Preemployment drug testing

[RN5858]

Does anyone know if hospitals use the standard nine panel urine drug screens regulated by SAMSHA (THC cut offf 50 ng/ml) or do hospitals use a 0 ng/ml cut off level for every drug?

[Sour Lemon]

Does anyone know if hospitals use the standard nine panel urine drug screens regulated by SAMSHA (THC cut offf 50 ng/ml) or do hospitals use a 0 ng/ml cut off level for every drug?

It's a big world and there's probably some variation from hospital to hospital.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Every hospital is different. Quit smoking pot before applying for a job.

[Davey Do]

When I worked in chemical dependency treatment, a young man telephoned in and asked if there was any way he could alter his urine in order to not test positive for pot.

I suggested that he

Quit smoking pot

He didn't care for my suggestion.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Yes, it seems like people who smoke pot regularly get very indignant about the suggestion they not smoke pot regularly, and do all kinds of mental gymnastics in order to justify their continued use.

I see it very frequently in OB - we have SO many pot-smoking pregnant women who act as if we just offered to perfom acts of indecency upon her grandmother when we make the recommendation that she stop smoking, and inform her it's actually NOT good for her developing fetus.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

One of the largest hospital organizations in the US uses a 12 panel drug screen. I have no idea what level it checks for.

Any doubt I would be tested independently to make sure the level is zero before submitting one to a possible employer. Any Lab Test Now runs their labs through Quest Diagnostics and you get your results sent to you.

Once passing a test please remember that an employer can still randomly test you while you are employed there so it would be best to try to keep it clean afterwards or it could bite you later.

During nursing school they required us to be tested so much that my MD ran a $500 urine drug screen on me without my approval (I didn't have $500 to throw away). I thought it was a 12 panel. I tested positive for sudafed and caffeine. He labeled it as ‘acceptable'. I had a head cold and had taken medication along with my coffee. I found out I was negative for about 400 other substances checked for with that test. I guess I made him suspicious with two drug tests, three TB screenings, and one blood ETOH screening request in less than a year. OR the sweet woman on the phone forgot to mention it was for nursing school clinicals...