Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The shocking fall of a respected ICU nurse

Debbie Moore-Black, RN
Conditions
October 1, 2024
Share
Tweet
Share

In the ICU, there was an experienced nurse. She was full of information and knew the policies and procedures inside and out. She was proficient in her role as an ICU nurse.

But she was flawed. Something was wrong.

Each day, she came to work wearing a gold bracelet, which she made sure everyone knew was valued at $15,000. She wore two-carat diamond rings. She would arrive, showing off her fancy pocketbook along with her designer scrubs. She would inappropriately barge into closed meetings of NPs and physicians, begging for forgiveness for interrupting, though it seemed intentional.

Behind the gold and glitter, we wondered why she felt the need to show off her earthly possessions—especially in the land of GI contents and bowel movements, sputum plugs, blood, and all the other drainage from every orifice encountered in the ICU.

Her narcissism and pretentious behavior were a big red flag to the rest of us. What was she hiding? A narcissist covering up low self-esteem, perhaps. But why?

She acted as if she was the queen of the ICU. But at home, she was nothing.

Then came her habit of clocking in late, wearing long sleeves under her scrubs, miscounting narcotics, and bruises appearing on her cheeks. Eventually, people lose their cover; they get sloppy. I suppose she thought the glittering gold bracelets and large diamond rings would hide the truth.

Patients screamed in excruciating pain, only to have narcotics documented as given—over and over again. What we didn’t know was that she was under surveillance. Pharmacists were tracking her, and managers were aware. We knew something was wrong.

Security guards came into the ICU and escorted Jennifer out of the building. They found morphine and fentanyl vials in her pockets—narcotics meant for the patients on ventilators, those in pain post-surgery, and the patients who never received them.

Jennifer was being mentally and physically abused at home by her husband. She was stealing and using narcotics at work. She thought she could hide behind the glitter. But as J.R.R. Tolkien once said, “All that is gold does not glitter.”

She refused rehabilitation through the state board of nursing and lost her nursing license. Her parents claimed custody of her two little girls.

And then, one day, our eyes met at a grocery store as she worked the cash register.

The “luggage” was the lesson.

ADVERTISEMENT

Debbie Moore-Black is a nurse who blogs at Do Not Resuscitate.

Prev

Don't let the SECURE Act devastate your legacy [PODCAST]

September 30, 2024 Kevin 0
…
Next

Stop using "whole person care" if you are not assessing and providing whole person care

October 1, 2024 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: Critical Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Don't let the SECURE Act devastate your legacy [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Stop using "whole person care" if you are not assessing and providing whole person care

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Debbie Moore-Black, RN

  • What money can’t fix: the scars left by a friend

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • A retired ICU nurse’s brunch conversation sparks a life-changing moment

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • Wisdom for new nurses: lessons from a 30-year ICU veteran

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN

Related Posts

  • Millions of Americans without ICU doctors due to the “Biden ban”

    Seth Rabinowitz
  • Understanding critical care in the ICU: then and now [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • Why a nurse should not go to jail

    Barbara L. Olson, RN
  • It’s the Year of the Nurse

    Sarah E. Jorgensen, RN
  • The work of an emergency department nurse through the eyes of a medical student

    Jennifer Geller
  • The triad of health care: patient, nurse, physician

    Michele Luckenbaugh

More in Conditions

  • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

    Maire Daugharty, MD
  • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

    Callia Georgoulis
  • Healing beyond the surface: Why proper chronic wound care matters

    Alvin May, MD
  • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

    Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD
  • What a childhood stroke taught me about the future of neurosurgery and the promise of vagus nerve stimulation

    William J. Bannon IV
  • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

    Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      GJ van Londen, MD | Meds
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Life’s detours may be blessings in disguise

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Inside the heart of internal medicine: Why we stay

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • The quiet grief behind hospital walls

      Aaron Grubner, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • Bundled payments in Medicare: Will fixed pricing reshape surgery costs?

      AMA Committee on Economics and Quality in Medicine, Medical Student Section | Policy
    • How Project ECHO is fighting physician isolation and transforming medical education [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      GJ van Londen, MD | Meds
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Life’s detours may be blessings in disguise

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Physician
    • Inside the heart of internal medicine: Why we stay

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician
    • The quiet grief behind hospital walls

      Aaron Grubner, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • Bundled payments in Medicare: Will fixed pricing reshape surgery costs?

      AMA Committee on Economics and Quality in Medicine, Medical Student Section | Policy
    • How Project ECHO is fighting physician isolation and transforming medical education [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...