I accidentally left work with a 0.5 ml vial of Dilaudid. Found it in my scrub pocket on my way home. Immediately notified charge nurse who in turn notified an administrator. Received text from administrator stating to return vial immediately to the workplace. Did as directed. Dilaudid was signed in as returned but not wasted until the administrator was to find out what to do.
Asked to have drug test upon me immediately. Request denied. Asked to have fluid in vial tested. Request denied. Two weeks later I was terminated for severe performance deficiency. Is this an incident that requires notification to the state board of nursing?
Dear Terminated,
I am really sorry you lost your job. It goes without saying you did not follow procedure. The 0.5 mL of Dilaudid should have been wasted and not saved in your pocket for future use.
and yours is a perfect example of why. As nurses, we are constantly distracted.
Did anything else contribute to the termination besides this one incident? In and of itself, it is serious, but doesn't rise to the level of being fired.
I take it you do not have a union. Is this a fireable offense for all nurses in your organization, or were they targeting you? It's notable that you asked for a drug test. That would not be the first response of many nurses in your situation, but perhaps you anticipated your job was in jeopardy.
The organization can choose to report this incident to the BON, but it's unlikely unless they had some evidence of diversion.
You have made an excellent point. I realize there is an opiate problem but I also think the media reports etc. have swung the pendulum way over to mass hysteria at this point. There has to be a reasonable point in the middle. I fear it is going to take awhile to get there. I think there are doctors who prescribe indiscriminately (and criminally, sadly) but speaking from my PACU nurse point of view, I lay a lot of the blame on the "added VS campaign" promoted by JCAHO. If I could use emojis here, you'd be seeing an angry face. Sure, we'll rip out Jane Doe's original knee, saw and hammer and chisel a new one in and get their pain "acceptable". Oh, BTW, acceptable can be no higher than 2-3 (if lucky!). I am SO glad I am retired now!
There is more to this story. I was terminated due to reporting the surgery center violations to my administrator and regional manager. OSHA, illegal documentation, and lack of consents being signed and witnessed prior to surgery.
Performance eval excellent, never late, no time off except for allowed PTO. Described as reliable, dependable, excellent work ethics.
PA State Board nursing did not need to be notified due to my following up of my error in a correct manor. I did a 10 panel hair follicle test out of pocket and it was totally negative.
It is now the center's turn to show the real reason for termination. Lawyers are involved.
Thank you. Many other nurses have said the same. I feel the need to disagree. Doing this may have possibly ended with what the administration is currently alleging. That I attempted to forge documentation regarding my error. Since i reported myself regarding the incident immediately, there was no way for me to falsify any records. I followed administrators directions to bring vial back to center.
35 years in practice and still believing honesty is best practice.
Specializes in HD, Homecare, Med/Surg, Infectious Disease.
I understand the opioid crisis is a very touchy issue but a unused manufacturer sealed vial that is returned does not seem like a fireable offense. Even so, I'm curious as to why someone else needed to be alerted. Simply drive back to work and return the med. It's a different situation if it's an opened vial. In that case, the unused portion should absolutely have been wasted and never have left the med room. The latter situation seems like cause for disciplinary action.
The vial was opened and therefore the reason for notification. Patient received 1mg of a 2 mg vial. The remainder was 0.5mls. Leaving a workplace with an open vial is a serious offense. Since this has never happened to me in all my years of practice, I followed chain of command to resolve a human mistake.
Bottom line, this does not rise to the occasion of an action for termination. Reprimand, temporary suspension, yes. No harm was caused. I could have been tested, and the vial could have been tested, to confirm I did not use for self purpose, or was Dilaudid diverted to another person. If you are a valued employee, these options would not have been denied. They are not costly tests. It has not become an expensive venture for both sides as the legal system is involved. It is difficult to find a critical care nurse position with this on your record. My reason for obtaining legal service and an out of pocket expense for hair follicle drug testing. Please read the question to Nurse Beth. It specifically states the vial was opened. Do not know what others would have done if the same happened to them. Therefore the initial question to Nurse Beth.
The vial was opened and therefore the reason for notification. Patient received 1mg of a 2 mg vial. The remainder was 0.5mls. Leaving a workplace with an open vial is a serious offense. Since this has never happened to me in all my years of practice, I followed chain of command to resolve a human mistake.
Bottom line, this does not rise to the occasion of an action for termination. Reprimand, temporary suspension, yes. No harm was caused. I could have been tested, and the vial could have been tested, to confirm I did not use for self purpose, or was Dilaudid diverted to another person. If you are a valued employee, these options would not have been denied. They are not costly tests. It has not become an expensive venture for both sides as the legal system is involved. It is difficult to find a critical care nurse position with this on your record. My reason for obtaining legal service and an out of pocket expense for hair follicle drug testing. Please read the question to Nurse Beth. It specifically states the vial was opened. Do not know what others would have done if the same happened to them. Therefore the initial question to Nurse Beth.
Unless you have made an edit, your original post does not state the vial was opened.
I accidentally left work with a 0.5 ml vial of Dilaudid. Found it in my scrub pocket on my way home. Immediately notified charge nurse who in turn notified an administrator. Received text from administrator stating to return vial immediately to the workplace. Did as directed. Dilaudid was signed in as returned but not wasted until the administrator was to find out what to do.
Asked to have drug test upon me immediately. Request denied. Asked to have fluid in vial tested. Request denied. Two weeks later I was terminated for severe performance deficiency. Is this an incident that requires notification to the state board of nursing?
It would have been clear if you had stated you brought back 0.5 ml of a 1ml vial. As I stated in my earlier post, the use of the word "returned" is very specific to refer to an unopened vial that can be charged out to another patient and used again.
Even in the case of bringing back an opened vial I can't believe this in and of itself was a fireable offense. There is more to the story. There is some kind of problem with Pharmacy having a rash of discrepancies or the OP has had other problems in the workplace and they are using this as a final straw to get rid of them.
Specializes in Cardiac, Ortho, Med/Surg, ICU, Quality.
This is exactly why we shouldn't get into the habit of carrying medications in our pockets. I don't even carry my narcotic lock box keys in my pocket because I know people have taken them home before. I work for the Sheriffs office and they will come to your home if things are missing.
I always check my pockets before I leave work, and always waste meds . Here is another thing that could have happened ..What if she had a traffic violation and was stopped by the police with narcotics in her pocket ? I always think of the worse case scenario ....
Wisco50
15 Posts
You have made an excellent point. I realize there is an opiate problem but I also think the media reports etc. have swung the pendulum way over to mass hysteria at this point. There has to be a reasonable point in the middle. I fear it is going to take awhile to get there. I think there are doctors who prescribe indiscriminately (and criminally, sadly) but speaking from my PACU nurse point of view, I lay a lot of the blame on the "added VS campaign" promoted by JCAHO. If I could use emojis here, you'd be seeing an angry face. Sure, we'll rip out Jane Doe's original knee, saw and hammer and chisel a new one in and get their pain "acceptable". Oh, BTW, acceptable can be no higher than 2-3 (if lucky!). I am SO glad I am retired now!