If you had a strong suspicion of a coworker's diversion of narcotics, how you handle it?
I'm talking, a nurse in the ER who habitually walks into the room with narcotic drawn up on your patient, right after you medicated, so then you have to waste with him. He has a history of being on a restricted license. He's a great nurse, very experienced, works a ton of OT.
It would probably financially ruin his life to get in trouble again, I don't know how many chances they give people. He functions very well on the job. Is it really the right thing to snitch on someone like this?
i asume you are being sarcastic. Otherwise you have a really F'ed up code of ethics and I hope you do not work in healthcare in any capacity.
When you see a post to which you want to respond, please use the "quote" button right next to the "reply" button so everyone reading can know what you're talking about.
When you see a post to which you want to respond, please use the "quote" button right next to the "reply" button so everyone reading can know what you're talking about.
Unfortunately, I think anyone who has done any reading on this site knows exactly who is being referenced...
actually i would speak to him and let him know this does not make sense and it looks bad on him and you will not waste with him again. let him know the other nurses will not be happy if he involves them in something illegal. that should scare him enough, if not i would report anonymously IF i was sure
Most if not all of these nurses that are diverting narcotics see themselves as VICTIMS when they get caught and have to face the consequences of their actions. These Nurses are TORTURING their patients, If you don't report them, you are complicit in their actions.
actually i would speak to him and let him know this does not make sense and it looks bad on him and you will not waste with him again. let him know the other nurses will not be happy if he involves them in something illegal. that should scare him enough, if not i would report anonymously IF i was sure
You don't need to be SURE. You tell your manager, "I'm not sure what's going on here, but Nurse John keeps doing the following: blah blah blah. I'm concerned there may be diversion going on, though of course I haven't literally seen him taking narcotics." The point isn't to report him straight to the BON with accusations of diversion, it's to start the process of investigation going at the facility. Sometimes all it takes is an audit of a given person's pyxis practices.
Most if not all of these nurses that are diverting narcotics see themselves as VICTIMS when they get caught and have to face the consequences of their actions. These Nurses are TORTURING their patients, If you don't report them, you are complicit in their actions.
They do not see themselves as 'victims' when they're caught. I can say this because I was there once, 10 years ago. I was guilty and also glad that I finally was forced into treatment. Life has been so much better since and there's no telling where I would be now if it had continued. I was NEVER 'tourturing' my patients. They NEVER went without the pain meds that were ordered for them. Those are some very harsh blanket judgements that are not correct.
Of course you report it. You have to. If you think reporting him is going to ruin his life, think again. His life is already ruined. Stealing drugs from your workplace is a HUGE red flag that very bad things are coming your way, baby!! He isn't just going to stop. You may be doing him the biggest favor of his life. You might just save his life. We found one our nursing co-workers dead in the bathroom 5 years ago.
Unfortunately, the state boards are in cahoots with many addiction" specialists" and many people who are not addicts are treated like addicts just so the people at the board can justify their paychecks and the "specialists" can make a crap ton of money. It is insane.
There is a website by a physician that is or was in a state monitoring program called "Disrupted Physician". People should read it to find out what really goes on and how corrupt the industry really is. When people found out that they could make alcoholism/addiction a very lucrative career, they jumped on that train and it has led to a very deceptive, corrupt and ineffective method of handling individuals with REAL addictions. State boards force many medical professionals who are not addicts/alcoholics into treatment programs and monitoring programs that cost tens of thousands of dollars just to say that their success rate is 80%, which is a complete lie. If you admit people into a monitoring program for drugs/alcohol that are not addicts/alcoholics to begin with, guess what? Their rates of success will be fantastic!!
So, that's why I said that I would confront the nurse and tell him the deal. I wouldn't say anything to management or anyone else unless I encountered a medical provider habitually coming into work with alcohol on their breath, or if they appeared to be high at work repeatedly. Turning someone into the state board is a step that should be the very last, in my opinion. I would want to know that someone was definitely an addict/alcoholic before I went that route, knowing what I know about the whole industry.
All true. I'm all for the existence of monitoring programs and assistance for impaired professionals with mental health or addiction issues. However, you may find, after talking to people who have participated in them, that such organizations sometimes try to be over-relevant and overreaching into peoples lifestyles. I've had my assistance program tell me that I shouldn't own firearms and they even used "we won't let you work as long if they are in your possession" as a kind of beatstick to try and make me sell the ones I own.
They also try to intake as many professionals as possible in order to expand their clientbase and get funding. You can make an anonymous tip to your state's assistance program about a fellow colleague (whether they have a substance issue or not) and they will pursue that person with phone calls in order to get them to confess to being an addict and convince them that they need to go into confidential monitoring or they will "turn them over to the state for investigation." It can be used as a weapon, if someone nasty had a mind to do it.
These assistance programs are not as noble as people think.
I don't think I have ever personally heard or heard of second hand that any nurse was glad, happy, relieved at being caught and didn't mind the personal, professional and financial cost at the time and after they were caught.
As you say you forced to take responsibility for your actions and as you say looking back how much better your life is now. The process you were forced to go through probably has made you a better nurse.
What percentage of nurses do you think that come out of the process that don't relapse, lose their license, marriage, relationships. The drug use is just a symptom of an underlying unaddressed issue/problem.
But I have heard personally and second hand how their life was in the toilet and it wasn't fair with everything that they were forced to do, and felt persecuted for their actions.
As for the narcotics diversion and torturing patients, it's true that it is not the case in every situation, but it happens in more cases than not. How many time have you noticed that the patient documentation showed a noticeable need for pain meds in the previous shift compared to your care of the patient.
Anonymous865
483 Posts
Thank you!