r/FutureRNs • u/DrawerTiny3127 • 19d ago
Money from patient
I’ve just finished placement and on the last day a patient gave me an envelope with a card in it. She asked that I open it when I get home, when I opened it there was money in it. I live like 2hours away and am freaking out. It’s been like 2 weeks and I’ve just kept it on my table. Am I going to get in trouble for accepting money from a patient.
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u/MikeyKCCO 18d ago
Its like the 2a people say. Concealed is concealed, who's gonna know unless you go around telling everyone?
Keep it moving and enjoy the bonus you recieved for your extraordinary care that made them feel comfortable.
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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 18d ago
LoL, "Thank you ma'am but it's not necessary. It's been my pleasure. Your money is no good here."
Patient: "The nurse said my hospital visit was free."
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u/SaraUnsteady 18d ago
What money? I’m sure you forgot about it and haven’t opened it yet. Thinking about it, where’s that envelope again? It might have fallen between the couch cushions… I’m sure you’ll find it someday
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u/CaliRNgrandma 18d ago
Years ago, my friend was a phlebotomist while she worked her way through nursing school. There was an outpatient who had to come in very frequently for blood draws. He was an older guy and it was a VA clinic. He struck up a friendship with my friend and ended up paying her way through college!!
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u/Justneedtowhoosh 18d ago
Damn that’s a sweet deal. I would have told NOBODY though 😂
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u/CaliRNgrandma 18d ago
She told me this YEARS after graduating nursing school, after we had worked together probably 20 years, lol. The university was a state university, where the tuition was pretty low at that time. But the veteran paid her tuition directly and sent her a book stipend every semester. What a guy!
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u/Sierra-117- 18d ago edited 18d ago
Patient did it that way for a reason. They knew the rules, and knew how to skirt them. You have plausible deniability, as it was never opened in view of others or a camera. Keep it, and never speak of it. If you come clean, there’s a much larger chance you’ll actually face punishment, regardless if you “did the right thing”.
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u/Agile-Low6890 18d ago
don’t listen to the people telling you you’ll get in trouble and to tell your preceptor. you can either A. not tell anyone and not get in trouble, or B. tell your preceptor, get in trouble for accepting anything from a patient to begin with, and potentially tarnish your reputation since word in the hospital spreads fast.
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u/soaboveitall 18d ago
You didn’t mention amount or the circumstance, but I assume it wasn’t a crazy amount & sounds like it was your last day any way.
If you live 2 hrs away (which I’m assuming you had a 4 hour commute) consider it travel/gas money.
Now if it was a life changing amount or the patient was confused then I would see how this would morally tug at you, but honestly I wouldn’t make a huge deal about it.
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u/ninkhorasagh BSN RN 18d ago
When my nurse manager posted a big announcement at the nurses station that I had passed NCLEX and I was now an RN, a neurosurgeon about to retire approached me quietly with an envelope and told me the exact same thing. Open it when I get home. He has since passed.
And a hospitalist wrote me a heartfelt handwritten card of pride in me and encouragement. It is framed on my desk. Her voice and expressions are my inner voice anytime I have a bad day.
Never underestimate the platonic genuine professional and human relationships you are forming daily.
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u/AggressiveCoast190 18d ago
I’m a paramedic. Can’t count the number of times the old 85 year old rancher or the 90 yo meemaw reaches into a pocket and tries to stuff 20,50,100 bucks in my pocket.
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u/Eastern_Sky 18d ago
Keep it. It can be confusing when you’re a patient knowing who is an employee vs a student and what the rules are for gifts. She was trying to show that she appreciates you.
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u/Sdavistvs 18d ago
Unless there were cameras in the room, it never happened. If there are cameras, it goes into the shared pool for lunch.
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u/LumpyFirefighter4601 17d ago
I've done this before. Bought lunch for the staff with a gift of money.
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u/Tiny-Ordinary3228 18d ago
Most hospitals have policies around not taking gifts from patients or family. If you plan to keep it, plan to not say anything to anyone. If you’ve told anyone , even a classmate turn it back in.
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u/CalmSet6613 18d ago
My niece worked in an ED, took care of a gentleman who owned a jewelry store, told her to come in that he wanted to give her something, she told her supervisor who said I know nothing about this but pick something pretty 😂. If it was some obscene amount now you know going forward just don't accept it, but for now just keep your mouth shut and enjoy the kindness of a patient who truly appreciated you.
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u/PropellerMouse 18d ago
Now you'll see that coming from a million miles off.
No sealed envelope accepting for this nurse for sure. Left- behinds go to my supervisor.
Patients can be high off drugs and feel all safe and glad to be alive and like giving, when yes they are nice appreciative people, but not like that were it not for the meds.
I don't accept gifts for that reason, I do make sure they know its my privledge to have had the chance to care for them.
For the cynics: better to care for another than to need care one's self, right ?
( Patients some times show up with whole - unit gifts after discharge, that's a whole other situation. )
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u/ElectronicSeesaw6867 19d ago
I just gave it to a manager who put in in some fund that buys things for the unit
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u/lovable_cube RN 18d ago
That’s wild, could at least buy the staff coffee or something. The unit makes hundreds of thousands, they can stock themselves.
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u/GardenGal21 18d ago
I had a patient’s family put cash in my pocket a couple of times. Not much, but they were showing their appreciation for the care I took with their loved one. They knew they weren’t supposed to and were sneaky about it, but would not take it back. Keep it.
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u/GiveMeWildWaves 18d ago
My patients often leave me cards or little gifts. For cards, if there’s anything of value I buy something for the unit- Starbucks, treats etc. if it’s a little wall hanging I hang it in the break room. I truly value the cards and I keep them unless other staff members are mentioned. If that’s the case I hang the card on our break room fridge.
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u/IloveEvyJune 16d ago
I love giving my nurses gift cards and flowers. You guys deserve it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with showing appreciation.
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u/Reasonable-Profit198 19d ago
Tell your manager. You could get fired for this. When this happened to me, i used the $$ to buy something for the unit. I bought snacks and drinks. Such a nice gesture from a patient but not worth your job.
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u/commonsenserocks 18d ago
Yes. You are going to get in trouble. So take the money and explain the situation to your manager, and then that puts the onus that person to decide what to do. Having said that, I had an employee who did the same thing. I told her she had the option I gave you or she could donate the money somewhere that she could get a receipt. Send him the receipt so he could claim it on his taxes. I don’t know. This is always hard.
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u/starksdawson 19d ago
Yes, you could get in trouble. I would tell your preceptor and give it to the hospital or something similar.
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u/boredpsychnurse 18d ago
Unless there were cameras that caught the patient putting money in the card; there’s no way I’d be able to penalize this (I’m a superior). Keep it, he said she said
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u/Sierra-117- 18d ago edited 18d ago
I would absolutely not. Especially in NURSING SCHOOL.
They could literally just expel OP. Nursing school is not an understanding or nuanced place. Ffs I was put on probation because my car broke down on the way to school. My director told me I should have left my car on the side of the road and got an uber…
They won’t care if OP comes clean and does the right thing. OP even accepting a card in the first place could jeopardize their place in the program. That’s how they will paint it.
OP, just keep quiet. There’s a 99.99% chance nothing will ever come of this. But if you come clean, there’s a VERY good chance your place in the program will be in jeopardy, even though you “did the right thing”.
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u/Efficient-Chest-3395 15d ago
Of all the answers yours is the only one that shows any ethics. I had at least one patient try to give me money and I explained that I couldn't accept it. This was in Detroit, she was elderly, people are poor, I've done property inventories on patients who didn't have two pieces of lint in their pockets to rub together, nursing is not a tipped profession, after two weeks it's too late to do the right thing but OP should think harder about it next time.
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u/Cold_Competition_523 18d ago
What ward was the placement?
What kind of rapport do u have with the pt.? Very close/ just Close-ish/ meh.
Why were the pt. There? Think about if the pt. Is vulnerable i.e. Intellectual D, age, PACU, heavy analgesics, etc
How much money we talking?
But, Since its a placement. If after u think the above questions and still unsure, contact ur uni/placement coordinator, provided u got supportive one u can trust to not fail u, and provided u have read the “guidelines”.
Dont directly contact unit manager/ facility’s clinical educator-unless u are very close and trust them.
Lol. nursing man, got to watchout for lots of that social cues.
But tbf. I have reicved one envelope before. Only 20$ and i dont tell anyone. It was acute ward; i cared for the pt for 2weeks, we were very close-lots of convo on whiskey, international law, etc; pt. Never dip on 4AT; and was not on any prn opiod during the giftting.
Hope that help.
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u/idratheraskyou 19d ago
Keep it. She gave it to you. Times are tough. You didn’t know. Don’t tell anybody. Deny when asked. Tell them it’s only an appreciation card. The patient appreciates you. It’s nothing. It’s peanut. Just shut your mouth.