Tired of impaired nurses

TRAMA1RN · Dec 8, 2007

Most if not all hospitals have a compliance line, this is not only for billing and such complaints this line is confidential and anonymous, use this line to report this and follow up. Report it higher up the chain of command and keep documentation privately of course. I was fired after 4 1/2 years at an ER, for personality differences with a night shift supervisor. But numerous nurses have been kept that show up to work impaired. Besides the rampant unprofessional behavior that goes on. Document and keep records.

Katie91 · Dec 10, 2007

YES! What evilnightwitch said ....

These compliance lines are agencies not related to the institution, so there is no bias as far as they're concerned. Once they get a complaint, corporate compliance is obligated to report the complaint to the hospital's risk management department, and risk mgmt has a certain amount of time to report back to them with what they have done to correct the incident.

Do go through your chain of command first and document (in your own journal w/ time, date, incident, whom you reported the incident to and so on...), as many on this forum have suggested. Keep your nose clean and CYA.

You can keep the call anonymous, I would suggest you do, as unfortunately, the witch hunt could on you.

cmo421 · Dec 10, 2007

"rampant unprofessional behavior" seems to be more acceptable these days ,then not. Witch hunts against those who tire of such and report to the powers that be, is also more the norm. But , ethically, and morally,one does what one has to do. Agree with documentation and CYA ,statements. Sadly, those that are willing to go the road ,are those that are "punished"

walk6miles · Dec 10, 2007

We went through a full year with a nurse like this...management LOVED her.... BUT, she was a drug-stealing screw-the-patient- thief!

So, here is what someone did: they sent a letter to the Sheriff's department of the county the hospital resided in - the Police came and told the administrators "it is out of your hands - we will do something" and they did - the next day they put a camera above the drug box (no pyxis yet) and they caught her redhanded....she now sells million dollar real estate and makes more money than any of us together!!

Everyone swore it was me but it wasn't (if I had thought of it, I would have)!!!

The worst part is this: the hospital knew she had 2 remediations so when we began to complain about the drugs disappearing: instead of validating our feelings, they threatended to fire us if we kept complaining!!

Needlesstosay, I no longer work for such a shabby organization.

Good luck!

lamazeteacher · Dec 10, 2007

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

___________________________________________________________

Dear Leslie:

It would be very beneficial for you to go to "Alanon", which sets 12 steps for those related/living with a person who is addicted to alcohol.

You must have heard of it - it's everywhere, in the telephone book, and meetings are closeby, with others who deal with this disease, who tell you about their experiences that will convince you that it's a disease.

I understand that you're angry about your husband's behavior (or lack thereof), and that may be keeping you from acknowledging the root(s) of the illness. Appendicitis, we understand, cancer, yup, we understand

the helplessness of those who are afflicted. Those diseases can be cut out, and if discovered early eanough, yield a cure.

Addiction is in the mind, and different from brain cancer (as that may be operated upon and an attempt to cut it out occasionally results in a cure). There are many research programs ongoing about addiction, that have discovered a physical cause, but they haven't yet discovered a way to remove it.

I recently helped a friend who is a psychiatrist, by changing the dressing from surgery on her shoulder. Her surgeon didn't order Home Health for that, as she's a doctor.........huh? He also ordered only minimal analgesia for post surgical pain..........huh? What was he thinking? Well, if he'd had bad psychotherapy, maybe it was an angry thing, but she finally got a prescription for vicodin out of him, which worked just fine.

She acknowledges that she has an addictive personality, and wears several of those treatment patches for quitting smoking. However, while I was there, she mentioned that she needed to change one, but would have a cigarette before doing that! Typical addict sneaky behavior.

Knowing the information anyone needs about that, she was powerless at that moment, and afraid her mother, who was coming to walk her dogs, would catch her. I sat with her, and said I knew it was hard, and that she was cheating, as non judgementally as I could.

Beyond acknowledging that her behavior indicated she was not "working her program", I could do nothing - which I'd learned at Alanon. Lecturing, punishing or anything of that ilk is ineffective, and called "enabling". 12 step programs are more effective for some, than all the "spas" put together.

If her surgeon knew about her addiction to smoking, it could be why, in an effort to punish (as so many professionals do, like you), he held back more effective analgesia. Did he really think she wouldn't get it from less reliable resources if she was addicted to those substances, if he didn't order that? It was also probably self protective for himself.

Encouraging 12 step programs by leaving those pamphlets around, giving "the Blue Book" for Christmas (and nothing that can be exchanged for money) is a way of promoting attendance. You can go to an Alanon session while he's at his "AA" one, but you can't lead him to it. The disease is one that only the addicted can treat (notice I didn't say "cure"). There is a readiness to accept treatment, that for most addicts requires "hitting bottom", in order to admit they have a problem. For a Nurse, that could be losing his/her license after discovery, or later, after he/she's sold everything in order to keep up with the ravaging disease.

Cancer is like that, isn't it?

If you haven't seen the play "Little Shop of Horrors", see it. It's not blood the plant needs, but satisfaction of the need for a substance that

keeps it from realizing what's really wrong........... People who enable addicts are often called "co-dependent", as they drive the addict deeper into denial, by offering homilies (like "one more time"). That's my gift to you, Leslie. Believe me, I've been there.

I wish you the courage to acknowledge that there are things "you need to know the difference" about. I'm here for you, as is Alanon.:welcome:

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2007

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? 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.

One of my sons became an addict and a dealer

When I found out, I showed him what tough love was all about. He was very happy when the police showed up to arrest him. I wont go into details.

BTW he is straight now.

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2007

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

Actually yes.

However a very significant portion of the prison population, I would draft into the military for 20 years. Put them to good use.

lamazeteacher · Dec 11, 2007

One of my sons became an addict and a dealer
When I found out, I showed him what tough love was all about. He was very happy when the police showed up to arrest him. I wont go into details.
BTW he is straight now.

_______________________________________________________________

It took "guts" to share that, "teeituptom". It takes a lot of love and anguish, to be tough, and that works!

I also had a child with a drug problem. It was a wild ride that I describe as going down the rabbit hole chasing Alice. Unfortunately the police at that time (late '70s) were in denial, (unwilling to jail her dealer, as they said they were "going after the big ones"); and the principal of her HS ("we have no drugs here"), and her pediatrician (who almost ran over her on his way home in the wee hours, when she was lying in a stupor in the street - it was a week later when I took my son in with OM, when he told me casually of the incident, and said he'd had a talk with her....). She's clean and sober now, and has her own teenager who she watches like a hawk-mom.

My granddaughter is following a different path - having become vegetarian and studious. My son, however, after spending his teen and college years without drinking or using (having taken a course in the drug program we attended, called "Champions"), is in his 30s and following his dad's alcoholic path...... I'm trying hard to stay uncodependent....

Know you did the right thing, and eventually time works for you.

Happy Holidays - Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa!

cmo421 · Dec 11, 2007

Actually yes.
However a very significant portion of the prison population, I would draft into the military for 20 years. Put them to good use.

I agree! It worked for the dirty dozen,,,lol.

Katie91 · Dec 12, 2007

I recently happened onto a site for Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA). I find the forums to be very loving, welcoming and informative. I was amazed at how many people are out there who are just like me. I thought I was living this nightmare all alone, but quickly found that I am truly not alone.

Here is a web add'y for Al-Anon (one of many, but it's a start):

http://www.sobercircle.com/?gclid=CLWi-JPRopACFShsGgodqCZu9A

:flowersfo

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2007

One of my sons became an addict and a dealer
When I found out, I showed him what tough love was all about. He was very happy when the police showed up to arrest him. I wont go into details.
BTW he is straight now.

Kudos to you Tom. My parents had to do the same thing to my borther. I know it was heartbreaking for my parents to have their son arrested and sent to jail.

But like your son who did his time and straightened out and had a 2nd chance at a life without judgement from his past, I'll give impaired nurses that chance AFTER they straighten out.

Cattitude · Dec 16, 2007

Kudos to you Tom. My parents had to do the same thing to my borther. I know it was heartbreaking for my parents to have their son arrested and sent to jail.
But like your son who did his time and straightened out and had a 2nd chance at a life without judgement from his past, I'll give impaired nurses that chance AFTER they straighten out.

Contrary to what some believe, not every addict can be "fixed" by being arrested or going to jail. I know that getting arrested did little to help my recovery. Oh it halted my addiction for a little bit but in no way did it stop the monster.

What DID? Love, compassion, my family and friends. They talked to me and my fiancee also pushed me to take a look at my illness. THAT ultimately started me on the road to recovery. Throwing me in jail would never have done it. I had to be ready.

Oh jail may wake a few addicts up to reality but it's a band aid on a deep, deep wound. And I'll say it before Tom does, STEALING IS WRONG AND A CRIME. However, many, many petty criminals get reduced sentences or probation and addicts shouldn't be treated any differently. Thankfully, many courts do have treatment in lieu of jail options. From what I've seen, nurses in recovery tend to do better at staying clean than the general public. I'll try and find stats to back that up but I'm basing it on my observations.

FTR, I too have been hurt by addicts. It wasn't until I becasme one that I truly understood addiction. Before I abused drugs, I thought they were all full of patooty and they all "made the choice" to do what they were doing. I thought a lot of things about addiction that just were not based on fact but on feelings. Now I base it on facts, experiences, feelings, realities, interactions, etc. My thoughts are much more defined. I just want to help others look at this disease a little differently, a little less harshly.