Substance Abuse in the Workplace

[Born2bRN]

Hi,

I am in a twister and need some advice. Well, I work in a clinic, and I am the Charge Nurse. I have an LPN and 2 CMA's that work with me. The LPN was hired 3 months after I was, and I trained her on the unit. We became very close, and became good friends.

Well, here is where the story gets crazy. One day she came into work looking really disheveled. Her makeup was all wrong, and she spoke to me with slurred speech. I asked her if she was ok, and she said "yes, I am fine". I told her to go to the bathroom and fix herself up, and she did. I was a bit confused, but I went on with my day.

About 15 min. later, one of the Doc's came to me and said, "Someone gave my pt the wrong medication". I looked at the sheet and it was the LPN's signature next to the med. I went to her and I said, you gave the pt the wrong med. She looked right at me and denied it. I pointed out to her that it was her signature there, and she said, "oh, I did give that med. She crossed out the wrong one, and put the right med. I told her that she cannot do that because we are now unsure if she really gave it. She still denied that she gave the wrong med.

I then pulled her aside and asked her if she needed some coffee, and to tell me what's going on. She said she was fine, but I knew she wasn't so I pulled her off the floor and made her set appointments. Well, one of the Doc's handed her information to call Animal Control because a pt was bitten by a wild animal. As I came back from speaking with someone, I saw her on the phone. I went by to see what she was doing, and she was not making any sense on the phone. I asked her who she was speaking with, and she said "Animal Control". I let her finish talking, and I called them back. When I asked if they received a call from our clinic, they stated "NO" because there is only one person that handles animal bites, and she denied speaking with anyone from our facility.

So, I pulled her off the floor, notified my supervisor, and now she has been on leave without pay, evaluated by a physician, and mental health worker, and she was to come back after all the results were back UNTIL TODAY.

I decided to look her up on the Board of Nursing and found out that she had a previous disciplinary action of being impaired on the job and falsifing documentation related to controlled substances. My mouth dropped. She had done something like this before, and her probationary period prior just ended in April. My HR department obviously didn't know this or they wouldn't have hired her.

My question is, what should I do? I am a new RN (working for them for 9 months), and the youngest on the floor. I know this shouldn't be personal because I do have a responsibility to report this, but I really feel aweful about the things that are coming to my attention. My supervisor also doesn't know yet, but should I tell her tomorrow?

Sorry for the long post.

New RN and Charge Nurse

[leslie :-D]

yes, you definitely should inform your supervisor about everything.

this nurse does not sound safe to practice.

she needs an intervention.

someone needs to report her.

if she's not reported, she'll just go from job to job, getting high, lying to those around her, potentially endangering her pts and continuing on a downward spiral.

yes.

whatever it takes to get her help.

leslie

[MoopleRN]

Absolutely you should report it. I'm all for giving people 2nd (and even 3rd!) chances and she had one when she was hired at your clinic. She blew it. I wouldn't want to work with her. Do you?

[TazziRN, RN]

As her charge nurse you have the right to request that she provide a drug and alcohol screen (urine drug screen and BLOOD alcohol) if you think she is impaired. Then take it from there. If it's positive and can't be explained by legit scripts, then you would be obligated to report it to the BON.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Yes, patient advocate FIRST . .. friend second.

Sorry about the position you find yourself in . .. . really. :icon_hug:

steph