Well life was a little tough today at the Not OK Corral. Actually it started yesterday morning, damn early, with a call from work saying a patient was complaining of arm pain and "a man twisted her arm" and she was wondering what to do. So after recharging the nurses brain cells and setting her straight on the path to enlightenment, the patient was dispatched promptly off to the hospital.

This is when I change my nurses cap into a cop cap and begin an investigation. So after several phone interviews with certain likely and unlikely suspects, I get a grip on what happened. A certain employee was suspended "pending an investigation".

Well sure enough the arm was fractured. Now by law I'm required to investigate and determine if there was "intent to harm" by employee against said patient. If I feel there was intent after my investigation is complete, I am required by law to report this.

Now as I've said on too damn many occasions prior to this, if I "think" there was "intent" and I report it, my facility is automatically given a federal defiency tag, level G. Of course none of you probably realize this is serious shit. Then of course I have to do a plan of correction where I have to ensure this does not happen again. Which I've done that before. Did it happen again? I'm not sure yet. The employee in question has dodged my phone calls all day. This is not a good thing.

So if and when I report this to the state, a state surveyor comes in, reviews my investigation. If they agree with my investigation it will be forwarded on to the attorney general. Then the attorney general comes in, reviews my investigation and decides if they are going to pursue charges.

Now is this fucked up or what? First, if I was not an honest person, I wouldn't report it if I did discover intent. I am honest and always do report. So I report it, I go through 6 degrees of hell with federal red tape for weeks on end, not to mention the attorney general, police, and last but not least the fucking union. All because one person might have done a bad thing.

The thing that really gets me, no one ever does another investigation other than mine. No one. No matter what way I decide I might be wrong.

This leaves me as cop, judge and jury. I don't like being in this spot. It's just a little too heavy. In the mean time one of my babies has a broken arm, and I am responsible for every hair on that head. The whole thing sickens me.