The hospital CNO was concerned that one PACU nurse was keeping his patients longer than other nurses on that unit.  In the CNO’s experience, extended PACU patient stays and documentation errors can be red flags for narcotics diversion.  UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MASSACHUSETTS June 28, 2018

  The PACU nursing team leader had to yell at a male nurse to get him to move a particular patient along more quickly.  Afterward she met with the hospital’s associate chief nursing officer.  That meeting led to nursing management and human resources sitting down for four sessions with the male nurse about problems with extended patient stays and missing and inconsistent documentation.  After no improvement, he was fired.  

  The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed the nurse’s age and gender discrimination case.  As to age discrimination, his replacement was five years older than him.   As to gender discrimination, the Court ruled expressly that being yelled at by one’s opposite-gender boss does not necessarily imply discrimination, unless other meaningful proof of actual bias exists.

  No proof was ever found that the nurse actually diverted narcotics.  However, the Court believed the nurse’s managers had reasonable suspicion for diversion based on his keeping his patients in the PACU longer than other nurses.  That reasonable suspicion provided nondiscriminatory grounds for his superiors to investigate his charting.  His charting contained discrepancies and inconsistencies he was given several chances to explain, but could not. Kuznarowis v. Hospital, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2018 WL 32134891 (D. Mass., June 28, 2018).

More references from nursinglaw.com

http://www.nursinglaw.com/narcotics-diversion-defamation.htm

http://www.nursinglaw.com/narcotics-discrepancies-nurse.htm

http://www.nursinglaw.com/diversion-narcotics.htm

http://www.nursinglaw.com/diversion-narcotics-nurse-disqualified.htm

http://www.nursinglaw.com/narcodiversion2.htm

http://www.nursinglaw.com/narcodiversion3.htm