Tired of impaired nurses

[epipusher]

Ok...I have been a nurse for almost 20 years and thought I had seen it all. My current employer seems to be a becon for impaired nurses. We currently have 3. The latest one is causing loads of issues. She was a great nurse that worked with us for 1 year. It was found out that she was removing approximately 40 percocets per shift for patients she was not assigned to. Management aproached her and sent her for a drug test. Since she had a personal prescription for the drug, nothing was done. Many of the staff were very uncomfortable when she was around. (She was not signing the MAR--you had to look in the pxysis for the last dose given) Management pushed the issue and she up and quit. Well 6 months go by and she is back (rumor has it that she was terminated from the last place). I questioned my manager about this and she said there would be stipulations. I see none. Her first day back was today and I snooped around in the pxysis. She gave 10 percocet in one shift and once again failed to sign them out on the MAR. None of these patients are alert enough to report that they had not gotten the medication.

What can I do? Does any one know what actions I can take if management continues to turn a blind eye? I know we are short on RN's, but this is crazy. We already have a tough enough job without worrying about team members stealing drugs! A group of us are really upset and not sure what steps to take next. Help!!!

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

When it comes to nurses stealing drugs i have very little tolerance.

Stealing meds to feed an addication is an unforgivable breach of trust. If you are unable to go to work and not steal drugs then do the right thing and leave the profession and seek help. You have a responsibility to your patients and to the hospital. When you steal drugs you let down the hospital, the nursing profession, your patients and yourself.

i agree with you i have little tolerance with nurses stealing drugs . they take away from the pt's who need it, i don't know how they sleep at night. i know it's addiction , but it is just not to be tolerated. we had a nurse steal diluaded , she did it for a long time and finally she was caught.. she was found alseep in a pt's bathroom, with the needle in her hand. i called metro and she called the bON in front of me and the nurse manager.. and confessed.., she is actually doing very well now and it has been rehab for acouple of years .. i am happy for her getting better because i really liked her. she will be getting her license back in 2008. she is a wonderful nurse and a good person. she just had a problem. i speak to her on the phone at least once a week. i hold no ill will toward her. even though i hold no ill will toward her.. i would watch her like a hawk if i ever worked with her again.. i don't trust to easily...

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

i agree with you i have little tolerance with nurses stealing drugs . they take away from the pt's who need it, i don't know how they sleep at night. i know it's addiction , but it is just not to be tolerated. we had a nurse steal diluaded , she did it for a long time and finally she was caught.. she was found alseep in a pt's bathroom, with the needle in her hand. i called metro and she called the bON in front of me and the nurse manager.. and confessed.., she is actually doing very well now and it has been rehab for acouple of years .. i am happy for her getting better because i really liked her. she will be getting her license back in 2008. she is a wonderful nurse and a good person. she just had a problem. i speak to her on the phone at least once a week. i hold no ill will toward her.

That's kind of how I feel as well. No tolerance for them while they are stealing. Swift removal from patient care immeidately upon discovery. But compassion if they can recover and become the good nurses they were meant to be. I feel they deserve this one, and probably only one, chance. Good for your coworker for coming clean and staying clean. Good for you for not abandoning your hopes in her.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

That's kind of how I feel as well. No tolerance for them while they are stealing. Swift removal from patient care immeidately upon discovery. But compassion if they can recover and become the good nurses they were meant to be. I feel they deserve this one, and probably only one, chance. Good for your coworker for coming clean and staying clean. Good for you for not abandoning your hopes in her.

yes i know her well enough to know she's good person, but i just couldn't trust her again. she is going into case mangement when she gets back to nursing.. thank you for the good thoughts.. happy holidays to you all

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

i just read in my nursing news book that i get from the bON in my state. it asks the question. Can a CNA or nurse work if they are taking perscribed narcotics? the board answered the question if the person has a legal perscription and is not impaired in anyway while practicing, this would not be a violation of the nurse practice act.... at least what it says in nevada. what do other states say? i thought that was interesting. because i thought differently. by the way i love all your posts and i am sure glad to know you all.

[Bugaloo]

I wrote about this particular subject here. It is a very real problem in nursing, sadly.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

I wrote about this particular subject here. It is a very real problem in nursing, sadly.

i just read that.. yes it is very sad.. very well written thank you for sharing that link.

[Cattitude]

I wrote about this particular subject here. It is a very real problem in nursing, sadly.

Yes it is. Addiction is a problem in society and nurses are not exempt. Unfortunately, people want to look at it as a logical problem and addiction is not a logical disease.

Stealing/Diverting narcs is sick, sick behavior. No nurse WANTS to do that. But unless you have had your soul stomped on and your heart ripped to shreds by this disease, you just can't possibly understand. So it's very, very easy to say "I can't tolerate a nurse that diverts." or "They must immediately get help. They only get one chance".

It's very simple to say these things when you are on the other side of the fence. Because I was once hanging out on that side of the fence too. Me, an addict? Ha! Never! That only happened to people with no control and that was NOT me.

Well, I will again say that it was and IS me. The day that I finally admitted I had a problem was like I ran my head into a brick wall. I can honestly say that if it can happen to me, it can happen to any one of you too. Don't EVER say never because that it was I thought. In my nurse support groups, we all look like all of you. We have families and friends and kids and pets. We have great jobs and volunteer and hobbies. We look good and we drive, we shop, we are NORMAL human beings and we are nurses. Stop judging us as of this moment and try and learn something about this disease. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy but if it happened to any of you, I now know that I'd give you a hug and a shoulder to lean on.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Yes it is. Addiction is a problem in society and nurses are not exempt. Unfortunately, people want to look at it as a logical problem and addiction is not a logical disease.

Stealing/Diverting narcs is sick, sick behavior. No nurse WANTS to do that. But unless you have had your soul stomped on and your heart ripped to shreds by this disease, you just can't possibly understand. So it's very, very easy to say "I can't tolerate a nurse that diverts." or "They must immediately get help. They only get one chance".

It's very simple to say these things when you are on the other side of the fence. Because I was once hanging out on that side of the fence too. Me, an addict? Ha! Never! That only happened to people with no control and that was NOT me.

I appreciate you putting a "face" to the suffering of the nurse. I can certainly appreciate that it's a horrific experience that I can't relate to because I haven't been there.

I'm not understanding your crticism of us who say it's easy to say....such and such. I'm not afraid to say it's quite easy for me to say "these nurses need to be removed from practice immediately and provided help". Is there anything wrong with that? Does that mean I'm being judgemental? Does not mean I'm not compassioante to your pain?

I'm compassionate to the pain of an alcholic that drinks and drives. But I still say they need to be removed from the road immediately.

[Cattitude]

I appreciate you putting a "face" to the suffering of the nurse. I can certainly appreciate that it's a horrific experience that I can't relate to because I haven't been there.

I'm not understanding your crticism of us who say it's easy to say....such and such. I'm not afraid to say it's quite easy for me to say "these nurses need to be removed from practice immediately and provided help". Is there anything wrong with that? Does that mean I'm being judgemental? Does not mean I'm not compassioante to your pain?

I'm compassionate to the pain of an alcholic that drinks and drives. But I still say they need to be removed from the road immediately.

It's hard at times to get the complete meaning of words across in a post! I was not intending to sound critical at all. Of course nurses in active addiction should not be working. That goes without saying but I'll say it anyway. No one in active use should be in pt. care. I think that monitoring programs do work.

I guess I also meant was that it is quite easy to decide what should happen to nurses when you are not personally connected in any way. I'm asking people to think of a person for once. There is a person behind that addiction. It could be you, your husband, your wife, daughter, etc. One just never ,ever knows. And what of the nurse that is clean and has been for a couple of years? There are still many who would like that nurse to be tarred and feathered and never to work again.

An addicted nurse is a sick nurse, plain and simple. How would you treat a nurse with cancer? With heart disease? Unfortunately, with addiction, many times lying and stealing are part of the course. Addiction brings out horrendous parts in a person. It stinks and it's horrible and until people treat the addicted with a teeny bit of compassion, more will go untreated.

I know that if I had been treated with compassion, I would have gotten help a LOT sooner than I did. I know and truly understand that there are some that just can't garner empathy for the addicted nurse. I get it. I sincerely hope addiction never touches their life in any way. It's a terrible wake up call.

Through my journey, I have learned how to be a better person, how not to be judgmental towards a lot of things. 12 steps helps you grow in many more ways than one.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

we are all human and i agree it can happen to anyone. thats why i did not judge my friend. i love her and we all have weaknesses.. i'll send you a hug cattitude.. you sound like a brave strong woman..

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

For myself, I remain judgemental

Once a trust is violated I am not known for restoring that trust, and it is certainly not easily restored by me.

[lamazeteacher]

i just read in my nursing news book that i get from the bON in my state. it asks the question. Can a CNA or nurse work if they are taking perscribed narcotics? the board answered the question if the person has a legal perscription and is not impaired in anyway while practicing, this would not be a violation of the nurse practice act.... at least what it says in nevada. what do other states say? i thought that was interesting. because i thought differently. by the way i love all your posts and i am sure glad to know you all.

Pain, even a bad headache can impair a Nurse more than narcotics (taken seldom in a reasonable, appropriate, prescribed amount). I never thought it was a crime to relieve pain and become more reliable as a Nurse, thinking clearly without or with less severe pain. When my arthritic knee acts up, especially when the weather is damp, if narcotic free OTCs don't work, I take my prescribed Tylenol #3, becoming able to continue working, talking and charting coherently.

Having spent my formative years in Canada, with a mother who had chronic migraines, which were relieved with OTC aspirin with 1/8 grain codeine, tabs ii, it never occurred to me, nor did it when I worked with Nurses there who took them for various aches and pains, and were able then to work, that anything immoral or illegal occurred. There was caffeine in the formula of most of those tablets, which may have offset any somnolant symptoms. However, it's been my and others' observations that when pain truly exists, unless more narcotic than is necessary, is taken, there are no untoward symptoms.

Interestingly enough, addiction to codeine is relatively minimal in Canada and other countries wherein codeine is available OTC. Heaven only knows how many people driving cars and trucks have taken it, and other than weather caused accidents, there isn't a greater incidence of accidents when the driver has taken (again) a "reasonable" amount of it. There is no warning against driving or handling other equipment while taking it. Yet in the United States, that warning is posted on prescribed small amounts of codeine........