What can an RN do if he’s fired after a month on the hospital for allegedly stealing drugs?

Question:

Dear Nancy,

I used to be fired for allegedly stealing drugs a month after starting a brand new job at a hospital, though it was on account of errors in my medication chart. I used to be never told concerning the errors, written up or given a verbal warning.

I didn’t steal drugs. I just made mistakes that every one nurses latest to the unit might make. Other nurses told the director of my unit that I used to be acting suspiciously; During one among my shifts, someone found a syringe in the toilet, so my charts were checked. I’m anxious about my license for something I didn’t even do.

Monika

Dear Nancy replies:

Dear Monika,

If there is fairly solid evidence that a nurse is withdrawing medications from the ability, there isn’t a need to supply advance warnings, verbal or otherwise, because it is a significant issue. The only exception can be if there was a facility policy or state law that allowed or required a primary warning or treatment for drug use before treatment was accomplished.

The key, in fact, is “fairly solid evidence.” You didn’t mention whether the ability undertook an investigation or whether you just assumed that the syringe found when you were on the job and your “suspicious” behavior was enough evidence to terminate you. How did it occur that there have been other nurses working with you on a given day/evening and did in addition they have access to syringes and/or administered medications by injection?

Another fact you didn’t mention was what type of medication listing errors you made. Were there any gaps within the documentation? Did you prescribe more medications/narcotics for patients in comparison with the staff you worked with? Have patients to whom you might have administered these medications complained that they didn’t receive relief from the medications? What did the chart audit show?

You might want to have this information to defend yourself if the information is in your favor. This shall be especially essential when you are reported to the nursing board. You cannot easily get this information on your personal. Instead, it’s best to seek the advice of with a nursing attorney or an attorney in your state who works with nurses who’ve been fired (labor attorney) and likewise represents nurses before the board of nursing.

He or she will assist you obtain this information, evaluate it, and determine what your next legal step could also be. If the hospital didn’t properly investigate the allegations or conduct an audit, you will definitely have a probability to refute the allegations before the nursing board, and it’s possible you’ll also find a way to at the least clear your name by rescinding or otherwise categorizing your termination (e.g., resignation) when you don’t want to return there to work or the employer doesn’t want you to return as an worker.

Regards,
Nancy