Substance abuse is one of the most important issues in nursing because access is so easy. Even with Pyxis machines that distribute medications with a thumb print, there still are ways that a determined nurse can divert medication. According to the Indiana State Nurses Assistance Program [ISNAP]: Impaired nurses demonstrate mood swings and irritability. He/she may seem depressed for no apparent reason. There can be frequent complaints from nursing peers, patients, or family members that the … [Read more...]
We All Make Mistakes
Lately I have been receiving a lot of calls from nurses who either had a criminal problem in their past and are afraid that they wonāt be able to get their nursing license or have had a criminal matter after they had obtained their license. None of these nurses ever thought that they would have a criminal matter but somehow they did. Because the facility where she worked was short-staffed, one nurse forgot to give a medication. She actually worked 120 hours in that pay period. She was afraid … [Read more...]
What Can You Do About Understaffing?
I have heard from many nurses that where they are working is understaffed which is not safe for the patients. Those nurses put in a lot of overtime because they are concerned that if they didnāt, there would be fewer staff available to care for the patients. They also expressed concerns that if the facility is able to get staff from an agency, those people would not know the patients. This is a difficult situation. Many nurses want mandatory staffing requirements. However, I am not … [Read more...]
Questioning An Order
What would you do if your supervisor asked you to do something that you think may be questionable? Would you follow the order or would you question it? Let me give you some examples to consider: You work homecare and you never see your supervisor. She tells you to sign her name on your time card so you can get paid. What would you do? Your supervisor asks you to āfill in the holesā on the turning sheet because State is coming soon to inspect the facility. What would you do? Your … [Read more...]
When Your License Is Put On Probation
Each year 7,000 nurses have some type of discipline placed on their license. My home State of Indiana has the highest number of nurses on probation. Other top contenders for that dubious title are Texas and Ohio. If you would like to see the discipline imposed in your State, check out the National Council of State Board of Nursing website (www.ncsbn.org) which captures all of the statistics on nurse license discipline. If your license is placed on probation, the Board wants to watch you to … [Read more...]
