First and foremost, before"turning any Nurse in", triple check yourself. This is that persons' lively-hood and possibly making an assumption that could be wrong can take that persons' job and career away. Also, understand that just because someone has been in a Nurse Monitoring program, he or she may not have a substance abuse or diversion problem. Here what IS happening....True Fact: Many Nurses have a complaint filed, ie; suspicion. The downhill spiral begins. Your Nurse Monitoring agency in the State get's your name and circumstance. Guess what? It's almost easier to say ok....get an eval, do drug screens, etc., than to pay crazy amounts to a lawyer, have your life on hold, sometimes for years to attempt to prove your not. Now, here is another reality. Some Nurses do have an addiction illness, and some Nurses will steal medication for addiction and for profit. I have studied the monitoring program as well as the Nursing Board in my state. It seems to be easier to go ahead and have someone monitored, even if it is only hear-say; protect the community. This is where changes need to be made; help those who need the help. And remember, addiction treatment is a HIGH money making business. Most Nurse Monitoring programs are in place to make money too...now that is a hard pill to swallow! So, please make certain before accusing, turning in and/or judging, get your own facts straight. We need each other! If you are aware of someone who DOES have an addiction illness, it is our responsibility to protect our patients too. Give it to management and let them investigate. Falsely accusing a Nurse could have you facing the Board, even though you have good intentions.
