Impaired Nurse A nurse on your unit is frequently late, occasionally looks high, and based on your observations, gives substandard care to patients. Upon receiving report, you realize that there is a discrepancy between documented medication given to one of the patients and what the patient tells you. You have suspicions based on the nurses behavior that the nurse might be diverting narcotics meant for patients. What do you do?

Do you have a legal obligation to address suspicions? And if so, what laws or rules would indicate a legal responsibility and what actions would you take? If the nurse is found to have a narcotic addiction, is the identifying nurse required to report this to the state board of nursing? What is the ethical responsibility of the nurse who suspects a co-worker of substance abuse? What ethical principles apply?

USE THE AMERICAN NURSE ASSOCIATION GUIDE TO THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR NURSES AS REFERENCE. IN TEXT CITATION PLEASE INCLUDE PAGE NUMBER.