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.

He should sue you for slander, he would win.

Specializes in EMS, LTC, Sub-acute Rehab.

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Specializes in Hospice.
If OP knew he consumed pot right before work based on a Snapchat story that he knowingly sent to her, then she did the right thing by reporting it.

You're assuming a lot of "facts" not in evidence.

Specializes in School Nursing, Hospice,Med-Surg.

So, if I snapchat myself taking my a.m. pills, someone could bust me for being high mid-morning at work? Because who's to say that wasn't a handful of Lortab, or Percs, or Oxy?? Right???

I mean, it was probably my Topamax, Prilosec, B-12, and Amiloride. But who's to REALLY say??

I'm SO high right now.

"Jon" may well have been yanking your and others' chain (so to speak)... for what reason he would do so is anybody's guess and is likely immaterial. But the "hospital gossip" (what... there's gossip in hospitals??? Say it isn't so!) thing apparently bit the OP in the buttock. "Jon" may now be P-O'd at the OP, or maybe he is getting a bit of a chuckle from this whole thing, and that is immaterial as well.

At the end of the day (as well as during the rest of the day... and the evening... and the night... and weekends and holidays ;) ), what is on somebody's phone, computer screen, PDA, etc. is solely that person's business, unless said person invites others to view or listen to same.

Who knows... maybe he planted all of this to see (and prove) who on his unit and elsewhere would be most likely to spread some juicy gossip.

There is significance to 4/20. Maybe Jon and his friends have been extending their 4/1 activities at the expense of nosy coworkers. Since Jon could have lost his job and his professional reputation over the joke(s), it seems a very expensive topic to joke about, even if amongst your friends, on your device, which at the end of the day, is your business.

Sorry, I just can't get past the elderly know-it-all's :lol2:.

Unless the OP actually saw that Jon was impaired at work, it's heresay. I don't believe that my sister-in-law has the picture perfect life she posts on FB either, or the tongue-in-cheek pics my brother posts in Snapchat either.

Yeah, we elderly know-it-all's probably came of age in the 60's . . . sex, drugs, and rock and roll, right? ;)

One of my peeves is how people put so much private info out on the internet via FB, Instagram, and SnapChat. And . . . you shouldn't be playing on your phone at work. :no: I'm definitely an old fogey when it comes to that.

"Jon" may well have been yanking your and others' chain (so to speak)... for what reason he would do so is anybody's guess and is likely immaterial. But the "hospital gossip" (what... there's gossip in hospitals??? Say it isn't so!) thing apparently bit the OP in the buttock. "Jon" may now be P-O'd at the OP, or maybe he is getting a bit of a chuckle from this whole thing, and that is immaterial as well.

At the end of the day (as well as during the rest of the day... and the evening... and the night... and weekends and holidays ;) ), what is on somebody's phone, computer screen, PDA, etc. is solely that person's business, unless said person invites others to view or listen to same.

Who knows... maybe he planted all of this to see (and prove) who on his unit and elsewhere would be most likely to spread some juicy gossip.

And this is so true! Yanking a person's chain via the internet is pretty darn common.

I'm concerned about a nurse being impaired at work but I saw no real evidence in the postings here for concern. I've worked with impaired nurses before - it is a hard situation to be in when you have to report a friend/colleague but you do the right thing for the patients.

Again, leave your cell phones in your work locker, if you have one. Every time I walk by then nurses' station and see a nurse or CNA on their phone, texting . . . it drives me crazy. That's the public perception of our medical staff; sitting around playing on their phones.

OP - you need to let this go.

If you were snooping my phone several things would happen. 1) you would freak out at some of the pictures without knowing the context in which they were taken or shared, nor knowing the people in those pictures. 2) I would have you fired so fast and it would make your head spin for going into my personal property without consent. 3) if I caught you doing it I would call the cops and report the theft of my phone by you.

As to going to a supervisor to "investigate" hearsay, I would be making lots of money off of you and the hospital for slander and libel, as you have damaged my professional image with lies and false accusations.

If OP knew he consumed pot right before work based on a Snapchat story that he knowingly sent to her, then she did the right thing by reporting it.

The OP presented no evidence that "Jon" consumed pot right before work; rather, the implication was that any presumed edibles were consumed on that most (in)auspicious of days, 4/20. Now, had there been actual evidence of actual anything consumed "right before work" or evidence of impairment, then yes, reporting would have been the right thing to do. But participating in the investigation beyond that was inappropriate in the extreme.

You do have a very vivid imagination, I'll give you that.

Just an FYI folks - the OP came back and clarified that she didn't pick up his phone and go through it. Sometimes if we don't follow the thread completely, we miss out on info.

Still drunk & smelling like weed when they show up to work? I find this one a little hard to believe.

"We confronted Jon and he denied everything." When did you become Jons' boss? Seriously, if I were your co-worker I would sue you for slander.

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