Narcs

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I am one of the supervisors at my facility. Recently we had an agency nurse come in who also was working a double shift..well I leave work and get a call at home from overnight supervisor stating that the agency nurse needed her witness signatures for 3 doses of wasted narcs. This nurse never made me aware she needed narcs wasted. Not only 1 dose but multiple !! We both were working doubles that day so I was in the building with her from 7am-11pm. She claimed she told me the patients g-tube was clogged (no she didn’t) and this particular patient gets a ridiculous amount of meds (somewhere around 30). What a mess 

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23 minutes ago, Cat1223 said:

I am one of the supervisors at my facility. Recently we had an agency nurse come in who also was working a double shift..well I leave work and get a call at home from overnight supervisor stating that the agency nurse needed her witness signatures for 3 doses of wasted narcs. This nurse never made me aware she needed narcs wasted. Not only 1 dose but multiple !! We both were working doubles that day so I was in the building with her from 7am-11pm. She claimed she told me the patients g-tube was clogged (no she didn’t) and this particular patient gets a ridiculous amount of meds (somewhere around 30). What a mess 

I've had a similar experience. A nurse I worked alone with had uswitnessed, wasted narcotics and I was the only one who could witness them ...and I didn't actually witness them. It was also a 1.5 hour drive to the hospital on my day off to handle the situation.

I asked what would happen if I didn't come in, and they said she would be reported to the BON. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and signed for her.

I can't imagine the hell of working a double shift, as an agency nurse, in an unfamiliar place. And I imagine it was a brutal day for you, as well. I'm surprised either one of you remember anything that went on.

Unless I had some concrete reason to suspect something awful, I'd probably see it as a one time professional courtesy and sign for her. I would hope that someone would do the same for me, although I would not expect it.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
11 hours ago, Cat1223 said:

I am one of the supervisors at my facility. Recently we had an agency nurse come in who also was working a double shift... What a mess 

Sorry you have to deal with such things, Cat, but speaking of messes, at Wrongway we had an agency nurse working the adolescent psych unit. I heard tale this agency nurse knowingly pulled ativan IM from the pyxis on one patient and gave it to an acting out patient who didn't have PRN ativan ordered!

I could go on and on about some agency nurses, but I'm retired and don't have to deal with them anymore.

*ah!*

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Specializes in ER.

There are agency nurses who are agency nurses for a reason. I call those type the 'moving target'.

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? @ moving target

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