want to help out a friend BUT.....

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Please let me know your thoughts on this...

The secretary on our unit is a 34y/o brittle diabetic who constantly cannot afford to get her insulin refilled. She then asks us nurses if we can let her have some insulin out of a patients bottle. I know of other nurses on the unit who feel so bad for her that they either prefill some syringes for her from our patients bottles and then reorder for the patient from the pharmacy or just give her the patients bottle to take home and then they r/o the patient a whole new bottle. I know these nurses really feel bad for her and don't want to see her go into hyperglycemia however, I don't think they realize that if anyone "higher up" found out about this that they would get fired and probably so would she. A while back she ran out of insulin and didn't have the money to get it filled til payday which was a week away and needless to say she ended up in the ER with a sugar of 700!!:eek: She is extremely non-compliant in managing her diabetes and I feel that she is not far away from either dying from DKA or hypoglycemia. And it's as if she doesn't even care, especially since I recently found out that she can afford to spend over 100 dollars a month for cable and that her rent is completely free since her husband is the manager of their apt complex, but yet she can't afford to take care of herself!!???:madface:

Tonight she came to me and confided in me that she has no insulin left(she takes 24 units N in the am and 14 units N in the pm!) and no money until payday which is friday. She asked me if there was any patient on Humulin N and if so could she fill some syringes for herself. On the one hand I feel bad for her and don't want to be the cause of her taking a trip to the ER tonight but yet She has me so damn mad that she would even put me in this situation. I didn't know what to say to her so I just copped out and said you need to talk to the charge RN about that and not me. Now I'm feeling terrible and feel that maybe I should've at least offered her the money for the insulin until payday. Plus I mentioned her dilemma to the Charge nurse and she said she's heard of her doing this before and that she is tired of this and she is going to talk to our manager about it in the am. Now I am thinking I am a -hit of a friend and that if it gets back to this secretary that I said something she is going to think I'm a rat.

I'm so worked up over this!! Any advice would be much appreciated.

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Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

Sorry, but this person and all those that have diverted meds to her should be reported to the administration.

There IS help available for problems of this type, but the illegal and unethical methods of doing so are over the top!

EDIT: The behavior on the part of her coworkers is called either a) enabling or b) aiding and abetting (a crime). You could ALL wind up in jail!

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This woman is manipulating you and the other nurses into stealing for her.

I would stop it now. Whoever gives in is putting their job and license on the line.

Isn't this akin to prescribing medication without a license?

On my job, we can give employees tylenol for a headache, but nothing else.

I had an employee just last night ask me for a Benadryl. She had obvious cold or allergy sx's, but if I give her a benadryl, she falls asleep on the job, the supervisor finds out and she rats on me that I gave her a benadryl...I'm in trouble right along with her.

If your co-worker has a job, free rent and can afford to pay a $100 cable bill, then when she gets paid every week or 2 weeks, she needs to make sure the first thing she does is go get her RX filled.

Why should she buy the insulin when she can get others to steal it for her?

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You did the right thing! What these other nurses have been doing and what this secretary is trying to get you to do is against the law and you could lose your nursing license. She can obviously afford a large cable bill, so she could cut down to basic and pay for her insulin. It is not up to you to finance her lifestyle. We all must prioritize. Don't feel guilty. She is not a true friend if she is trying to persuade you to break the law and risk your license.

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho/HH/Radiology-Now Retired.
you did the right thing! what these other nurses have been doing and what this secretary is trying to get you to do is against the law and you could lose your nursing license. she can obviously afford a large cable bill, so she could cut down to basic and pay for her insulin. it is not up to you to finance her lifestyle. we all must prioritize. don't feel guilty. she is not a true friend if she is trying to persuade you to break the law and risk your license.

exactly! ditto!

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Specializes in NICU.

I agree that you guys are being manipulated! This is illegal and you did the right thing by not giving her insulin. Don't feel guilty that you didn't give her any money, either. If her husband manages the apartment building, they don't pay rent, she works, and they have $100 of cable TV...they have enough money for insulin. I'm guessing that she doesn't have medical insurance. For a brittle diabetic, that is rather stupid and dangerous considering both she and her husband both have jobs.

I've seen people do this before as well. Like we'll have parents of babies on our unit trying to get free corificeats, free diapers, free formula, etc. They say they can't afford any of that stuff. Yet many of them wear very nice clothes, have better cell phones than I do, take pictures with the latest digital cameras, have fancy airbrushed acrylic nails done every couple of weeks, etc. I think some people try to get whatever they can for free so they can spend more money on the frivolous things they want.

I say report her.

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I feel like you did the right thing. She is obviously abusing the situation and manipulating all of you to feel sorry for her. It worked before many times, she probably feels like she has found a niche. Boy, is she working over those nurses. For the nurses who gave her the insulin, that is tantamount to stealing from the hospital, and could get fired if found out. What if something happened to her (she is a brittle diabetic) and she took too much, didn't take enough, ended up in the ER and they found those bottles in her purse. It would surely get traced back and figured out. These nurses could face disciplinary charges, fired, or even have to go before the licensing board.

If she is working, then does not your hospital offer insurance? Probably so, yet she spends 100 bucks a month on cable. Plus, she is not compliant with managing her diabetes and it is no one's fault but her own. Why should any of you pity her. This is pretty much the same as someone with an addiction who does not want to get help and find enablers around them that they can manipulate.

And, to have the audacity to ask you, and put you in that situation. If she had the empathy to think about the consequences this could cost you and the others, she would not do this. But, alas, she is only out for herself. I do not care if I sound cruel in this matter, but it is the truth, and people like her need to be confronted, reported, and action taken against her. Sounds like she is on a downward spiral, who in their right minds would voluntary go along with her for the ride.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

There are many programs (from drug companies) that help with medications. Insulin itself is not that expensive. This is totally wrong and is a form of stealing from your patients.

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.

This put's all of you in a very dangerous situation. She has to take responsibility for her wellness and you shouldn't. I wouldn't even give her money because this is a situation that has happened over and over and a long term solution needs to be found. I can see that it would very hard not to help, but for you, for her, you really shouldn't.

If it was a one time or couple times a year situation I would just give her the money in a second. It isn't though. What the other nurses did in the past was well intentioned but illegal. This must go to the management level and be dealt with, and this situation needs to end.

Best of luck to you, and to her. You did the right thing.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I agree with the above. She's manipulating you guys into giving her insulin, that she probably could afford if she wasn't getting it for free.

The staff is dispending medication, stealing, etc. It needs to be stopped.

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So let me get this straight.....she can't afford to refill her insulin so she's getting insulin from pt's bottles, and more bottles are being ordered up for the pts from the pharmacy........the pts are being charged for more insulin than they use so she can have some? I would be a lot more sympathetic if she weren't noncompliant (not condoning, but sympathetic) but your fellow nurses are bailing her out. She will never learn the consequences of her actions (or non-actions, as the case may be). Plus those nurses are putting their licenses on the line for dispensing meds without an MD license. I would report this.

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Specializes in Case Management.

There are very strict medicare and medicaid laws for fraud and abuse. Stealing from the government is a big deal, and if any of the patients she stole from was a medicare or medicaid pt, then every nurse who steals for her are guilty as well and subject to prison time and loss of license.:uhoh21:

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