If you are drunk, don't drive!

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Nurses who are mentally sicked.

If you are a nurse, and you drive while you are drunk; the Board of Nursing can suspend your nursing license for good!!! This is hard to believe...but it is true!!!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

I would suspect that it would be the BON rather than the dept. of education, but other than that I'd say it's a good thing. With all the publicity about drinking and driving over the last 25 years, EVERYONE should know better, especially nurses, most of whom have seen the tragic results of drunk driving!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Just good old common sense.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Yes, and that is the way it should be.

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Specializes in Me Surge.

as it should be.

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as it should be.

I agree.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
If you are a nurse, and you drive while you are drunk; the Board of Nursing can suspend your nursing license for good!!! This is hard to believe...but it is true!!!!

Actually this is not hard to believe, as it is taught in most good nursing programs. Not to mention listed on nursing license applications/renewals - thus it should not be a surprise to anyone.

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Actually this is not hard to believe, as it is taught in most good nursing programs. Not to mention listed on nursing license applications/renewals - thus it should not be a surprise to anyone.

I agree - steph

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Specializes in Nurses who are mentally sicked.
If you are a nurse, and you drive while you are drunk; the Board of Nursing can suspend your nursing license for good!!! This is hard to believe...but it is true!!!!

I guess nurses deserve this punishment, they should know DUI is risky business.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Cardiac.

I don't know...

What's the point of taking the ability to earn a living away from somebody for something that doesn't necessarily affect their ability to perform their job? I can certainly see it for being intoxicated on the job, diverting drugs, even using drugs (since it's not unreasonable to suspect that they will divert drugs). I could even see losing one's license for drinking a certain number of hours before one's shift (like an airline pilot). All these things directly impact on job performance and patient safety. Of course then we might have to also discipline nurses for not getting enough sleep before their shift or working too many hours in a row (like a trucker). Once we start on that slope anything's possible.

If it's simply a matter a matter that the nurses should know better, how many nurses smoke? How many are grossly obese? We all do dumb stuff when we should know better.

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I guess the difference is when you are obese, you aren't endangering the lives of others. A good friend of mine's son was killed last year by a drunk driver, pretty devastating. The BON is making a strong statement regarding the crime of drunkdriving.

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I think the operative word here is drunk..I think in most places it is just drinking you don't have to be drunk. I think this is good and should apply to all professions MD's included. What I am having a hard time understanding is from previous threads I have the impression that most people are tolerant of the drug addict rehab nurse and willing to give numerous chances but we are willing to trash the career of someone drunk off duty. The way I see it both are a danger to the public and should loose their license.

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