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.
After reading through a lot of comments here I thought I would throw my opinion out on this one. OP if you felt that Jon was under the influence and a danger to patients then you definitely wouldnt have been wrong to report him, but from what I gather you DID NOT think he was high based on looks, actions, etc but based on messages never intended for your eyes. If you really thought he was a danger to patients then he shouldn't have been assisting you with an IV. If someone is legitimately intoxicated then it's right to report. But that is all that should have been done on your part. You are not the police nor the nurse detective to have continued on with your own investigation. Lives get ruined because people assume to know things based on tidbits of information instead of a full story. Great to be concerned about the welfare and safety of your patients. Not great to go out of your way to get someone else in trouble, particularly a someone who showed no obvious signs of intoxication. After it was initially let go by management then you should have followed suit and just let it be. If you were to see him displaying signs of being impaired then that would be different but such was not the case here. Sometimes you just gotta mind your own business and go about your day. We all make mistakes but some mistakes have consequences beyond what could be imagined.Try and take this as a lesson learned.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
This thread has given me such a high. Between the Scooby doo detective work and Sherlock holmes. The hilarious comments. My need to play Luniez I got 5 on it and Afroman Because I got high while reading it. It's been highly entertaining. The Pre-nursing student advice, and the poster reminiscent of DMX's song Y'll gonna make me lose my mind. *which I have tried for years to get played as background music in the ER* because we are making them so angry!!
I hope to never crash and comedown from my high this thread has given me. I hope it lives on longer than Jon's career might. I would really love to get a petition going to get Jon to come be a member here.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Odd convergence.. with pop-culture overtones..
The O.P. presents as an original 'Hot Lips Houlihan' - 'holier than thou' type,
& the 'Sherlock Holmes' meme has been raised too..
The popular 'TV Doctor' show ( & where nurses were conspicuously absent)
'House' - was a variant on 'Sherlock Holmes' - but twisted the drug-taking
aspects of the original, to a ludicrously unlikely degree..
& so did 'Nurse Jackie' - even if it presented semi-realistic nursing roles..
I always wonder where the nurses go in most of these shows. I mean in House you had 4-5 docs to one patient with not one ancillary service. I bet their satisfaction scores were through the roof!!!
The NCSBN offers a FREE online cours on Substance Use Disorders in Nursing. It's 4 contact hours and I thought it was REALLY good. It's provides current research on addiction, what signs may be present if a nurse is using on the job, the proper way to report concerns, and the resources various state boards provide to help any nurse with this brain disease. I highly recommend ALL nurses take advantage of these free contact hours and go through this course.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I had a coworker and her husband commit suicide over allegations of drug use. Please be careful of accusations. It was a tragic experience for all of us and the daughter they left behind.
That is just horrible. I'd be willing to bet their accusers don't even have a scintilla of remorse over their destructive claims that turned out to be false.
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NurseLife88, ADN, RN
1 Article; 107 Posts
After reading through a lot of comments here I thought I would throw my opinion out on this one. OP if you felt that Jon was under the influence and a danger to patients then you definitely wouldnt have been wrong to report him, but from what I gather you DID NOT think he was high based on looks, actions, etc but based on messages never intended for your eyes. If you really thought he was a danger to patients then he shouldn't have been assisting you with an IV. If someone is legitimately intoxicated then it's right to report. But that is all that should have been done on your part. You are not the police nor the nurse detective to have continued on with your own investigation. Lives get ruined because people assume to know things based on tidbits of information instead of a full story. Great to be concerned about the welfare and safety of your patients. Not great to go out of your way to get someone else in trouble, particularly a someone who showed no obvious signs of intoxication. After it was initially let go by management then you should have followed suit and just let it be. If you were to see him displaying signs of being impaired then that would be different but such was not the case here. Sometimes you just gotta mind your own business and go about your day. We all make mistakes but some mistakes have consequences beyond what could be imagined.Try and take this as a lesson learned.