What would you do?

A Respiratory Therapist (who is a known drug user) was caught in the PIXIS with the vicodin drawer open and EIGHT Vicodin-10 pills missing!

Why my concern? Well, I am the RN who was in a hurry and did not exit out of the PIXIS machine completely. It was MY Pixis ID under which the drugs were stolen and I am the one who found him standing in front of the Pixis with the Vicodin drawer open, discovered the discrepancy and reported all this to the nursing supervisor. I also had to get urine tested, but I passed the drug test as I do NOT do drugs.

I was hoping he would be refered to a recovery program and would be in treatment the next time our paths crossed, but now it appears that he has outsmarted the system. He was not searched immediatly, so he had time to hide the missing drugs. Prior to the urine test, he only reported being on cold medicine. After testing positive for Vicodin, he "conveniently" produced a script due to "an old back injury".

According to other co-workers he has using street narcotics as well as been suspected of diverting narcotics by stealing wasted vials from the red boxes on the walls in empty patient rooms. I am appalled that the hospital is allowing him to continue to work, but since he was not busted on the spot with the narcotics in hand, they could not do anything to him.

Since they are one of the hospitals who hire professionals in recovery, I know they will be more lenient than other hospitals in the area. So, I have to continue to work with this man who I now know is a thief, a drug user, someone who "outsmarted" the system and who, but for the grace of God, could have cost me my nursing license. If I hadnt caught him in the PIXIS under MY id, there would have been NO way that I could have proven that I had not stolen the missing narcotics, and I would have been the one being referred to the recovery program for something I didn't do!

He will be back to work this weekend. What do I say to him when I do have to work with him?