My nurse partner showed up impaired

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Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

Hello to all. I was shcheduled to work on the adolecsent floor today. It is a rough floor to work. I was told I would have another nurse coming on with me to work. I was to do all meds, the front desk, admits/discharges. Okay. In comes this nurse who I had never met or worked with before. She works the weekends but due to short staffing we really needed someone to be called in and they didn't want to go with agency. Very shortly into the shift as I was sitting next to her, I hear her begin to talk. I thought maybe she had a speech impediment at first. She looked fine, well groomed and had far more experience than me at 2 months. She then was barely able to complete sentences or speak without sounding like she had been at the local bar. It just got worse. She would leave me stranded at the station gone down the elevator off the floor 3-4 times and then got a hold of my MAR to which she took off an order and put it on the wrong pts MAR, signed for a med she didn't even give. When I caught on to what she was doing I told her she messed this up, let me do any and all signing for MARS. The rest of the staff just got so alarmed they went to our N manager and informed her. She was finally taken into the office and then back to get her coat and purse and told to leave ASAP. She's done it before I was told. UNbelievable. Claimed she had taken her "bipolar meds earlier this morning" and it was 430 pm. :eek:

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Truly horrible. I hope your manager sees to it that she is out of patient care. I have sympathy for an ill person-- but this is dangerous. It's appalling to me that "she's done it before"- yet they allowed her to return without treatment. Sorry that happened to you. Somehow I've dodged the bullett (that I know of). Impairment can be subtle and deceptive. Not unusual for an addict to take extra care of how they "appear". Since this wasn't her scheduled day, she may have become more intoxicated than usual thinking no one would see her. May turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

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Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

Yesseree, agree with you on that one!

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In that type of situation it is required to be reported to the Board of nursing for your state. They have assistance programs that can help her. Something needs to done before one of patients gets hurt. This is a huge risk and something needs to be done about it...ASAP!

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

Wonder what kind of "bipolar meds" she took? I take bipolar meds too, morning and at bedtime and i have NEVER been impaired at home or on the job. If her "meds" are making her that loopy, then maybe she needs to get with her psychiatrist for a little tweaking. In the meantime, it needs to be reported to the BON. I'm all for giving someone a second chance if they're trying to get used to a new med, perhaps give them a few days off so they can see how it's going to affect them. But she had NO business going to work like that! And since it's happened before there is an established pattern. The BON would be VERY interested in hearing about it.

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Specializes in ER/Geriatrics.

Oh my .....these kinds of posts make nurses look horrible

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Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

Turns out that 2 nights ago my nurse manager came to my floor and told me she wanted me to write up an "observation report" on this incident. It wasn't an option to decline to do it, mandatory. So I did write a paragraph statement pertaining only to what I observed working with her on that shift. I felt kind of bad having to do it, but it is my duty to do so. They are going through their due process at the management level to present the situation to the state board, and she was not to return to the hospital for work since the incident. We do not think her bipolar home meds caused such an impairment at that level. Her license is cooked I'm sure. But.. she like many others will go into a nurse recovery program and get her license reinstated after about 16 months.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Newtress- so glad to hear that she has not returned to the hospital to work since the incident. Honestly, there is just no way the average drugs used to treat bipolar disorder cause a person to be that out of it, and if she had an idiosyncratic reaction to prescribed drugs she still needed to be out of patient care.

Like you say- she now has a chance to get her life together, follow the well worn path of many others before her,and hopefully stay in recovery for good. You should feel good about it, she could have harmed a child. Best to you- :)

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Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

Thanks for the support.

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.
Turns out that 2 nights ago my nurse manager came to my floor and told me she wanted me to write up an "observation report" on this incident. It wasn't an option to decline to do it, mandatory. So I did write a paragraph statement pertaining only to what I observed working with her on that shift. I felt kind of bad having to do it, but it is my duty to do so. They are going through their due process at the management level to present the situation to the state board, and she was not to return to the hospital for work since the incident. We do not think her bipolar home meds caused such an impairment at that level. Her license is cooked I'm sure. But.. she like many others will go into a nurse recovery program and get her license reinstated after about 16 months.

I don't know about your state, but in my state it takes LOT longer to get your license reinstated and unencumbered once you have a drug abuse charge(which I assume is where they are going with this.) I am in a support group for nurses from both psych & addiction backgrounds. The hoops that the addicts have to jump through might astound you! Most of these nurses have a consent order against them for FIVE years, not a measly 16 months. What that means is that they can work as a nurse(after their treatment coordinator goes to bat for them with the BON) but they can't give narcotics, work in hospice or home health, and must work under supervision until the consent is lifted. They have to attend so many 12-step meetings per quarter, support groups & therapy, take meds, communicate regularly wiht their addictionologist, and submit to random drugs screens WHICH THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR. In return, their treatment center, therapists, and physicians will send in quarterly reports about their treatment--and they don't mince words. If you're doing great, they say that. If you're blowing off treatment, they sat that too. For those nurses who cannot comply, they lose their licenses permanently.

So, you can see, it's not as simple as a lot of people think. I have a lot of respect for addicted/alcoholic nurses who are toeing the line and busting their butts to keep their nose clean. It's not an easy thing.

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Specializes in med surg ltc psych.

You're right. It's not an easy thing. There are several nurses at my facility that are in the very program you describe. They are currently working with me. After many hoops they have to comply to, they may work. But I have to carry their keys for them for their med room. So I am responsible for the narcs on another floor and the count. It can be kind of hard on me to do double meds on two different floors, but at least they haven't given up on nursing and are trying hard to do what is right for them. They had told me that it takes close to 2 yrs to get their license reinstated. They had diverted. I don't know if there is a difference in diverting narcs on the job, or showing up impaired from personal recreational drug use impairment? This nurse partner walked on to the unit blasted, so I wonder if that is viewed differently by the BON than diverting narcs from your facility med room or Pyxis?

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