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.
If she was really your friend then she would not put you in a situation where you could lose your job and nursing license. Report her, don't feel guilty.
This is a very bad situation, of which I am glad I'm not in.
If you report what has been going on and an investigation is started, so many people are going to be in danger of losing their job, licenses or both.
If you report it, and that is what should be done, you can't just say .....
"Well, Ms. D. has been asking nurses for insulin."
Just saying that doesn't mean she's been getting it.
Where the trouble begins, and NOT that it isn't alREADY trouble, is when you say, "Ms.D has been asking for insulin and certain nurses...and their names are.....have been giving it to her in prefilled syringes."
And there is also the cost of the syringes......is she stealing those, also??
Boy, oh, boy, what a hot potato this is.
This is outright stealing, and one reason that Medicare and Medical is going broke now.
It might seem small, but it starts with little things like this and goes on up to major embezzlement...whatever you want to call it...it's stealing.
And hardworking taxpayers like you and I, are having to pay for it.
I would get this situation under control somehow today.
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. ...... 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!!???
Why should she care when she’s getting others to care for her? It sounds like maybe she’s using guilt trips on your co-workers to get the insulin, and it’s working---to their detriment!!
People do have a right to choose how to manage their health, but they should take responsibility for their choices and the consequences of their choices, instead of dumping it into other peoples laps to take care of.
I’ve known people like that, who want others to do for them what they could do themselves. Perhaps you could go to your co-workers and lay out the facts about her finances, (cable bill, rent-free apartment, exactly how compliant she is in managing her diabetes) and what could happen to their jobs/licenses if they are caught taking the insulin.
When the friend asks for insulin again, she can be told why it can’t be done. (And don’t give her any money either, since she has $100 cable she can give up, and isn’t paying X amount of dollars for rent, so that money is freed up for other expenses, such as insulin). Also, give her materials on managing her diabetes, and the complications of her diabetes not being managed, and solutions on how to get her insulin legitimately (Social Services, drug co. discount programs, budgeting her money, etc.). This puts the responsibility where it belongs—with her.
You did exactly the right thing. Don't sweat it. If anything you are helping your friend ( who, btw, IMO is just using you for what she can get) to either manage her money well or b) learn that life only offers so many "free-rides". I doubt that she has as many financial problems as she's indicated to you for one, and for another, no matter how good of a friend as she is, is she worth your liscence, your salary, and what you provide to your family as a result of the aformentioned ? NO, probobly not. If she's truly your friend, I doubt she would've put you ( or anyone else for that matter) in that situation. You did the right thing. Too bad somebody didn't do it earlier, though. ((((((hugs))))))
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
I can understand why you would feel for her, but the bottom line is that you can't violate the law just to help her out. What she is asking you to do is steal for her. Would you be willing to go rob the pharmacy to get her meds? Somehow, I don't think so. What she is asking you to do, and what some of your co-workers are doing, is no less a crime. Heaven help them when this all hits the fan.
OMG..I can't believe I didn't see this thread when it first came out!
This is sooo wrong and you know it and I don't blame you for feeling like you are between a rock and a hard place!
I would get together with my coworkers and decide there will be no more of this. You have already taken the initiative by saying no to her and referring her to the charge. There are other alternatives for her to get her insulin, stealing from pts and the facility is way out of line! I would hardly consider this a "friend." Friends do not do these kinds of things to friends.
In our LTC facility we are allowed to give a coworker (cna, administration, secretarial, etc ) anything that is on our cart that is stock ... anything that is prescription, we must ask the DON or ADON ... usually a one time only thing may be allowed, but not a repeat offender. I agree this is diverting from someone who is paying for their (and the other irresponsible secretary's) insulin. I say drop the cable and pay for it yourself ..Good luck to ya!
In our LTC facility we are allowed to give a coworker (cna, administration, secretarial, etc ) anything that is on our cart that is stock ... anything that is prescription, we must ask the DON or ADON ... usually a one time only thing may be allowed, but not a repeat offender. I agree this is diverting from someone who is paying for their (and the other irresponsible secretary's) insulin. I say drop the cable and pay for it yourself ..Good luck to ya!
Now THAT concerns me. They aren't allowed to prescribe medications either! Only a medical doctor (and in some places, a nurse practitioner) can prescribe medication! The over-the-counter stuff like Tylenol is fine. But the DON and ADON have NO business giving the okay for you guys to give out prescription meds to each other!!!!!!!!!
I have to agree with everyone else here: diverting meds is illegal. Helping her may avoid a trip to the ER, but it is NOT worth your license. As a true friend-you did the right thing. She needs help beyond what you can give her. Good luck.
Specializes in designated med nurse,med surg,hh, peds.
We had a conversation with a legal nurse consultant about "borrowing meds" from one patient to another just this morning. She said that "borrowing" meds constitutes a number of crimes including dispensing without a license (doctors prescribe, pharmacists dispense, nurses administer),theft ( you are stealing meds from person A to give to person B), trafficking in drug paraphanilia (the syringes), fraud - if the person being "borrowed " from is on mediare or medicaid, you can lose your license and go to jail because ( according to her) some of these are federal offenses. If this person asks again, inform her of the law. Tell her your sorry, but is SHE going to pay for your defense attny. if you get caught? Give you a rent free place to live? Take care of your kids while you are in jail? I may seem harsh, but if she doesn't have to pay rent, has a big cable bill etc. someone needs to tell her she needs to prioritize her expenses. I'm sure you worked hard for your license, and enjoy your freedom,a true "friend" would not ask you to jepordize either.
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!!???
BadBird, BSN, RN
1,126 Posts
If she was really your friend then she would not put you in a situation where you could lose your job and nursing license. Report her, don't feel guilty.