A large number of New Jersey nursing license discipline cases involve drug diversion. Drug diversion, in very simple terms, occurs when prescription drugs are used by medical professionals for purposes other than treating patients or when the drugs are administered in violation of accepted practice. This can involve anything from simply stealing narcotics for personal use or selling or administering drug without an assigned order.
Diversion of drugs by nurses in New Jersey may be a criminal matter although most cases are handled administratively by the New Jersey Board of Nursing without involving local police or the DEA.
Whether the case will result in a criminal action really depends on the type and the magnitude of diversion. Many incidents of NJ drug diversion by nurses involve not just stealing the drugs but also record falsification and sales of the drugs to addicts and drug dealers. These cases are more likely to be referred for criminal prosecution.
Other situations, such as those involving floor nurses administering controlled substances to patients pursuant to a verbal physician order, which is never signed or written down later, normally result in the nurses’ termination from employment and subsequent administrative action by the Board of Nursing against the nurse’s license.
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities often add fuel to fire by not establishing clear written policies and procedures regarding drug diversion. They often fail to educate their nurses on these policies (often non-existing), although that doesn’t prevent the nurses who simply “follow orders” or “do what everybody else does” from being charged with diversion.
There are of course situations where diversion by nurses is the direct result of drug dependency. Some of these cases could be resolved with the involvement of the RAMP (a diversionary program for substance addicted nurses). However, we have seen many cases were nurses without any dependency issues were labeled as addicts as the result of what technically constituted drug diversion.
If you are a New Jersey nurse and have been accused of drug diversion or other professional misconduct, call our New Jersey nursing license defense lawyers at (973) 200-3630 for an immediate consultation.
