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!! 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!!???
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.
Oh, that just makes me mad. Yes, she thinks she can get it for free and she will. If she is working full time at the hospital, then she has insurance on herself. She doesn't want to pay the co-pay for it, she wants to spend that money on herself. I have been abused one time with someone like that, but never again. When you see the big picture on what they are spending their money, then it just doesn't make any sense. Insulin is only about $30 a bottle.
She's a user. I wouldn't worry about her asking you again because once you turn someone like that down once, they know you are not an easy touch and they will avoid you.
As for turning your co-workers, I'm not sure I would recommend turning in your coworkers at least not without talking to them first. No doubt, they felt trapped and manipulated just as you did and it would be harsh for them to lose their jobs and possbily action on their license because they were trying to help someone out. It's easy for us to say this because we are behind a computer screen but I can imagine how it must feel to be confronted by this master manipulator face to face. So talk to them one by one and tell them that you have told the unit clerk that you will not be furnishing her insulin anymore and that they shouldn't either or else their might be trouble. Most of them will probably feel relieved that you are helping them off the hook so to speak.
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
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. ......... 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.
...............What a manipulator!She only cares about the attention she is receiving from you and your co-workers....
It's hard when you care about a friend more then they care about themselves-but you have to try to remove yourself from her situation or she'll suck the life out of you and the rest of the unit.....She sure is heading for trouble-I am caring for a few young diabetics now-blind,amputees in nursing homes in their 40's.I can beat my head against the wall and get myself upset over their non-compliance or I can educate them as best I can and accept that they have the right to be as non-compliant as they wish...So they order thei pizza and steak sandwiches and we do finger sticks out the wazoo......What can you do? There are many solutions to this woman's problem but she won't seek them out until she stops getting the attention she craves from her co-workers.....Good luck...It's hard-but I'd send her to the ED the next time she came to me saying she was out of insulin-actually it could be an employee health issue-you can't worry about a co-workers hitting the floor all day....Talk to your NM-If you force her into the system via the ED just as you would a co-worker you suspect of impairment from drugs or ETOH you would be doing her as big favor......
Is there a social worker she can talk to to find out about med assistance programs? Some pharma companies have reduced cost med programs for the low-income.
Helping her as has been going on is not good - you are risking your job by stealing for her.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Not to mention, practicing medicine without a license? You are endangering your licensure in EVERY way imaginable, that is what I would tell my coworkers.
And yes, she can be lined up w/a social worker to get help w/her financial situation regarding paying for insulin. This is dangerous, so dangerous, not just dishonest and unfair to patients.
I agree with everything that has been said here. I was also wondering, as someone else here was, why she isn't covered by insurance.
Heck, the company my hospital uses pays for every single cent of my diabetic supplies and medications. My glucometer was at no cost to me and anytime I need the supplies or meds, I just walk into the pharmacy and get them.
The charge nurse or nurse manager will now be responsible for cleaning up the situation this "friend" has placed her co-workers in. There were other ways they could have chosen to help, and it's unfortunate that they chose an illegal one. If she legitimately needs assistance, she'll now get it, but it will be far more costly to everyone involved. You made a correct, but difficult choice. I'm sorry this had to happen to you and the other nurses involved.
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!! 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!!???
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.
Not only is it prescribiing RX, you are responsible under your license for the outcome of that rx being given. Do you really know how and who she is using it for....You can be held liable if she takes the medication and then dies..... not to mention it's theft, also insurance fraud, the nurse that gives her a bottle and then order a new one for the patients are commiting fraud.
I find it odd that she would rely on taking insulin from the hospital. If she were in a true bind, one time (basically like if her bottle fell on the ground and got run over by a car and her sugar is sky high and cant get to the pharmacy for a new bottle if they are closed on night shift and for whateer reason can not miss work to go to the er for fear of getting fired for being late or whatever) , I would be sympathetic towards her. But she would have to take the insulin herself, as I would not hand it to her. I wouldn't want any part of that. She can steal on her own if she wishes. She does not need my help. It seems like she has some issues other than DM.
This makes me wonder if that is what happened when I was stuck in antepartum for 2 weeks. I had GD and my OB wrote an order for insulin if my blood sugar went over 200, which it never did so it was never used. However, I was billed for 4 bottles and I disputed the charge so the hospital after much arguing finally removed the charges.
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!!???
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ARLadyRN
48 Posts
Oh, that just makes me mad. Yes, she thinks she can get it for free and she will. If she is working full time at the hospital, then she has insurance on herself. She doesn't want to pay the co-pay for it, she wants to spend that money on herself. I have been abused one time with someone like that, but never again. When you see the big picture on what they are spending their money, then it just doesn't make any sense. Insulin is only about $30 a bottle.