Tired of impaired nurses

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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!!!

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

Like many diseases, addiction has clues before it begins. Having family members with it, (like diabetes history), will predispose one to it. Responsibility starts with realization. If you require more than the usual amount of analgesia for clinical pain, that's another clue. If you drink to excess (with resultant physical symptoms), more than once, seeking the "buzz", you're vulnerable.

I remember my ex-husband (an alcoholic) saying "what has taste got to do with it?" when I commented that hard liquor hasn't a good taste for me..... that was a real warning, even though I knew him to frequently get "wasted".

That term is extraordinarily appropriate. He's an attorney, and his mind was "a terrible thing to waste".

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
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.

If everyone shared your belief, life sentences for all convicted prisoners would be the norm. Our taxes would go more to prisons than healthcare!

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
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.

You know if you look at statistics there are precious few of us that aren't touched by alcoholism and drug addiction, in our own immediate and distant families or even neighbors, friends and coworkers. It's a very common disease. You think there would be some understanding.

It's just so hard to keep that compassionate edge after all the denial and the lying and cheating that goes along with it, until the addict/alcoholic surrenders and gets help. I recently had to leave my 10-year relationship because his addiction. The lies and broken promises made it hard to feel compassion for his illness after a while. Did I treat him with compassion and understanding as I was trying not to enable and get help myself? Yes I can honestly say I did. Did I judge him as a bad person? Not really, I understand he has an illness. Could I stay and put up with his lies after he continually denied to get help? No.

Just because we demand a person leave a position, (or a marriage, or whatever) doesn't mean we don't understand it's an illness, their pain, or even that we are judging them. Still we must look after the patients, and ourselves.

I'm so sorry you were disrespected. Intervention should be medical and compassionate, not punitive. I'm always in awe of persons in recovery and have such an admiration, and definately think they should be given this chance to have their trust restored. Many impaired nurses in recovery have proven they are worthy to be trusted.

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Specializes in med/surg LTC ER PACU Occ Med.

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.

Tom I certainly hope you don't reap what you sew...what do you think some people might think of you if you contacted HIV or hepC? That you are promiscous or gay? That you use drugs IV? :nono: Quit being judgment! Karma has a way of slapping you in the face:trout:

What would you say if one of your children or family members became addicted? Alcoholics and drug addicts are not bad people! They are sick people who do a lot of horrible bad things; not because they are bad but because they are soul sick.

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Specializes in Lie detection.
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.

tom i certainly hope you don't reap what you sew...what do you think some people might think of you if you contacted hiv or hepc? that you are promiscous or gay? that you use drugs iv? :nono: quit being judgment! karma has a way of slapping you in the face:trout:

what would you say if one of your children or family members became addicted? alcoholics and drug addicts are not bad people! they are sick people who do a lot of horrible bad things; not because they are bad but because they are soul sick.

thank you for the words above. especially the ones highlighted in blue. we are not bad people, we have a bad disease. yes we may have done bad things but no one is perfect. i know i wasn't even long before addiction.

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Specializes in Lie detection.

It's just so hard to keep that compassionate edge after all the denial and the lying and cheating that goes along with it, until the addict/alcoholic surrenders and gets help. I recently had to leave my 10-year relationship because his addiction. The lies and broken promises made it hard to feel compassion for his illness after a while.

I completely understand how you feel. I was in a horrendous marriage to an alcoholic for years. I tolerated a lot of broken promises and I found it hard to find compassion. That is why I speak of it now.

I spent years even beating myself up for my illness. It took a long time to forgive myself and give compassion to me. But I grew to understand that it's ok to believe that people can get better. If they don't or they fail the first time, well it sucks for them and you have to decide whether or not to remain in their life.

I gave my ex husband a few tries. He did not want to get better and I had to leave for my own sanity. But I feel compassion for him today because I don't have to live with him. I can be supportive as his friend.

So many nurses just need to know that ONE person believes in them.

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.
Thank you for the words above. Especially the ones highlighted in blue. We are not bad people, we have a bad disease. Yes we may have done bad things but NO ONE is perfect. I know I wasn't even long before addiction.

kitty you are right. that is why when my friend had her problem , i just forgave her.. you are only human, your right noone is perfect and i am far from perfect myself.. take care

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I completely understand how you feel. I was in a horrendous marriage to an alcoholic for years. I tolerated a lot of broken promises and I found it hard to find compassion. That is why I speak of it now.

I spent years even beating myself up for my illness. It took a long time to forgive myself and give compassion to me. But I grew to understand that it's ok to believe that people can get better. If they don't or they fail the first time, well it sucks for them and you have to decide whether or not to remain in their life.

I gave my ex husband a few tries. He did not want to get better and I had to leave for my own sanity. But I feel compassion for him today because I don't have to live with him. I can be supportive as his friend.

So many nurses just need to know that ONE person believes in them.

My ex got plenty of chances as well before I finally woke up one day and said, enough is enough, that it's time for some consequences and I needed to move on.

I'm on the fence about nurses because I understand relapse is a symptom of recovery and the rate is very high. My first inclination is to give them one chance, get their act together, believe in them and not loose a good nurse. However, when a nurse relapses, I'm not sure it's worth it's worth the risk to keep giving them chances to recover. I understand everyone makes mistakes and a relapse does not mean they can't snap out of it and get it right from then on.

I can't know how hard it must be to not only deal with the devastation of addiction, but then to struggle with the lack of understanding of people treating you like a criminal never to be trusted again.

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

Hello, Loved Ones,

I hope this gives you all a little laugh, I was scrolling down allnurses and when I came to this thread I thought it was "Tired of Impacted Nurses". Must need a nap...zzzzzzzzz

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Thank you for the words above. Especially the ones highlighted in blue. We are not bad people, we have a bad disease. Yes we may have done bad things but NO ONE is perfect. I know I wasn't even long before addiction.

As a nurse in recovery myself (15 1/2 years clean and sober) I echo your words. I was over 40 years old before I developed this cunning, baffling, powerful disease but I am a healthier, happier woman now than I ever was prior to my first using or abusing drugs and alcohol. Recovery has been a blessing and I am eternally grateful. I used to respond to the question "who are you" by saying "I am a nurse". I now know that I am a lovable, fallible child of God and nursing is what I do, not who I am. There is a huge difference.

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Specializes in ICU, SDU, OR, RR, Ortho, Hospice RN.
Hello, Loved Ones,

I hope this gives you all a little laugh, I was scrolling down allnurses and when I came to this thread I thought it was "Tired of Impacted Nurses". Must need a nap...zzzzzzzzz

:lol2::lol2::lol2: Thanks for the giggles.. Nope not impacted here ;)

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i wish someone would help me understand that addiction is a disease, just like cancer?

i'm not buying into that....yet.

addiction may be a disease, but i can't sympathize with something that is self-inflicted, vs another that is out of one's control.

even w/me being physically addicted to cigarettes, i still recognize that i have the option to continue or stop:

and there are tools and other support systems out there, to help me...

no matter how hard.

my husband is an alcoholic, and comes from a long family hx of alcoholism.

he has relapsed sev'l times, and i see the struggles.

but he knows (after a 20 yr hx w/this man), that if he relapses one more time, we are gone.

period.

sympathy and intellectual understanding of a process, does not mean that choices have to stop for the others involved.

addiction is a disease that will always be gray- it is not as black and white, as just having a disease.

leslie

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