What can I do?

[elaineg102159]

I work at a correctional facility where one of it's policies mandates that no medical keys are issued to the oncoming shift until all counts(medication and sharps) have cleared and there are no discrepancies.I have had problems with an RN (on the oncoming shift) who becomes verbally aggressive when you refuse to give him the medical keys before count has cleared. He threatens to write you up and report you to the health adminitrator, the nursing board, and warden of the facility. I have discussed this issue with our healthcare administrator who supports the policy and has also reinforced it by giving verbal directives that the keys are not to be passed before count has cleared. However this nurse continues to to be verbally aggressive and continues to threaten me. What can I do to protect not only my job but my license?

[Blackcat99]

Tell him to go ahead and write you up. If he does, it will only make him look bad for not following the policy. If he continues to bother you, report it to your supervisor and you write him up for harrassing you. Good luck! :)

[BobC]

Elaine,

I agree with Blackcat. If you are following established procedure you are doing what you are supposed to do. Tell him to chillout!

BobC

[fiestynurse]

These counts are very important in a correctional setting. I would keep reporting his behavior to the Health Services Administrator. Is he aggressive and threatening to others or just you? Do other nurses give him the keys before the count is complete? maybe he is a drug addict!

[tweetyd]

[/font]tell him heres an idea you write me up, i write you up for not following policies. short and simple. we have a paper party.

god is love.

[mlhudson]

He's just blowing smoke out his you know what when he threatens you, especially when he says he's going to the Warden. The Warden doesn't want to hear about trivial stuff like that, so that nurse would first be asked if he'd followed his chain of command. You're following policy & proceedure, so you're not doing anything wrong. You should give your supervisor a heads up on what's going on. Your supervisor should back you & if for some reason that doesn't happen, then write a memo referencing the policy & proceedure and cc it to the DON, the medical director, the standards & compliance coordinator (if you have one), and the Associate Warden who laisons with medical. That will really stir things up and someone will respond to your memo with a memo reminding the staff of what the policy & proceedure is. If you're represented by a union, you should ask your job steward to have a discussion with your supervisor, and depending on what your contract says, file a grievance (it's your right). That should set that guy straight. You shouldn't have to take that from him. If he keeps it up then file a grievance against him for creating a hostile work environment. That will get the Employee Relations Officer involved. By the time you're done with him, he'll be hiring an attorney to represent him at his Scully Hearing.

[rhonda L]

keep counting, we all know this has to be done by two nurses

[erroridiot]

Is it possible that this nurse is in violation of the board of nursing standards in your state? Does this person need to be reported to the board of nursing?

[sugarnurse]

Just tell him that the count has to be correct, or he does not get the keys. Like someone else said, maybe he is a drug addict and wants to hide something. I also worked for six years in a correctional facality. Take care.:chuckle

[BMAXRN]

Sounds like you are following the established P&P of your workplace----Good luck with your situation.

[suzanne4, RN]

Write him up for his not wanting to follow policy. What can he write you up for? That you wouldn't give him the keys before the count was completed?

Tell him to go right ahead........................a count is a count............and it is your license. And if necessary ask for your warden to be there during a change of shift, then see what happens.

Good luck.

[probable cause]

Send him to my office...problem solved.