My coworker was high and got away with it

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Happy 4/20 I guess?

This particular RN (I'll name him Jon) has been working for our unit for two years. We work in a MedSurg unit at a county hospital. Apparently, we DONT do drug tests at all.

Our morning was going fine, we both took report in the same area and had our breaks at the same time. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary (aside from saying "I'm sleepy/tired," but we all say it). Jon did one discharge and completed one admit. He helped me start an IV for one of my patients and cosigned my insulin.

It wasn't until lunch I noticed Jon's phone Snapchat(?) of him consuming edibles. I also saw Jon's text messages saying "he was still high this morning."

I immediately went to the charge nurse and reported my discovery. Our charge nurse was in disbelief and found it difficult to believe. We confronted Jon and he denied everything.

Our charge nurse discreetly followed up on his patients, and they reported nothing but excellent nursing care. We checked his charting and everything was within policy. We also checked all his pyxis pulls and there were no discrepancies. Lastly, we privately spoke to an MD that Jon was speaking to in the morning who also reported that his behavior was completely normal.

I apologized to Jon as there were no evidence of him being high towards the end of the shift. As we were leaving the hospital, one of Jon's friends (from another unit), came up to him and ask him about his 4/20. I saw Jon winked and nodded. I got upset and just left.

The next day, I reported it to the charge. She said to leave it alone since there wasn't any proof and no patients were harmed. I am not sure what else to do at this point.

Specializes in Oncology.
far fetched. If I saw a white powdery substance on someone's countertop with a description of the picture saying it's time to hit the slopes, I am not going to jump to conclusions they are about to do lines of cocaine. It could a a flipping joke and that white substance can be flour.

In short, mind your own business because it can get you caught up in a lot of unnecessary heartache.

If you are upset he did not invite you move on.

Obviously it was snow and they wanted to go skiing

Specializes in ICU.
Obviously it was snow and they wanted to go skiing

Obviously nothing...I am confused. Skiing is a term for snorting cocaine. To make that assumption you have to understand what skiing means just like edibles. Still none of your business. Someone involved with drugs the situation will play itself out.

Specializes in ER.

I looked up 4/20. I used to be young and the know, but now I'm hopelessly out of touch apparently.

I thought 4/20 referring to the date that this happened since it was I think the day before the original post.

:laugh:

Specializes in Critical Care.
Are you having trouble reading? Or are you just trying to twist my words? For kicks and giggles, I'll repeat myself: my concern is with getting drunk before work, not outside of work on your own time.

We're talking about what someone (supposedly) did on the day before work, not same day right before a shift.

Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I had to report someone to a charge nurse one time, and it was something that I thought long and hard about before doing. I even sought advice from a trusted mentor (who didn't know anyone involved) before I did it, and when I did talk to the Charge nurse I felt like the worst snitch ever. I think that's how it should be, though. We shouldn't be eager to get someone into trouble, or be snooping or looking for a reason. We should keep our eyes open, of course, but I tend to mistrust people who seem to be so keen to police others.. No offense, just saying the impression your posts are giving off whether you mean it that way or not.

In my situation I ended up speaking with the Charge privately, and conversation points included:

I'm not pretending to know all the details, because I don't

I could be completely misunderstanding the situation, but what I did see was XYZ

I don't want anyone to get into trouble, and I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but ultimately I decided that I needed to bring it up

I want to let you know that I fully intend to not bring this up again after our talk (meaning I'm not going to be running my mouth about it to others or playing detective or speculating because it's not fair or nice and also creates gossip)

The Charge nurse asked me a few questions, thanked me, and I literally never brought it up again. I don't know if they told anyone else about it, if they looked into it, if they spoke privately with the individual... I have no idea. And unless they pull you in to ask you more questions, shouldn't it be like that? Of course, privately, I always kept a closer eye on this individual whenever I happened to see them, but you've got to be able to trust people up the chain of command to handle the situation. Unless you see direct indications that a patient is in danger, or very strong red flags, you need to trust your charge nurse and let it go. Involving yourself further, unless asked for some reason by management, is not only above your paygrade, it's really not appropriate...

I don't think that necessarily reporting it was wrong, but I don't agree whatsoever with the manner in which you handled the rest of it. Involving yourself in the investigation, following up on the outcome, and even the title of this thread seem to give off the impression that you've decided for yourself that this person is guilty and therefore it's your job to make management see it as so. You can really damage someone, their job, and their reputation if you don't handle these things properly. It's just not right... :(

Specializes in Oncology.
Obviously nothing...I am confused. Skiing is a term for snorting cocaine. To make that assumption you have to understand what skiing means just like edibles. Still none of your business. Someone involved with drugs the situation will play itself out.

I was joking... And many downhill skiing. Like the sport. No drugs required.

I don't agree with what you did in any way - I think it wasn't your place at all.

However, you did what you felt you needed to do. You're asking what to do next - the answer is nothing. I can't imagine what you expect out of this situation - what's your end goal here?

Specializes in ED, psych.
I looked up 4/20. I used to be young and the know, but now I'm hopelessly out of touch apparently.

I thought 4/20 referring to the date that this happened since it was I think the day before the original post.

:laugh:

Aww, Emergent -- the more you know!

(That's actually really sweet ... not in a condescending way)

This is why we shouldn't have our coworkers on our social media.

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Careful. Next investigation may involve Betty Crocker.

Betty Crocker? More like Betty CRACKHEAD! You mean to tell me that woman wasn't high 24/7? And don't get me started on Drunken Hines.

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

When I read this thread I automatically think of Scooby doo and the whole "I would've gotten away with it if not for you meddling coworkers"

When I read this thread I automatically think of Scooby doo and the whole "I would've gotten away with it if not for you meddling coworkers"

Ahahahahahahaha!

+ Add a Comment