KayDee68

Funny? I don't know, more like "amazing what people say" type of thing... I was a manager for a hospice team. Our team serviced an area of town with a lot of middle aged, hispanic males, with end-stage liver disease - normally alcohol related. One day I received a call from a step-daughter of a non-ambulatory patient who had been actively drinking by pouring vodka down his PEG tube. Evidently even though he could only get around in his wheelchair, he was still abusive to his wife (her mother). She asks me, "Will I get in trouble if I just push him out into the yard in his wheelchair and lock the door?" Needless to say, there are deep-rooted family dysfunctions that we aren't going to be able to fix at this point!! I did tell her that first, we are going to pretend she didn't tell me that. I advised her that if he was being abusive, she needed to call the police as this is out of my scope of practice. The social worker was immediately dispatched and APS called to assist in helping this family with alternate resources for care. A really funny one was during nursing school when my colleague was trying to get blood from a fingerstick to do an accucheck. She was telling me her frustrations when she "couldn't get any blood out of that little prick"! We just about lost it!!

MD office for me, as long as he wasn't one of those MD's that thought you were also his personal assistant! Dream job: WalMart Greeter at $100K a year...hee hee :wlcmhnds:

I started home health after only one year in oncology. My advice is to go with a larger home health company where you will have ample opportunity to train, and not be thrown out there on your own because they're short staffed. Tell whomever you interview with that you're a bit rusty, and ask for a good preceptor. A really good manager will take the time to foster your skills and your love for a very different kind of nursing. Give it at least six months to decide if you love it or hate it, home health isn't for everyone. But when I was a single mom of four small children, it was the perfect job!

I like Legz' idea of calling report then that nurse transfers the patient with an add'l report. That way the responsibility is in their face to do a good job. If you are not ready to accept a pt to the floor there is one simple solution - don't take report!! Tell them you are in shift change and you want to give them your undivided attention, so you'll call them back in ____ minutes! Once you take report, the responsibility is then yours. Lots o'luck!

You've already gone to the manager, so follow your chain of command and go to their boss. At the same time, I'd go look for another job (before you quit) because even if you get some resolution to your situation - we all know we are never truly "free from the fear of retribution". In other words, you'll still be working in the same environment. Next time you are promised certain things with employment, learn from this and ask for it in writing. As a footnote, this is probably the one thing I really HATE about being in nursing. It's the only profession that eats their own young. I saw it in nursing school, and I see it every day in the work place. I'm probably going to get it for saying this, but IMHO it's because it's primarily a FEMALE profession!! (now I'm running and hiding! LOL) :chair:

Oy vey - because I live in a glass house, (as I'm sure most do) I am going to just answer the OP and not throw any rocks. I live in Texas and I've worked for hospital, MD office, and various home health/hospice companies over the last 15 or so years. I've always been through the pre-employment drug screens, usually urine only, and never had to be called for a "random". This is costly for the employer to randomly screen, so all I can assume is that they won't call you for one unless there is suspicion that you are impaired while you're working. Because we choose to be in a profession where peoples lives are dependent on the fact that we can think clearly, our licensing boards have to watch out for the public (NOT US!). Therefore you are taking the risk by recreationally using drugs when you are off of work, and then having a positive drug screen. You WILL lose your license. Even worse, if something happens to a patient you're caring for and you have a positive drug screening, you can even be criminally charged and do jail time, or be in a civil suit - or all of the above. Maybe go sell cars until you're done living it up? LOL - this is funny because I did sell cars at one point in my life, and it was the only pre-employment drug screen that analyzed hair!!

You don't need to do any reporting. In Texas, nurses who have had psychiatric issues - even YEARS ago - have been yanked by the BNE and forced to participate in TPAPN. I'm not bitter... :nuke:

Kudos to you for writing about it - I know that helps me immensely! My only advice is what ever you do, do it privately. Do NOT get the board or any other nurse-related assistance program involved! If you do happen to get "referred" because of your licensure or someone thinking they are helping you, get a lawyer before you sign anything. There are options out there for help, and there are professionals who will listen to you, keep the public safety in mind, and treat you like a human being without a cookie-cutter approach to recovery. My prayers are with you!