Pyxis problems

It does not matter if the pyxis  requires a witness. You know as a nurse that any waste needs a witness.

You have been terminated over a controlled substance issue. We cant help you. You need  your  malpractice insurance  and an attorney.

Wishing you the best.

I am afraid I have to agree with BeenThere. If the pyxis wasnt working correctly you still needed to document the waste. You could have either called Pharmacy to fix it or document it on the MAR (or whatever they told you). At this point you should probably contact a lawyer that specializes in these matters. 

Hope it works out and wishing you well!!

Yea narcotics are nothing to mess with. Glad I work where we do not touch them.

There are times with Pyxis that even if you have a waste it won’t ask you for a waste.  I still waste with a witness.  Say your fentanyl order is for 50-100mcg.  You pull 100mcg.  The Pyxis will not ask you for a waste.  But if you document on the emar that you gave 50mcg, you still need to waste in the Pyxis with a witness even though it will not ask you for a waste.  
 

At least in my facility the Pyxis and emar are two separate entities not connected.  A pharmacist does the actual auditing between the two.  
 

You absolutely always need a witness to waste and if I ever have an issue, I’m on the phone with pharmacy ASAP.  I clear it up right there and never leave discrepancies or anything I do to the imagination.

the only time the pyxis didn't ask me to waste is we're using the entire tablet. you just click "I'm administering the whole dose. no waste to document." someone still has to sign it out in the computer system MAR thing though

we don't use a pyxis for meds. we have Omnicell. Our pyxis is for supplies and things like fluids. 

yes, I understand that even if the Pyxis didn't ask for a waste that I have to document it with a witness. I did document with a witness and when I told the manager about the Pyxis not asking for a witness she basically called me a liar "because nobody else reported that issue". My ORIGINAL question was "HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THE ISSUE OF THE PYXIS NOT ASKING FOR A WITNESS?"  With all due respect, I don't really care if you don't use Pyxis, glad you don't use Pyxis, or you use Omnicell. I am looking for answers to my question. I don't enjoy being called a liar when the Pyxis DIDN'T ask for a witness. 

So... you had a witness for the waste. You were terminated for bringing up a PYXIS issue?

Did it happen when you initially pulled the narcotic, or did you specifically choose the WASTE function and it didn't ask for a witness? Where did you end up documenting the waste? Do you know why that wasn't sufficient documentation? (or is that not the issue)

BTDT, yes, that is exactly what happened. They said that since that issue never happened to anyone else then I must be lying. They wouldn't even let me show them exactly what happened. I pulled out the medication, pulled out what I needed from the vial. Another RN witnessed the amount and since the Pyxis did not ask for a witness to waste, we both charted on the MAR of that patient. I brought it to the attention of our manager who promptly wrote me up, reported me to the Board, and terminated me. Now the Board, in their one-sided "wisdom" investigated me and found me "guilty". I am now on 3 years probation, have to pay the state back for the amount spent on their "investigation", and have to try to find a job that will hire a nurse with a probationary license. I refused to sign an admission of guilt by the board because I have every intention of suing the hospital, the manager, and the DON. My lawyer took the case pro bono because she said it is a very good case and we should have no trouble winning in court. 

2 hours ago, avergowven said:

yes, I understand that even if the Pyxis didn't ask for a waste that I have to document it with a witness. I did document with a witness and when I told the manager about the Pyxis not asking for a witness she basically called me a liar "because nobody else reported that issue". My ORIGINAL question was "HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THE ISSUE OF THE PYXIS NOT ASKING FOR A WITNESS?"  With all due respect, I don't really care if you don't use Pyxis, glad you don't use Pyxis, or you use Omnicell. I am looking for answers to my question. I don't enjoy being called a liar when the Pyxis DIDN'T ask for a witness. 

People here are not against you--it's just that your initial post didn't say anything about actually having done a witnessed waste. I'm sorry for what you are going through, it sounds beyond unfair.

Unfortunately this sounds like a situation that might be highly specific to your hospital -- their policies, their programming and maintenance of the Pyxis and especially their attitude toward nurses.

Yes I have had Pyxis not ask for a waste in situations where I wanted to note that I wasted the medication with a witness. I did what you did, which was note it on the EMR. No one came after me. Still, I subsequently decided that any hint of aberrancy with Pyxis would be resolved immediately with pharmacist and/or house supervisor, due to the downright hateful attitudes I have seen and heard about regarding these topics.