Unfiltered Story #241162

I’m an RN working at a combination Nursing Home/Rehabilitation facility. I work third shift. At 1am, my supervisor comes to my unit. She and I are the only nurses currently in the building.

Supervisor: Hey, I’ve got someone on the phone who wants to talk to a different nurse. She’s asking for a syringe to give medicine to her dog.

We can’t do this, for obvious reasons.

Me: …what?

Supervisor: Yeah, apparently the cap was left off her last one so it’s not sterile, and she says her only other option is to drive to [next state over]. I told her that we can’t give them away, but she says someone else did it before. I also suggested boiling the syringe, but I guess she doesn’t like that answer.

Me: O…kay then. I’ll talk to her, but I don’t know why she expects a different answer.

Supervisor: Yeah, I know. Thanks.

My supervisor leaves. Before I answer the phone, I take a few seconds to Google a 24 hour pharmacy. There’s one that’s barely a 15 minute drive away. Once I have this information, I pick up the phone.

Me: Good morning, this is [Name]

Caller: Hi, I live right here in town, and…

The caller is polite as she explains that her elderly dog has needed injections of an antibiotic for pneumonia. She tells me her husband left the cap off of the syringe, and she just needs a sterile syringe to mix up the last dose.

Caller: …I don’t need a needle with it, just the syringe. It’s an hour and a half to drive to [next state over] and get them otherwise.

Me: Well, ma’am, I am sympathetic to your situation, and I want to see your dog get her medicine as much as you do. However, it is very much against policy for us to give away syringes, even without needles. Have you tried the [pharmacy] in [Town]? According to Google, they’re open 24 hours.

Caller: You need a prescription to get syringes.

In our state, that is true.

Caller: *clearly irritated* I guess we’ll have to make the long drive tomorrow.

Me: I’m sorry, ma’am. If you boil the syringe, it should be–

*click*

I suppose I should have guessed she didn’t have a prescription for her dog’s syringes. The whole thing was shady. For one thing, who calls at 1am for something like that, and who calls a nursing home? The dog might not have even existed. And if it did, as much as I love dogs, a stranger’s dog is not worth me losing my job and potentially my license!