What a shame that this happens.

I have been amazed by colleagues of mine over the years who have turned out to be diverting meds.  Never would have guessed on most of them.

RNdude

A very sad story indeed...since, there is so much help available for nurses who are addicted.  A DON who does not refer an impaired nurse to the board for help ---shame on them!  But, I must place caution - not all states have good programs for the impaired nurse.  I am fortunate to live in the state of PA and our Impaired Professional Nurse program is great - very hard work, but wasn't getting a license, also?!  I am blessed to be a RN for 25 years, a MSN for 18 years, and clean and sober for 10 years!  There is help and hope out there!! - Lisa

We need to be careful about judging RN's who take narcotics.  There are plenty of RN's, docs, etc that work thru chronic pain and require narcotics in order to be able to work and support their families.  Just because one takes narcotics on a daily basis, does not mean they are addicted.  For all the first nurse knew, it could have been the nurses own meds that she takes at a scheduled time.  Chronic pain can be extremely debilitating and as we all know, nursing is hard physically.  If narcotics do not interfere with thought process, medical care, compassion and the ability to get along with their peers there is absolutely nothing wrong with a nurse using PRESCRIBED narcotics on shift.  It should be brought to the attention of the DON, yes, and the RN should be providing said information to the HR department so that proper records are maintained.  

Unbenonst to me, my best friend from school had been diverting meds for a long time. I tried to talk to her about it. She of course did not want to listen and it was everyone else's fault.  The nursing board had given her  chances, even set up counseling and drug testing. Unfortunately it is easy to pass a drug test if you know a week ahead of time that it is coming. She did finally lose her license.  Last time I knew she was smoking crack. Sad. I miss the friendship we shared.

Anonymous says ...

The worst addict I have ever encountered is a former nurse.Her whole life revolves around obtaining oxycontin and Doctor shopping.When I had surgery I refused that med , horrified at what she has become.

I was prescribed this narcotic and needless to say I didn't enjoy the withdrawal.  I told my doc I never wanted it again.  I never realized how easy it is to become dependent even if it's not being abused.  I agree with you.  I am horrified after my brief encounter and couldn't imagine anyone using it for recreation.  I only used it for 2 weeks following surgery!

The nurse I was refering to actually got hired back I CAN"T BELIEVE IT!!!!She hasn't shown up drunk (yet).Numerous PRN  Narcs are being signed out.These patients rarely take narcs.I know because I work this team often.I am not the only one who has noticed. Another nurse brought it to the attention the The  DON.Its hard to understand  how they took her back,something about a time frame of 6 months You are eligibile for rehire.She doesn't even realize how obvious her actions are!!All patients that have dementia are being medicated  with several PRN narcs during her shift!Not the a&o x3

addiction, whether legal drugs, illegal, gambling, sex- is a tragedy that will not go away and unfortunately the stress of health care provision does not help.

I agree with the concerns raised; patient safety comes first, and I certainly hope that rn's in this type of unfortunate situation are able to seek and accept help.  Drug addiction is difficult for those in and around the situation; I hope that I don't encounter such circumstances because, as previous postings show us, even if it is a close friend/colleague, things don't necessarily work out as we would like them to.  I certainly wouldn't want to be put into a situation where my safety or license would be in jeopardy!   my heart goes out to those who need help and I hope that something, whatever it needs to be, triggers their desire to work things out safely for all.

Sad but so true

My former supervisor( she is an administrator of a personal care home) used to pop ativan on the job.  She would complain that she had a headache or was dizzy and out came the ativan.  This same womwn would drive the residents around.  Nothing was ever done.  She still works there.  She even lied about me to our boss and got me fired.   Nice, she pops Ativan and gets stoned on the job and I got fired.