Upset!!! write up and patients marijuana

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i recently was written up for going to see a patient who is on dialysis, has hypertension, and is schizophrenic. he had a marijuana plant growing in his home and i reported this to my clinical manager along with the md. the md confronted the patient about it and the patient denied it. my clinical manager wrote me up because she said that i should not have told the doctor because now he has threatened to sue. my rationale was that it could affect some of his 20 medicines that he was on. of course he denied it. do you think this was right???? i'm upset.

thanks!:nurse:

Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
Yeah, you do tell the truth, otherwise you go to jail for telling a lie under oath.

And how do you know it's not a big deal? Have you testified in court on the same/similar matter?

Yes I have testified in court and yes I told the truth. If you tell the truth you have nothing to worry about.
I still say that the OP was right in reporting it to her manager, and the doc. Wouldn't you think that it's important for the doc to know if not for legal use, then at least for a medical one.It's not uncommon for these kind of patients to pass out, have seizures, or yes,,you've guessed it, just to drop dead:eek: ! What then? Besides, it was important for a nurse to protect not only the pothead himself, but also her job, and altimately agency from the potential legal liability. Generally, selective vision, hearing, and thinking, I might add, are not the good way to practice.
What if, what if? Nothing happened for goodness sakes! The OP did not see the patient smoking pot. It's not her job to call the doctor and report what she thinks may be going on. She didn't see him smoking anything.That's called subjective information not facts and it comes across as being an immature nurse.
What if there were other staff members (PT,OT, SPL, HHA,SW etc) on this case.
What if, what if.....the regular nurse was there, there were no other staff members there.
Or if the "regular" nurse couldn't see pt and agency would send a replacement? Do you think someone could question the nurse (OP) who was there before?
this makes no sense...
Why does it even has to be a subject for the discussion?
my thoughts exactly, why are you getting in such a snit over a pot plant and events that never happened?
Are there not some rules and regs in place> I bet there are. So rule on the side of caution, because if you don't it's going to come back and bite you in the orifice. As simple as that.
It comes back to bite you in the orifice if you stick your nose in business where it does not belong
Few ppl braught up the point of him actually not smoking it. Duh...ppl get arrested most of the time not for using, but for possession of the illigal substance. So good luck prooving it to the judge that you knew, and didn't want to be judgemental, invading his privacy, and other nursy nursy mantra crap. Do you think anybody is going to give a rat's rear end about your gooooood intentions, and feeeeeeeeelings? And if you didn't inform your agency, you're on your own...sucker.
who said don't report it to the agency? I believe if you read back the concensus is, yes report it to the agency, not the doctor.

:deadhorse

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Yes I have testified in court and yes I told the truth. If you tell the truth you have nothing to worry about. What if, what if? Nothing happened for goodness sakes! The OP did not see the patient smoking pot. It's not her job to call the doctor and report what she thinks may be going on. She didn't see him smoking anything.That's called subjective information not facts and it comes across as being an immature nurse. What if, what if.....the regular nurse was there, there were no other staff members there. this makes no sense... my thoughts exactly, why are you getting in such a snit over a pot plant and events that never happened? It comes back to bite you in the orifice if you stick your nose in business where it does not belong who said don't report it to the agency? I believe if you read back the concensus is, yes report it to the agency, not the doctor.

:deadhorse

Really?

You tell the truth, and you have nothing to worry about? Where in the kindergarten:chuckle ? Here comes your favorite: What if you can't handle the truth:chuckle

Look, I posted in the very beginning stating that it's only one man's opinion. Do you really think I'm going to get into this pi$$ing match on this heresay?

I couldn't careless more if the pothead was growing the weed for all of his "good friends and neighbors in the Mr. Roger's neighborhood":rolleyes: And of course, just like a slick Wilie he never inhailed:rolleyes: How can you read my posts, disect them to the microscopic qoute size, and still keep missing my point? Let's try it again. It's not about the freaking P O T it's about C Y A. The nurse was upset about her agency's response (remember we agreed

on it?). They left her hanging out there to dry:angryfire . I know the emty suits and empty skirts mentality of the corporate world all too well, and that's where I'm picking the fight, not the doc part, and not the "recreational herbalist":uhoh3:

Anyway, one good thing about this place that we can always agree to disagree.

Papadoc just stepped off the soapbox

Have fun everyone:chuckle

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OK, I can't resist.

My Grandmother had a flower pot that a cousin of mine pot marijuana seeds in. They grew into one of the most beautiful plants I've ever seen. Grandma, being the sweet old lady she is, pampered the "strange tomato plant", trimming it and feeding the leaves to her parakeets. She had a bumper crop of baby birds and was really upset when we told her she was growing pot plants:roll

I know this is way off topic but, ya'll need to lighten up IMHO.

To the OP, I think your manager was wrong for treating you like crap. I'm not sure I would have reported the plant, but I respect your decision for doing so.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
OK, I can't resist.

My Grandmother had a flower pot that a cousin of mine pot marijuana seeds in. They grew into one of the most beautiful plants I've ever seen. Grandma, being the sweet old lady she is, pampered the "strange tomato plant", trimming it and feeding the leaves to her parakeets. She had a bumper crop of baby birds

I bet they were happy little birds! Wow did Grandma get rid of the plant once she knew?

BTW, I personally have never smoked pot or done any kind of drugs but being Dutch and visiting relatives have observed much. I have an uncle who grows pot but doesn't smoke it, just likes the look of the plants. There are legal pot coffee shops in Holland. Different types of pot on the board to order with your coffee.

Dutch teenagers can drink at age 16 but there's not a problem because with it being available the thrill is gone.

They cannot however get a driver's license until they are 25 years old. It cost $3,500 to go to a mandatory drivers school before you can even apply for a drivers license. Age 25 to 50 are re road tested every 2 years and over the age of 50 every single year. When I have been in the presence of adults drinking there has always been a designated driver. The DUI problem in Holland is virtually non-exsistent and those found guilty do not get out of jail in less than 10 years. They have to think twice before drinking and driving because they know the penalty is high.

I'm not advocating pot being legal or kids drinking at age 16 but hey, they don't have some of the problems that we do. They have the lowest rate in the world of unwed mothers.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I'm not buying this tell-the-truth-nothing-to-worry-about thing. I've seen people tell the truth and it bit them on the *** later.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

When I do an admission assessment on a patient, why am I asking him/her if they do drugs like mj/coke/heroin if it's none of my business and a violation of their privacy?

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I'm not buying this tell-the-truth-nothing-to-worry-about thing. I've seen people tell the truth and it bit them on the *** later.

I agree.

I've had to tell the truth and get bitten in the butt many times in my life. It may not give me nothing to worry about, but at least at night I can sleep knowing the truth is out there.

Sometimes telling the truth is much harder than lying, or being silent and ignoring the truth.

I'd rather get written up and fired for trying to do the right thing than "mind my own business" if I think it has the potential for harm.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
When I do an admission assessment on a patient, why am I asking him/her if they do drugs like mj/coke/heroin if it's none of my business and a violation of their privacy?

Good point.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

I wish a had a dime for everytime I asked a patient about drug use, they said no, and then finding out they have a big drug problem. I'd be able to retire. My point is yes we ask and 99% of the time they lie anyway so why do we ask? The screen won't go any further through the admit if the question is not answered. It's the same with drinking, they lie about it.

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I wish a had a dime for everytime I asked a patient about drug use, they said no, and then finding out they have a big drug problem. I'd be able to retire. My point is yes we ask and 99% of the time they lie anyway so why do we ask? The screen won't go any further through the admit if the question is not answered. It's the same with drinking, they lie about it.

We ask because if we didn't and the patient suffered an adverse outcome from withdrawal, or an interaction with medications, WE would be held accountable. If we don't ask, the rationale for the patient in a law suit situation would be: I figured they would have asked if it was important. If they lie, the ball is now in their court and they are responsible for any adverse outcomes.

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I bet they were happy little birds! Wow did Grandma get rid of the plant once she knew?

BTW, I personally have never smoked pot or done any kind of drugs but being Dutch and visiting relatives have observed much. I have an uncle who grows pot but doesn't smoke it, just likes the look of the plants. There are legal pot coffee shops in Holland. Different types of pot on the board to order with your coffee.

Dutch teenagers can drink at age 16 but there's not a problem because with it being available the thrill is gone.

They cannot however get a driver's license until they are 25 years old. It cost $3,500 to go to a mandatory drivers school before you can even apply for a drivers license. Age 25 to 50 are re road tested every 2 years and over the age of 50 every single year. When I have been in the presence of adults drinking there has always been a designated driver. The DUI problem in Holland is virtually non-exsistent and those found guilty do not get out of jail in less than 10 years. They have to think twice before drinking and driving because they know the penalty is high.

I'm not advocating pot being legal or kids drinking at age 16 but hey, they don't have some of the problems that we do. They have the lowest rate in the world of unwed mothers.

Grandma got rid of the plant.... but not for 6 months:eek: She thought it was pretty. Cousin was in jail for other drug charges:rolleyes:

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This conversation could have been over a long time ago if more people smoked pot.....:)

As home health nurses, we go into the patient's home, we assess and we treat....but more often than not, our primary skill is to teach. I have been into many homes and seen many things...sometimes illegal things, such as drugs or abuse, and sometimes not illegal things just as harmful, such as lack of fire safety devices and general non-compliance. I think we have to thoroughly assess a situation before we make judgements about it....as in this case, we really have unfairly made judgements about this patient without thoroughly assessing the situation. I think most of us would not put a call into the doc and report a patient as "not feeling well" or "not seeming right" without having some concrete info such as vital signs, lungs sounds, etc. I think this situation could have used some further assessment....I think it could have been the perfect opportunity for some discussion. I do not think that management necessarily reacted appropriately, but neither did the nurse necessarily. I think rather than the write up, this would have the perfect opportunity for all parties involved to explore what the current policy is and how it could be made better. Sounds as if there isn't a policy in place and everyone is simply reacting.

As far as everyone's arguments about CYA, I don't know that you as the nurse could ever be held responsible as an accessory to this "crime" or will ever be brought in front the firing line for not reporting a single existing pot plant.....also I find it hard to believe that everyone here is so concerned about the patient's well being re: pot rather than assuming that your moral judgement's about smoking pot are exact. Also, I'd be willing to bet those who are so concerned with this illegal activity frequently, if not daily, participate in their own levels of anarchy....such as speeding, not wearing your seat belt, etc.

Look honestly at your motives and examine them....then look carefully at your P&P manual to see if you have followed protocol. I know issues such as abuse reporting have specific protocol usually...which is usually to make the report to your supervisor, then it is taken from there.....rather than you calling protective services yourself. Anytime there is something you feel is really a big deal and you are conflicted about, it is also best to keep your supervisor in the loop, as they will be the one receiving the potentially irate phone calls....always helps for you to collectively develop a plan so that you are on a united front. If you currently do not have the kind of management that will work with you this way, you should probably look for a better job.

Kathryn

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