Terminated. Pursue a Lawsuit?

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So I work in an ER. I am pretty new to nursing. I was called in to HR to explain why I had overridden Benadryl multiple times and not given it. Also a handful of times I did not waste excess narcotics appropriately. I explained my thought process on having the Benadryl in case I needed it and that the issues with waste were due to no one being around to waste with. I acknowledged I was wrong and was willing to do any education/disciplinary things they wanted. This was agreed upon at the time. After having meetings canceled and no phone calls for weeks they finally called me back in. They put me on unpaid leave. Essentially said I was lying. No drug testing or talking to my direct supervisor. I have another better job so I resigned that day. 4 days later they terminated me for performance issues.

So my question is that many friends have recommended I talk to a lawyer. Should I? Or should I just let it go and move on? Please help!

Specializes in Utilization Review.
Narcotics that cannot be accounted for are not "something petty."

My thoughts exactly. This is not an issue taken lightly. Good luck to OP. You can talk to a lawyer, but if this goes to the BON, it is likely your license will be suspended, if not revoked.

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Specializes in Critical care.

Where I work the Pyxis always pops up with the prompt asking if I'm administering the full amount for any controlled substance and you hit the "yes" or "no" button. If no is selected then before we can pull the med we have to have another nurse co-sign in the Pyxis as witness. Is this unique to my facility or something most facilities have implemented? If it's an IV med I will pull it up and waste it right then and there. If it's a pill then I administer it right away and then immediately find the nurse who witnessed in the Pyxis and waste it in the sharps with her watching. If for some strange reason I cannot find the same nurse I will find another witness and we will both let the original witness know. Unfortunately I can't open pills until they've been scanned since opening them makes the barcode unreadable.

I once pulled a med the patient requested and then the patient changed her mind. I was having a hard time returning it since it was documented that I had already wasted half. Nobody knew what to do, I was new, and I didn't want to walk around with a vial of dilaudid in my pocket. I went straight to my manager, who was also unsure how to return it, but it was decided we would document in the Pyxis and waste the entire vial together. I later found out there was a way to return it, but it was complicated and it's rarely done. You can't get sloppy with wasting since it's for your protection. Just like the summer I was a camp counselor: nobody was allowed to be alone with a camper- it was to protect the camper, counselor (from false allegations), and the camp.

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Read and know your nursing policies!! Narcotic waste is very time sensitive and is controlled by the federal government...it's not optional, and it can't be explained away to a nursing board panel or any other investigatory body by excuses like nobody being around, or being too busy. Narcotics are called "controlled" substance and categorized for a reason. All hospitals have strict controlled substance policies based on the law, and it's illegal to carry narcotics around without having a witnessed waste. If there's really no one around or able to help you, call a supervisor to come waste it with you! And document EVERYTHING. You don't have grounds for any lawsuit when you violate hospital policies and federal laws. At least you still have your license to practice!

Also, ALL narcotics, including pills, needs to be wasted down a drain - either a sink or a toilet. They should not be dropped into the trash or sharps container. Even a Fentanyl patch is supposed to be flushed down a toilet with a witness. This is the legal nurse in me coming out!! We nurses have to watch our backs...we seem to be the disposable employees these days, and I see many issues where the nurse is the fall-guy/scapegoat. You have to know your policies, and question practice if there is no policy. It's hard to explain from a deposition or in a trial why you did something either against policy or without one in the first place.

I had a situation where a doctor planned to perform a procedure on my unit - it was a pain protocol using high doses of ketamine and versed, and he wanted to just let it play out on my NON-ICU unit. I refused to allow it to happen, even when my manager said it would be okay. I disagreed and insisted on seeing a written policy for his protocol. He produced a document that was stamped "DRAFT" along the bottom, and there was no hospital policy for his protocol. Needless to say, it didn't happen on our unit, and the doctor was very upset with me. I didn't care since I'm not there to make him happy...I'm there to keep my patients safe and cared for. Come to find out, that patient needed to be in an ICU or a PACU setting for the protocol he wanted to do on my unit, where we staff with 2 nurses for 8 patients, and he expected one of us to be in the room for the entire day!!

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Specializes in Reproductive & Public Health.
Where I work the Pyxis always pops up with the prompt asking if I'm administering the full amount for any controlled substance and you hit the "yes" or "no" button. If no is selected then before we can pull the med we have to have another nurse co-sign in the Pyxis as witness. Is this unique to my facility or something most facilities have implemented?

I have not seen this in the 3 hospitals I have worked at. In theory it sounds like a GREAT idea, but when I think of some of the crazy busy LDRP shifts I've had at my small community hospital, having to cosign when you pull the med AND when you waste it would be almost impossible, barring a nurse hired specifically to man the pyxis.

That is a reflection of inadequate staffing more than anything else, though. Barring emergencies, it SHOULD be feasible for nurses to get a witness in a timely fashion, and it stresses me out when I end up walking around with a half full vial of stadol (taped to the inside of my scrub pocket, with extra tape so I can "feel" that it is there and not forget it) for a couple hours (or the end of my shift!) because I am 1:1 with my patient and can't get relief to step away, let alone relief AND a witness to waste with me in the pyxis that seems to be deliberately located as far away as possible from the most heavily used part of the unit.

Hopefully my experience is not common.

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Specializes in Med Surg/ICU/Psych/Emergency/CEN/retired.

Also, ALL narcotics, including pills, needs to be wasted down a drain - either a sink or a toilet. They should not be dropped into the trash or sharps container. Even a Fentanyl patch is supposed to be flushed down a toilet with a witness. This is the legal nurse in me coming out!! We nurses have to watch our backs...we seem to be the disposable employees these days, and I see many issues where the nurse is the fall-guy/scapegoat. You have to know your policies, and question practice if there is no policy. It's hard to explain from a deposition or in a trial why you did something either against policy or without one in the first place.

A huge no-no where I last worked. Never ever could a waste go anywhere but the locked narc metal waste container. That included squirting a waste in there. But that was the policy. I would giggle thinking someone might lick the sink. I have witnessed more than one ER patient digging in the sharp's container though looking for a smig.

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The title of your thread is "Terminated. Pursue a Lawsuit?" Who, exactly, were you referring to suing, if not the hospital??

Or to protect yourself against patients, any number of whom ask for an itemized bill, who is charged a hundred bucks for each and every benedryl that you take out under their name and they did not receive any benedryl--and if Medicare, could prevent you for ever working for a place that accepts Medicare.....which is just about everywhere.

OP, perhaps your co-workers suggested an attorney so that you could protect yourself.

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Perhaps I am having a brunette moment this morning, but I need a question answered. Does Benadryl have the potential for abuse and I never knew about it?

Benedryl in large quantities provides a paradoxyl effect. However, most people who have dependence issues use large quantities of narcotics that make one itch like crazy. So instead of itching one's skin raw and risk being questioned about why they are continually itching, one uses benedryl.

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please be careful at your other job with narcs. I've made it a point to do it by the books with that one.

A) I sign the narc count before I administer so I don't forget

b) I do not let anyone distract me when I'm signing out or administering a narc

and c) I properly waste when I need

please follow the rules and policy to the T with Meds and narcs especially, no matter what system your facility has.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg.
Also, ALL narcotics, including pills, needs to be wasted down a drain - either a sink or a toilet.

Actually, in New York State this is prohibited by the Dept of Environmental Conservation in order to protect our water. (Of course many people do still waste meds in this manner). Technically, we are supposed to dispose of meds by rendering them unusable and disposing in the trash or waste container. Nothing should be flushed or wasted down the drain. (Removed Fentanyl patches are still flushed down the toilet, as they are not considered to contain enough medication to cause harm to the water after they have been used)

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We all work hard to get to where we want to be in our careers. Seems like you got a good job, and lost it over something petty! If they told me to wear Pink with Green socks I would do it. Follow the rules. Very simple. I think you should be Thankful that is all that happened to you.

I had overridden Benadryl multiple times and not given it. Also a handful of times I did not waste excess narcotics appropriately.

Not petty.

I often over-ride for a drug I think I might use. For example, a seizure PT I think might seize again. I might over-ride for Ativan. THEN I RETURN IT. I might get called out for for not following a policy, but there will be no question of personal gain, and no charge to the patient.

As far as "wasting appropriately". Despite people being on their high horses about it, in many facilities, narcotics are rarely wasted appropriately. The only way to do it is to have another nurse witness the narc being opened, then drawn and wasted. The way I have seen it done in a half dozen ERs (and how I do it) is complete nonsense, and I am flabbergasted it is tolerated. But, I do what is the norm in whichever unit, and have never seen anybody called for doing the same. Gotta be some reason Girly was singled out.

But regarding the OP:

Girly nurse did something so far out of the norms of her (or his) unit as to call attention to herself. That is a huge red flag. And, there is of course the missing benadryl. If you are curious about the abuse potential of benadryl, just ask a drug abuser.

And Girly is offended that HR questions her credibility, treating her like a liar.

I was not referring to suing the hospital. I was merely asking about contacting a lawyer.

After starting a thread about pursuing a lawsuit.

Yup, could be a credibility issue.

FWIW Girly, your claims are so questionable that maybe they are legit. Much like the kid whose dog actually ate the homework, the guy whose oxy's really did fall in toilet, the MVC driver who actually had only 2 beers, and the guy who was just minding his own business and was assaulted for the third time this month, you are stuck with an incredible story.

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As a nurse myself, I believe that you are correct in that you should pursue a lawyer. The lawyer would be a great benefit to your situation and he or she would also help be a voice for you as well. The lawyer would also give you help in the future if this were to ever happen again. I think that it is wise to get someone in your corner so that they can be a resource to you. Thank you for your post. Marcella 5/19/16

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I think its time you move on to a new career path. It is actually horrifying to think that you are actually a working as a nurse.

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