Stealing drugs!! what's your opinion?????

stressednurse · Dec 6, 2003

Could be Bi-Polar too. Manic is simular. Not safe but not illegal either.

CCU NRS · Dec 6, 2003

No it was definately tweeking behavior or the act of tweeking behavior. After all was said and done I ended up wondering if it was just a bight idea to get a lawsuit started. thsi person eminated the addict life. If you know one or have ever been around addicts it is hard to miss.

DoctorRN · Dec 6, 2003

My experience with this was that I was the one who "ratted out" the user.

Very popular nurse and I was the unfortunate one to catch her immediately after she had given an IM injection (she had a large circular blood stain on her hip). There were two "extra" demerol injections signed out to a patient who when asked knew exactly how many shots she had gotten on shift. There had been multiple incidences of her "giving" signing out more meds than were ordered for patients but everyone thought she was just helping out patients who had intractable pain. I called a friend for advice and the friend called our boss. I should have confronted the girl right then and there. Instead she was gone home before everything was reported. Long story short, she refused to have drug testing and was asked to resign because she wouldn't submit. She claimed that the blood was from her period and that I was out to get her.

There was a rift in the staff, I became the villian to about half of the nurses. She and her spouse made death threats towards me... it was a nightmare.

I learned a VERY important lesson, if you catch someone or suspect someone is using don't let them go home, call a supervisor to come immediately.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 6, 2003

Originally posted by DoctorRN
My experience with this was that I was the one who "ratted out" the user.
Very popular nurse and I was the unfortunate one to catch her immediately after she had given an IM injection (she had a large circular blood stain on her hip). There were two "extra" demerol injections signed out to a patient who when asked knew exactly how many shots she had gotten on shift. There had been multiple incidences of her "giving" signing out more meds than were ordered for patients but everyone thought she was just helping out patients who had intractable pain. I called a friend for advice and the friend called our boss. I should have confronted the girl right then and there. Instead she was gone home before everything was reported. Long story short, she refused to have drug testing and was asked to resign because she wouldn't submit. She claimed that the blood was from her period and that I was out to get her.
There was a rift in the staff, I became the villian to about half of the nurses. She and her spouse made death threats towards me... it was a nightmare.
I learned a VERY important lesson, if you catch someone or suspect someone is using don't let them go home, call a supervisor to come immediately.

Amazing. Even if you were wrong, the staff shouldn't have treated you like a villian. But very good advice indeed.

vwgirl · Dec 7, 2003

Ok, call me stupid, but if the drug screen was negative both times, how could she be using? How closely were the samples monitored? Did they do a hair test, because that is supposed to be the definitive. Also, I know that with symptoms of my mental illlness, I have almost certainly presented as high on something at sometime, when I was just sick and needed my meds adjusted, and I have over eight years clean. I had a nervous breakdown at work and they pulled me off the floor because I was not safe to work; I can't imagine why that is not possible to do with the nurse at your job. I have also had to report someone who came to work smelling of alcohol; it was really an awful experience, but she was an LPN I was supervising and I was scared to have her work under my license.

Lemonhead · Dec 7, 2003

I really only had one experience along these lines--I worked with a girl that we were pretty sure was drinking either on the job or immediately before and snorting during--she smelled of alcohol and when she went out on breaks, when she came back she was revved up----This was before "my" problem and I was worried one night when she was trying to take care of an asthmatic and she was SOAKED with sweat, shaking and had a beady eyed look about her...I just grabbed one of my other coworkers and asked what she would do--we reported it to the charge nurse, who approached her, told her that she had 2 choices, leave immediately and voluntarily seek help and stay off until she was "better"--the charge nurse told her that if she wanted to "deny" the problem and continue working, she would immediately report her--the girl was livid, but she left--ended up on a long personal leave, but ended up doing okay-went to rehab, the whole 9 yards---I always admired the charge nurse for that--at the time, I thought she was kind of crazy for taking on the responsibility of NOT reporting it, but, she was very firm and direct, but also kept the situation completely confidential-, she also got a nurse out of direct care immediately in a way that, in my opinion, kind of forced the nurse to get help. The few of us that knew what had happened, kind of had a feeling the charge nurse had maybe "been there, done that" because it was handled so well.

It's a very tough call for me right now...honest to God, I don't think I could report someone if I thought they would have to go through the things I had. I also would not want to see a patient in danger--I think I'd probably confront them directly and take it from there---it is a tough call and there really are other things that could be making someone act "different", so it's definately a fine line.

Oh, and just a little FYI--for someone using narcs, especially excessive doses--the narcs will eventually have the opposite effect and act as stimulants.....that's why some nurses can "function" on such high doses of these meds....

Lemonhead · Dec 7, 2003

Chris is dead, I can't help but believe if he had been told there were other ways he might have been ok. [/b]

I can't even tell you how many people fell through the cracks because of the refusal of the treatment community to individualize and take responsibility for care.....if you can't make it in the 12 steps, you are made to believe you are a failure. Plus, as I've said before, the 12 steps is "used" by the courts and boards as a type of mental health substitute--courts will order AA/NA, but order no additional mental health---and no alternatives.

There are so many stories, but here's the one that just infuriates me--A young couple, husband abuses wife, after drinking. They go to court, no marital counseling or mental health counseling ordered, just 12 step meetings...so, they come to these meetings, the wife comes along to "support' her husband. One night, after a meeting, we were standing in a circle talking..the husband tells his "sponsor" that he's having some problems and that he's pist all the time. The wife says, "yeah, he's irritable"...Okay, now, the guy is no longer drinking and he's STILL having anger issues and agitation--so, the sponsor --who is basically in "charge" of this guy's "care"...he chastised him in front of everyone, told him if he had been doing his homework (reading the Big Book), he wouldn't feel that way....didn't suggest he see a counselor, didn't suggest anything, just made the kid feel like an ass for not "following the program"....well, within 2 days, he raped and strangled his wife to death in front of his 2 young kids..but guess what? At a meeting, the members said if the kid had "worked the program" this wouldn't have happened....they put it all back over on the kid--no mention of a court letting this kid slip, no mention of a "sponsor" that was dispensing mental health advice....because once again, the courts have this insane idea that the "alcohol" problem has to be "treated" first..the problem is, it's "treated" by lay people in unmonitored meetings....scary thought....

CCU NRS · Dec 7, 2003

Originally posted by vwgirl
Ok, call me stupid, but if the drug screen was negative both times, how could she be using? How closely were the samples monitored? Did they do a hair test, because that is supposed to be the definitive. Also, I know that with symptoms of my mental illlness, I have almost certainly presented as high on something at sometime, when I was just sick and needed my meds adjusted, and I have over eight years clean. I had a nervous breakdown at work and they pulled me off the floor because I was not safe to work; I can't imagine why that is not possible to do with the nurse at your job. I have also had to report someone who came to work smelling of alcohol; it was really an awful experience, but she was an LPN I was supervising and I was scared to have her work under my license.

They do make drink and pills that you can take that will guarantee a clean urine test within 8-10 hours, so this person could be high and take this product and test negative.

BarbPick · Dec 7, 2003

children want mind alteration and they spin on the merry go round on the play ground to feel high, enough already

Big Bab's · Dec 7, 2003

Originally posted by BarbPick
children want mind alteration and they spin on the merry go round on the play ground to feel high, enough already

If it were as easy as that then we wouldn't even be here talking about it......the bottom line is that we NEED to talk about this....the more we know, the better off we'll be.....this is NOT an issue that should be swept under the rug, that kind of thinking is what got us where we are today.

BarbPick · Dec 7, 2003

then make it pro active and start a new thread. I wish I had the time to sit here today and come up with a new twist . Will try to later

cannoli · Dec 7, 2003

What is "tweeking behavior"?