked nights), called the doctor and woke him up, I completely flipped out. It was two pain pills, a sleeping pill, neurontin, xanax, and a cholesterol medication. The patients had similar last names, the rooms were right beside each other and another patient was talking to me nonstop. Fortunatley, the patient I gave the meds to was also on the same cholesterol medication and xanax, but not the rest. The doctor said to monitor him, but he would be fine. (thank God he wasn't allergic to any of them). The director said "we will discuss this in the morning."

    I worried myself sick all night. In the morning, she told me that she knew that I was a good nurse because I was so worried, and because I told everyone instead of trying to cover it up.

    Typically, nurses who divert medication are VERY good at covering it up. It takes a while to catch them, most of the time. You coming forward helps to show that you were most likely NOT taking the medication, and simply made an error. Also, (and this is quite unfortunate), most facilities are very lax about going after people license. I worked with a nurse who was diverting meds, and the only reason it was found out was because they OD'd and the patients names were still on the meds when EMS found them. Come to find out, this person had been fired from many facilities for doing the same thing. They still had their license.

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    Losing narcs does not equal losing your license. You took notice and reported the loss.

    You need to slow down and focus whenever you are handling scheduled substances.

    NEVER put them in your pocket. STOP what you are doing and waste according to protocol.

    Your response that you are an "awful RN, and a failure to yourself and your family" indicates you are not handling your stress well at all.

    I do not know what the outcome of an audit would be.. but even if you were accused of diverting.. the truth will come out.

    Deep breaths. Get some counseling for that stress.

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