What would you do???

galaxy781 · Apr 24, 2005

Wow I cant believe she didnt get fired! Not that this has anything to do with the issue but WHY??? why would she do something like that?? laziness?? if that is the answer then do your supervisors think that is likely to change?? i doubt it, i would report her. If it were me and I didnt report her and she did it again and someone was seriously hurt or even worse, i'd feel awful. I say report her, she jeopordized a patients well being, that is so wrong.

NICUAngel23 · Apr 24, 2005

hello,

i would def. report it. this nurse should not be working with patients and has not been reprimanded to the extent that she should have been. if the don refuses to do anything further about the situation, i'd take matters into my own hands. good luck and tell us what you have decided to do~

angeldaisy · Apr 24, 2005

What I have 'heard' is that her mom went to the DON and cried bipolar disorder to keep her job. Her mom has worked there for years. To me, that is not a reason to keep her. I think bipolar is even more reason to not excuse her behavior. I have talked to her before and she readily admits to not taking her own meds because it is a hassle. :confused: It just really irks me that she can come back and her residents were never given the choice of whether they wanted their meds or not. She mostly works on our Alzheimers unit. I think that is why it went on as long as it did. (Weeks 2 Months) Most of the residents couldn't/can't remember whether they took their meds or not. She only got caught because the residents had increased behaviors for no reason. One of the other nurses started counting all meds...the rest is history.

I received the official complaint form in the mail today...I think I will go fill it out...

Thanks for the comments. :)

galaxy781 · Apr 24, 2005

What I have 'heard' is that her mom went to the DON and cried bipolar disorder to keep her job. Her mom has worked there for years. To me, that is not a reason to keep her. I think bipolar is even more reason to not excuse her behavior. I have talked to her before and she readily admits to not taking her own meds because it is a hassle. It just really irks me that she can come back and her residents were never given the choice of whether they wanted their meds or not. She mostly works on our Alzheimers unit. I think that is why it went on as long as it did. (Weeks 2 Months) Most of the residents couldn't/can't remember whether they took their meds or not. She only got caught because the residents had increased behaviors for no reason. One of the other nurses started counting all meds...the rest is history.
I received the official complaint form in the mail today...I think I will go fill it out...
Thanks for the comments. :)

Did you ever happen to find out why she did this? I know you might not really know but i'm curious as to why anyone would do that?? If she is truly bipolar then she HAS to take her meds!!! Thats awful, those patients never asked to be mistreated!!!!

dekatn · Apr 24, 2005

Just my opinion, but, if management is aware that there is a problem, and the nurse has been reprimanded, could it be, that you don't know the whole story. Unless management chooses to explain to all staff why another staff member has been reprimanded, fired, suspended so forth so on, which would never happen where I work. What happens between an employee and management is confidential unless someone chooses to tell and then, it's usually just bits and pieces of information. I don't mean to offend or defend anyone. It just seems to me that it wouldn't be my place to pick up where I thought management left off, w/o being absolutely sure I had all my ducks in a row. Please don't take this as a personal attack, I don't mean it that way. Just another point of view.

galaxy781 · Apr 24, 2005

That is a good point dekatn but the fact is she did withhold medication from patients and for that in my opinion there is no excuse. You are right angeldaisy does not know what went on behind closed doors but to let a nurse go back on the floor after intentionally with holding medication?? What else do you need to know? I cant think of any reason that would justify her actions...who knows why or for what reason management let her come back?

unknown99, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2005

The nurse is there to take care of the patients. Part of that care is giving the patients their medication. The nurse neglected to give care to the patients. That should be grounds for losing her job! Well, what if she is Bi-Polar? Does that mean the patients should have to suffer because of it? No! The patients are there because,for some reason, they cannot care for themselves. They depended on that nurse to care for them. She did not fulfill her job duties. She should be terminated. If her Bi-Polar disorder does not allow her to do her job properly as a nurse, then she should reconsider her career options! I work with a Bi-Polar nurse, and it has never affected her ability to perform as a nurse. If it ever did, she would be the first to know to step down.

lady_jezebel · Apr 25, 2005

You said a lot of residents began presenting with symptoms b/c they didn't get their meds??? Fill out that paperwork!

QMA_David · Apr 25, 2005

I would definitly fill out Nurses notes for every single symptom that appears in every single patient. I'm sure there are many many many..... common things to look for are the oubvious, big changes in a patient from one week to the next.

1. More falls

2. More tremors from your Parkinsons pts. ( not getting sinemet )

3. dry red eyes ( pts not getting eye gtts )

4 skin breakdown ( not passing food replacements or giving a bolus to G

tube pts.

5. More behavior problems, insomnia, combative, screaming pts.

The list could go on, however since a facility like that which would allow such a person to stay employed I wouldn't give to figs about what they think.

And I definitly wouldn't pay the respect of a maggot to such a Nurse and I would encourage others to do the same, with her being on enough people's poop list..........she probably won't stay long.......David in Indy :stone

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2005

What I have 'heard' is that her mom went to the DON and cried bipolar disorder to keep her job. Her mom has worked there for years. To me, that is not a reason to keep her. I think bipolar is even more reason to not excuse her behavior. I have talked to her before and she readily admits to not taking her own meds because it is a hassle. It just really irks me that she can come back and her residents were never given the choice of whether they wanted their meds or not. She mostly works on our Alzheimers unit. I think that is why it went on as long as it did. (Weeks 2 Months) Most of the residents couldn't/can't remember whether they took their meds or not. She only got caught because the residents had increased behaviors for no reason. One of the other nurses started counting all meds...the rest is history.
I received the official complaint form in the mail today...I think I will go fill it out...
Thanks for the comments. :)

Having seen the victim of an untrue but especially vicious rumor nearly have her life destroyed by its consequences, I urge you to think carefully about exactly how much evidence you have before you report.

As I would anyone.

Is what you are reporting hearsay or is this something you personally witnessed?

If your knowledge of the situation supercedes your DON's, then go ahead and report. But if you're acting on things that others have told you, and not things you have actually seen or been involved in, please realize that you might not have the full story, and the parts of the story that you have might not be true.

NearlyRN · Apr 25, 2005

Is it possible that this nurse is using drugs? I find it strange that (if all this is true) that she would only be "passing" narcotics. Maybe she passed nothing and pocketed narcotics.

Of course, as Angie pointed out, it is essential to make sure this is all fact before you act in any manner.