Ratted out a co-worker and now feel guilty

Nurses General Nursing

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Long story short:

I'm the oncoming nurse counting with the outgoing nurse. I find two narcotic count discrepancies. One narcotic was missing and one narcotic was NOT given as ordered. This was for two seperate patients. The nurse basically did false documentation to cover up the situation. I requested for us to get the DON involved right away but she didnt want to for the obvious reason. After we counted. I did get the don involved and gave a statement.

I feel super guilty but I knew I had to get it off my chest. I actually will get written up too for not immediately getting the DON During the count.

Nurses have to stick togheter and help eachother. I get that, which is why I feel so guilty. However, patients and my license come first. This will be a learning lesson for everyone.

I dont know about you, but I became a nurse for the patient, not to 'make friends'... The patient is my number one priority... I will always advocate for them and be their voice... Good job, you did the right thing!

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Oftentimes doing the right thing ain't easy. But guess what, if you didn't report her, you'd feel guilty too! Sad to say too that if the narcs were audited and you didn't report it, they could have blamed you-----so in this situation, it will be her a$$ or yours!

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Specializes in Home Care.
I work 3-11. The 11-7 nurse did not count with the 7-3 nurse. Thus when I counted the count was messed up. So basically the nurse never counted with the ofgoing nurse. That was a big no no.

Wow, that just wasn't smart of either the 11-7 or 7-3 nurse. Why didn't the 11-7 nurse get written up for not counting with the 7-3 nurse?

Don't feel guilty, you did the right thing.

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Long story short:

I'm the oncoming nurse counting with the outgoing nurse. I find two narcotic count discrepancies. One narcotic was missing and one narcotic was NOT given as ordered. This was for two seperate patients. The nurse basically did false documentation to cover up the situation. I requested for us to get the DON involved right away but she didnt want to for the obvious reason. After we counted. I did get the don involved and gave a statement.

I feel super guilty but I knew I had to get it off my chest. I actually will get written up too for not immediately getting the DON During the count.

Nurses have to stick togheter and help eachother. I get that, which is why I feel so guilty. However, patients and my license come first. This will be a learning lesson for everyone.

I have just one question, just how badly do you think the other nurse feels for putting you in a position where your choices were to lie or turn them in?

They're not thinking of you, you shouldn't feel guilty for doing the right thing. You didn't create this situation, and any ramifications the RN experiences aren't based on your actions....but on theirs.

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Specializes in GERIATRICS AND PRISON.

My husband said it best. You are setting the record straight. I do not like the work ratted out. If she made an honest mistake and was correcting it, the off to the boss you raced that is ratting.

I have seen diversion at its finest, where your coworker tries to pin the blame on you.

Your rep can save you if you do the right thing all the time.

;)

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While I believe in standing together, I don't believe in standing with a decision or action that can be considered either unethical, gray or illegal.

1st: Don't beat yourself up.

2nd: People who live in glass houses don't throw rocks... if you stay out of the glass house you can exercise those actions you deem fundamental to who "you are."

You can have all the moral guidance in the world, but if you don't have the moral courage to exercise it... it's worthless--it's obvious you have the moral courage.

- Lu

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"Ratted out a co-worker" is a lot like "got someone fired." Unless you reported your co-worker because you, too were guilty and you were covering your self or if you were dishonest when you reported a co-worker, you were doing the right thing. She made the mistake, she tried to cover it up, she tried to get you involved in the cover-up. You did nothing wrong...she did.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

There's no sticking together in this situation. Something is amiss and I wouldn't want to go down with this other nurse's ship...

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

You didn't "rat out" a co-worker; you were upholding the standards of your license. As they say in the "The Godfather": "It's not personal, it's business."

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

I still feel guilty sometimes for ratting out a co-worker years ago even though I wouldn't have changed anything and know I did the right thing-- guilt feelings aren't a sign that you made the wrong choice! Best wishes to you- you may be preventing something much worse from happening at another point down the road. :up:

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

Over the years I've been involved in discovering drug diversion more times than I can count. In each case it was found to be a long term, and the nurse finally got sloppy to get caught. Substance abuse is an illness. An impaired nurse is a danger. I'm all for more unity in nursing, but not when it covers up potentially dangerous behavior.

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Looking at it as "ratting out" doesn't help. I never understood that. If something is wrong and it needs to be reported, that's what needs to be done.

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