Nurses who steal narcotics....

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This is something that always ****** me off to no end. In my career I've know of 4 nurses who stole narcs. One would take liquid morphine and replace it with water, our pharmacy puts blue dye in ours. We had a card of narcs missing and the NOC nurse who accepted it (it had her signature on it) would not come in for a drug test. Another nurse years back would give vicodin, PCT whatever every four hours on the dot to the patients who had severe dementia knowing that they wouldn't be able to say whether or not they actually got the med.

I despise people like this. Why do it? Why not just go to one of those pain clinics and get your narcotics or whatever you want. Figure out which docs happily prescribe meds up the wazoo and go to them. Why take some elderly persons (I'm talking LTC) meds and make them suffer. What are your guys' thoughts on this.

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
And I just want to say I have a brother who is addicted to alchohol and I know how the mind works. I'm sorry again if I sounded judgmental but I just want people's opinions and stories about nurses who do steal. The nurse manager who caught the lady giving narcs every four hours to about 10 patients had a lot of empathy for her and even offered to put her into rehab and the company would pay for it. If I was a nurse manager I'd do the same thing. Like I said yes as a person who doesn't abuse I don't quite understand but then again what those nurses are doing isn't right.

It is very sad on both parties.

It is not right for people to abuse anything. I don't think any nurse wakes up one day and decides to become an addict.

My guess is the personality of a nurse lends itself to abuse. We see some pretty awful things on a daily basis. Some will be able to handle it by going home and winding down other ways. Some chose to self medicate. It's no different than the guy that stops at bar on the way home from work and drives home drunk or stops at the store and drinks at home and then becomes abusive. All three have hurt someone.

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Specializes in Home Health/Hospice.
Wow... they really dye your morphine blue? Did they start doing it because of the nurse filling it with water? Insane!

They also dye it blue so that if you take it your tongue turns blue and staff notices it. This is oral morphine by the way.

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Specializes in Home Health/Hospice.
My best friend stole as a professional. She went through hell and back. I remember the fateful day my job called me knowing if I new she had a problem. I was highly offended and it took years for me to finally forgive her for that. Looking back now, there were signs, but she was the last person I would have chosen to have this problem. It almost destroyed her family, but she over came her addiction and has yet to divert. That was over 20 yrs ago. The guilt she still carries for making her pts suffer is something she will never forgive herself for.

Like I said my coworker I think had signs just my gut feeling she was stealing but then again I would say Nah she's not the type at all, but you never know. I'm sure she's feeling guilty and I'm sorry about that, but at least she has a conscience, and i'm glad she's clean good for her :)

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I wonder what the actual percentage of nurses that end up abusing narcs is compared to doctors or pharmacists? Has anyone read any statistics on this or has there been a study?

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Specializes in Home Health/Hospice.
I wonder what the actual percentage of nurses that end up abusing narcs is compared to doctors or pharmacists? Has anyone read any statistics on this or has there been a study?

I know there have been studies but I dont' really know how to google a good one. That's an interesting question comparing docs/nurses/pharmacists.

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They also dye it blue so that if you take it your tongue turns blue and staff notices it. This is oral morphine by the way.

WHO dyes it blue ?? Your Pharmacy ?? You need to research this, oral morphine can be dispensed in clear, blue, red, depending on the Pharmacuetical company supplying your pharmacy. If your pharmacy is adding blue dye to liquid morphine I would seriously look into this for infection control purposes. I would also wonder what type of blue dye is being used not all is safe esp re to allergies. Also, think about what you are implying "..your tonque turns blue and the staff notices it" Really, if I was stealing drugs and using at work I hardly think that would be my drug of choice if I could get caught so easily"

Nurses who are impaired are much smarter than this and it usually takes a lot of investigative work to catch them.

Besides most drug impaired nurses are getting there "fix" from the good ole doc who has no problem doling out "pain meds" .

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I was an impaired nurse 6 years ago. I never stole narcotics from my place of employment, however, had I not had the money and wherewithal to get narcs on my own, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have done so. I am contributing to this thread to give everyone a REAL LIFE perspective of "being impaired." Once you are hooked on an opiate or benzo, you get very very sick when you do without. Once you have been hooked for a while, you take these drugs just to prevent getting ill, and not because they make you high anymore. I was detected to be impaired at work when I showed up acting strange and disoriented at work one day. I subsequently went through rehab and a three year board operated horrible nightmare.

Recently, a person who is angry with me called the board and said that I relapsed. And even though I haven't worked in over a year, or when this supposed relapse is alleged to have occurred, there is a big possibility that I will have to repeat this program... even though the allegation is untrue. Just because of my history. It is stigmatizing, expensive, and a repeated blow to one's self esteem. I am a member of several forums for nurses all over the country who experience similar programs...and the discrimination and blame is the same everywhere.

Addiction is a disease, it makes a person insane. In 12-Step speak, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. When someone says that this behavior ****** them off, it is telling me that they haven't been paying attention to basic medical science. And that ****** ME off.

I thought that Allnurses does not permit personal attacks...yet what the OP (and a few others who responded) said, from my perspective, is virtually the same thing as saying that I am scum. I see that as a personal attack on all nurses who suffer from this illness and get to a bottom that may seem unfathomable to you, but nevertheless occurs with alarming frequency.

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I was an impaired nurse 6 years ago. I never stole narcotics from my place of employment, however, had I not had the money and wherewithal to get narcs on my own, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have done so. I am contributing to this thread to give everyone a REAL LIFE perspective of "being impaired." Once you are hooked on an opiate or benzo, you get very very sick when you do without. Once you have been hooked for a while, you take these drugs just to prevent getting ill, and not because they make you high anymore. I was detected to be impaired at work when I showed up acting strange and disoriented at work one day. I subsequently went through rehab and a three year board operated horrible nightmare.

Recently, a person who is angry with me called the board and said that I relapsed. And even though I haven't worked in over a year, or when this supposed relapse is alleged to have occurred, there is a big possibility that I will have to repeat this program... even though the allegation is untrue. Just because of my history. It is stigmatizing, expensive, and a repeated blow to one's self esteem. I am a member of several forums for nurses all over the country who experience similar programs...and the discrimination and blame is the same everywhere.

Addiction is a disease, it makes a person insane. In 12-Step speak, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. When someone says that this behavior ****** them off, it is telling me that they haven't been paying attention to basic medical science. And that ****** ME off.

I thought that Allnurses does not permit personal attacks...yet what the OP (and a few others who responded) said, from my perspective, is virtually the same thing as saying that I am scum. I see that as a personal attack on all nurses who suffer from this illness and get to a bottom that may seem unfathomable to you, but nevertheless occurs with alarming frequency.

What the original poster said was far from a personal attack (the definition of a personal attack would be an attack directed at a specific person)

but nobody is obligated to feel pity for addicts. Help them, yes, but at one time or another, every addict made the decision to take those first few drugs they knew they shouldn't have.

I know plenty of addicts and don't feel bad for a one of them. They all did heroin for fun, popped narcotics for fun, sought out prescriptions to take - while they played xbox - ?? - for fun........

Just because addiction becomes a medical condition in later stages doesn't mean it wasn't a result of poor decisions, was out of your control, etc etc. and non-addicts who didn't make those choices are entitled to their feelings about nurses stealing drugs from patients.

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Its called aaddiction.... Be lucky you have not first hand experienced it. Maybe do a little reasearch into it, and you might understand.. I dont believe anyone starts an addiction by stealing meds fromPTs. Its a long road to get to that point. I am not defending addicts, but I have seen the process many, many times. Do you think these people just decide one day to take meds from the elderly? Theey usually have used up all other means to get their drugs and that is what they end up resorting to... Horrid? yes, but also very sad as well.....

on the other hand - i've known addicts who even think people who steal from the elderly to get their fix are the scum of the earth. there IS another option (especially for an employed nurse) and that would be to buy them.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
And I just want to say I have a brother who is addicted to alchohol and I know how the mind works. I'm sorry again if I sounded judgmental but I just want people's opinions and stories about nurses who do steal. The nurse manager who caught the lady giving narcs every four hours to about 10 patients had a lot of empathy for her and even offered to put her into rehab and the company would pay for it. If I was a nurse manager I'd do the same thing. Like I said yes as a person who doesn't abuse I don't quite understand but then again what those nurses are doing isn't right.

It is very sad on both parties.

Why do you want stories about nurses who stole narcotics? What purpose will it serve?

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I thought that Allnurses does not permit personal attacks...yet what the OP (and a few others who responded) said, from my perspective, is virtually the same thing as saying that I am scum. I see that as a personal attack on all nurses who suffer from this illness and get to a bottom that may seem unfathomable to you, but nevertheless occurs with alarming frequency.

allnurses does not allow personal attacks.

if you feel you've been attacked, use the red triangular report button, on the bottom left of the post.

keep in mind, that just because you take one's statement personally, is not synonymous with one personally attacking you.

feel free to do a search on nurses and addiction.

we've debated on this topic, over and over and over.

and, will get many varied opinions.

i personally, do not feel "sympathetic" towards an active addict...

especially specifically those who take from our patients.

i get angry when i see victims who've been manipulated, lied to, stolen from, allowed to suffer, etc.

in other words, i am human.

but- if the addict wants to get clean, i will be the most supportive advocate around.

if you're new to these boards, get used to many strong and vocal posters.

and enjoy.:)

leslie

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I was an impaired nurse 6 years ago. I never stole narcotics from my place of employment, however, had I not had the money and wherewithal to get narcs on my own, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have done so. I am contributing to this thread to give everyone a REAL LIFE perspective of "being impaired." Once you are hooked on an opiate or benzo, you get very very sick when you do without. Once you have been hooked for a while, you take these drugs just to prevent getting ill, and not because they make you high anymore. I was detected to be impaired at work when I showed up acting strange and disoriented at work one day. I subsequently went through rehab and a three year board operated horrible nightmare.

Recently, a person who is angry with me called the board and said that I relapsed. And even though I haven't worked in over a year, or when this supposed relapse is alleged to have occurred, there is a big possibility that I will have to repeat this program... even though the allegation is untrue. Just because of my history. It is stigmatizing, expensive, and a repeated blow to one's self esteem. I am a member of several forums for nurses all over the country who experience similar programs...and the discrimination and blame is the same everywhere.

Addiction is a disease, it makes a person insane. In 12-Step speak, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. When someone says that this behavior ****** them off, it is telling me that they haven't been paying attention to basic medical science. And that ****** ME off.

I thought that Allnurses does not permit personal attacks...yet what the OP (and a few others who responded) said, from my perspective, is virtually the same thing as saying that I am scum. I see that as a personal attack on all nurses who suffer from this illness and get to a bottom that may seem unfathomable to you, but nevertheless occurs with alarming frequency.

I applaud your courage for posting this.

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