# Dope addict nurse steals patient's surgery meds, tells him to "man up". **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 11, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979 "2011-02-11T02:32:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/21 "2011-02-11T20:31:04Z")
I hope her days of being licensed to do anything in the medical profession are over. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/22 "2011-02-11T20:50:02Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I hope her days of being licensed to do anything in the medical profession are over. I hope her days as a member of non-incarcerated society are over. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/23 "2011-02-11T21:00:05Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > I hope her days as a member of non-incarcerated society are over. Oh, just kill the bitch and get it over with. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/24 "2011-02-11T21:36:28Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It depends. At the hospital system at which I formerly worked, there were several nurse-anesthetists (we called them CRNAs - Certified Registered Nurse-Anesthetists) working under the supervision of a board-certified anesthesiologist. But it’s worth noting that “working under the supervision” doesn’t mean that she’s (or he’s - most nurse anesthetists are men) actually working with an anesthesiologist looking over her shoulder. It usually means that if any problems come up, she can call him, or he might meet with her once a week or once a month to discuss her caseload, ask her if there are any problems, etc. Or it might mean that his name is on her insurance billing statements and she hasn’t spoken to him since 2009. There is a wide variety of what “working under the supervision” means in the real world. (And I profoundly apologize for the gender bias and patriarchal assumptions in the previous paragraph, but the nurse anesthetist in the OP is female, and making the anesthesiologist male in my writing made for easier to decode prose. Certainly there are male nurse anesthetists working under the supervision of female anesthesiologists, so don’t go trying to take my WymmynPower card away, okay? 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/25 "2011-02-11T21:44:57Z")
I wonder if the 300mcg of waste (which is a TON, holy crap) were verified. I suspect not just because I don’t see 50mcg of Fentanyl having all that profound an effect on somebody with her history. I wouldn’t think it would anyway. What a piece of shit. I don’t agree with employment drug screening in general but it just makes sense in nursing, an area which (where I’m at anyway) generally does NOT participate in drug testing. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/26 "2011-02-11T22:29:09Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Are you sure **WhyNot**? I’ve only had surgery in France, and there, a specialized anesthesist doctor (and not a nurse), maybe called an anesthesiologist, as **Kyla** said, will intervene if you require an anesthesia for the operation The equivalent of what people are refering to in this thread doesn’t exist in France. There are no nurses following advanced training and allowed to undertake a specified category of medical acts usually reserved to doctors. That’s why only doctors give anesthesias over here. However, there are currently talks about introducing such a system (not spefically for anesthesia). So it might begin to appear in the years to come. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/27 "2011-02-11T23:54:07Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Yes. We have Anesthesiologists, who are MDs (or DOs). They do the more complex and involved cases of anesthesia as a rule, in addition to doing the more mundane stuff. Not in many regions, where they don’t exist. There are places in America with only CRNAs. > [@](#): > > And we have Nurse Anesthetists, who are RNs with advanced degrees and advanced practice privileges in anesthesia. And specialized training, and continued education, and, sometimes, training in related fields such as pain control over and above what the state Board of Nursing requires for CRNAs. > [@](#): > > While under the collaborative supervision of an Anesthesiologist, they are not required to have an Anesthesiologist in attendence for many procedures. Nurse Anesthetists are often used in the more routine anesthesia/sedation cases. And, as I said above, are often the only anesthesia providers for many regions throughout the country. In that case, they’d handle everything. I mean, everything you said is probably entirely true in your region. I just need to emphasize that it works very differently in other parts of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/28 "2011-02-12T00:35:09Z")
Did the bitch think she was going to get away with working while high? fuck’s sake ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/29 "2011-02-12T00:46:31Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Did the bitch think she was going to get away with working while high? fuck’s sake Do you really think that this was the first time? It is certainly possible it was but I doubt it. People work high and don’t cause major problems all the time. It tends to get worse and eventually their luck runs out in a lot of cases. She has probably gotten away with it for a while. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/30 "2011-02-12T00:47:23Z")
The woman is a monster, plain and simple; having said that, though, one thing confuses me: the procedure being described for kidney stone removal is called a percutaneous nephrotomy (I know, because I’ve had three of them). I’ve never had one, and would never care to attempt one without _general_ anesthesia, or at the _very least_ a total spinal block. I’m not arguing that the patient needed pain control prior to the surgical procedure. But why the hell were they doing a procedure like that with _just IV pain killers_?? Not to mention that, if it had been me, I’d have been in big trouble even if the CRNA _hadn’t_ swiped my meds. I don’t care how much stronger than morphine Fentanyl is supposed to be, it doesn’t do a damned thing for me! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/31 "2011-02-12T01:23:08Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Not in many regions, where they don’t exist. There are places in America with only CRNAs. > > And specialized training, and continued education, and, sometimes, training in related fields such as pain control over and above what the state Board of Nursing requires for CRNAs. > > And, as I said above, are often the only anesthesia providers for many regions throughout the country. In that case, they’d handle everything. > > I mean, everything you said is probably entirely true in your region. I just need to emphasize that it works very differently in other parts of the country. But nothing in what I said contradicts what you said. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/32 "2011-02-12T03:58:27Z")
Even without the added horror of her stealing his painkillers, I can’t imagine having an anesthetist (who is solely responsible for making sure you don’t DIE from the anesthesia) doing her job while under the influence. Admittedly, this guy didn’t GET any anesthesia, but if this is a semi-regular occurrence for her, I wouldn’t want to be a patient having cutting done with her behind my head. ---
**Author:** ![101flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/5e9695/32.png) [@101flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/101flyboy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/33 "2011-02-12T06:57:17Z")
Bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Phatlewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Phatlewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phatlewt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/34 "2011-02-12T17:20:46Z")
Bring on the calls for tort reform now, bitches. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/35 "2011-02-12T17:26:02Z")
> [@Phatlewt](#): > > Bring on the calls for tort reform now, bitches. Ah, but tort reform would only reform away the _unreasonable_ lawsuits. You do know what _unreasonable_ means in a legal sense, don’t you? Neither does anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/36 "2011-02-12T19:28:01Z")
Found this, which makes me feel a little bit better: > [@](#): > > doctors did eventually give King additional medication to make him more comfortable through the rest of the procedure. From [here](http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/minnesota/patient-%E2%80%98fine%E2%80%99-after-med-theft%3B-lawsuit-possible-feb-10-2011). ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/37 "2011-02-14T03:53:23Z")
That’s fucked up right thar. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/38 "2011-02-15T15:17:08Z")
Does the Minnesota board or college of nurses publish disciplinary decisions in a magazine or somewhere available on line? I would be very interested to read THAT case. In Ontario, nurses are a self-regulated profession, and criminal charges not withstanding there is still the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) hearing and decisions that will address the nurses conduct. These are eventually written up in our professional magazine, _ **The Standard** _ For example [Winter 2010](http://www.cno.org/Global/pubs/mag/TSMVol35No4.pdf) shows the most recent ones. Disciplinary deciscions start on page 34. Many nurses read that and only that section of the _ **Standard** _but it is everyone’s living nightmare to end up in that column. All that being said, I hope she gets help for her addictions and never practices as a nurse again. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/39 "2011-02-15T21:32:53Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I hope the patient skewers the medical staff alive, not being able to spot something is wrong with the anesthesia is criminal negligence. > Being wrongly dosed before going to surgery is one of my nightmares (it happened to me, thankfully I didnt go through what the patient experienced, but I felt the anesthesia going away before my own surgery was over, quite unnerving). I hope the hospital pays and pays dearly. As you say, not having anasthesia’s no fun at all. When I was a child, the doctor who performed an appendectomy on me first failed to diagnose it correctly (“He’s over-reacting to a common stomachache”) and then, when the appendix burst, he didn’t get all of it out on the first go around. On the second attempt, he decided that I was a whiny child and didn’t need any anashtesia. While I was screaming bloody murder during that fun fun experience, he told the nurses holding me down that I was acting because there was no way I could feel anything he was doing. He was removed from practice during my hospital stay. Years later I came to the conclusion that the nurses didn’t stop him because he was the authority figure in that situation. After all, who do you expect nurses to listen to more, a child or a doctor? To be fair, it’s because of those nurses going to the chain-of-command (it was an Army hospital), that guy was removed. Oh, well, how many people do you know who have two appendectomy scars? ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979/40 "2011-02-16T14:09:33Z")
Any of the OR nurses who witnessed this should have to answer to their governing body. It was patient abuse and they did nothing to stop it. I was off work on vacation the day that one of my co workers was drunk, passing out at work, leaving care undone for several of her patients. Every one who was working that day was interviewed, and called to task for not reporting the impaired nurse. Professional ethics took a bad beating that day. I am horrified all around, and yes my thoughts lie mainly with the patient who went through the unendurable. I hope he gets restitution and can overcome any lingering fears of the medical establishment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-addict-nurse-steals-patients-surgery-meds-tells-him-to-man-up/570979.md?page=3)