Drug test randomness???

[catsmeow1972]

And now for today's complaint...

Just curious, how much do these programs gouge us all for pee tests and how often? Just sort of an informal poll. Here in the lovely sunshine state we get hit for $55 a shot, minimum, more if they feel like running some dumb additional testing for no obvious reason. I've gotten slammed this calendar year alone for 20 so far! 4 of them were within 1 weeks time. Supposedly you can be "randomly selected" 24-27 times per year. At the so-called maximum, I will see another 7 this year. With 1/4 of the year left, maybe they'll leave me alone, for a little while.

Like many of us that are unemployed, this really hits us hard in the wallet. After a little number crunching, I've determined that this year this stupid thing will cost me almost $4000. (That includes these tests, the support group and $950 on an uncalled for joke of an additional evaluation.) At that rate, I'm paying more for this farce than I did for nursing school?? Makes me want to scream.

That is all.

[gnurse2089]

I've only been on probation for 5 months in California. So far its been 2-3 times a month as far as testing goes. My testing is 62.50 a pop for the test itself, while the collection fee varies by site (anywhere from $30-$45) so cheapest is 92.50 a test while you can easily pay over $100 a test due to collection fees. It seems cheaper though as you only have to pay the collection fee up front while the testing fees get charged once a month. I don't know if its the same for everyone though as there are several different options on my COC form and I've only been tested for Option 1. (Nor do I know what they're testing for)

I've heard the testing lessens in frequency as time goes on. I really hope so as paying for testing, mixed with nurse support group fees and monthly payments to the BON for my cost recovery fee pretty much wipes out any extra money I have for the month. I'm hoping after a year I can get rid of the no overtime requirement on my stipulations as that would definitely help offset some of these costs.

[deltakappamu]

I too am in FL and we use Affinity. They are $55 a test for a standard urine, and I have had a few $80 ones. I have been tested one day then the VERY next day, on two separate occasions. I was also tested on a Friday, then again a few days later on monday. All I ever hear is "its random and generated by affinity," but sometimes I feel like they only have one name in there to choose from and that name its mine lol

[CryssyD]

If I remember right, here in Virginia the program tests up to 56 times a year--I think the minimum is 47 or so. If you test positive, you can expect the total number, as well as frequency, to go up--way up. I paid over $3500 over 5 years, and that was just the lab fees; the testing site fees were $21-$29 each time.

And if you couldn't afford them (an easy boat to be in when you aren't allowed to work), they wouldn't change anything, they would just notify the Board you couldn't continue in the program and would kick you out. No completed program, no license. You find the money to test, go to rehab, go to counseling, and go to Caduceus meetings (which charge $50 a month to monitor your attendance)--or you find a new career.

Super helpful, huh?

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

If I remember right, here in Virginia the program tests up to 56 times a year--I think the minimum is 47 or so. If you test positive, you can expect the total number, as well as frequency, to go up--way up. I paid over $3500 over 5 years, and that was just the lab fees; the testing site fees were $21-$29 each time.

And if you couldn't afford them (an easy boat to be in when you aren't allowed to work), they wouldn't change anything, they would just notify the Board you couldn't continue in the program and would kick you out. No completed program, no license. You find the money to test, go to rehab, go to counseling, and go to Caduceus meetings (which charge $50 a month to monitor your attendance)--or you find a new career.

Super helpful, huh?

Oh yeah. Way to "advocate for the impaired nurse."

[malamud69, BSN, RN]

My state...first year 1-2x EVERY WEEK for 2 years...then it "supposedly" decreases...Never forget...P...EQUALS...BILLIONS OF DOLLARS...That is all this is about...My favorite is the "random" the day before and after the(any) holiday weekend!

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

Oh yeah. Way to "advocate for the impaired nurse."

As a long time veteran of the California Monitoring program and sober since 2002 (15 years clean and sober) I would like to point out that it is not the BON's job to advocate for the impaired nurse. Their mandate is to insure public safety. Nothing more nothing less. True recovery begins when you let go of resentment and anger. I finished my program in 2005 and I think it ended up costing around $10,000.00 by the time we tallied up everything and that was without having to go to inpatient treatment. For me when ever I got frustrated or angry about the program I just told myself that this was the consequence of my actions. As for travel I was approved for two trips while in monitoring one to Hawaii and one to a Colorado camping trip that was 5 hour walk out if I was called for testing. Both of these were in my third year of testing. When I applied to go to Hawaii I sent a packet with information meetings I would attend and a test site that could handle my tests. Approved and they never did call me to test which leads me to believe they took me out of the system for those two weeks. The camping trip was approved and my urine testing was suspended for 10 whole days.

If you want to get through this and stay sober you must humble yourself completely to the program.

I am a working nurse with a valid unencumbered license and I plan to keep it that way.

Been there, done that and don't plan on having to do that again.

Hppy

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

I know very well that the BON does not give a rat's *** about anything involving us. My opinion is that the "protecting the public" slogan has little to do with protection and much to do with a way to turf this responsibility off to anyone but the BON.

Most of my disgust with this has nothing to do with sobriety or anything. My "sentence" was due to something that could be best described as a meltdown due to a combo of physical illness and working in a very abusive environment. The requirements that are in place are mostly (though I will admit not all) irrelevant, unnecessary and according to my therapist, somewhat damaging.

I have had certain sources tell me to "let go of the resentment." I am not resentful because I do see where for some people, this can be a useful and necessary experience. I am disgusted by the "one size fits all approach as well as the conflicts of interest and shady practices that are associated with several factors associated with these "monitoring" programs. This is not monitoring, this is punishment. I feel as though I am being punished for the crime of having an illness and that punishment manages to do nothing except cause the kind of stress that got me to this place to begin with.

[tarab333, BSN]

Hppy, WELL SAID, I couldn't have said it better myself!

[tarab333, BSN]

Listen....these are the consequences of our actions, like it or not, we are not involved in this process because of something that SOMEONE else did, we did the thing(s) that got us into this mess. We are in this mess, because we are in this mess, and personally I don't see anything positive coming out of bellyaching about drug screen costs, frequency, how the BON's don't care etc, etc. The bottom line is, we either do all of these mandated things or we lose our career. What good does it do to complain about it all? I say we all take a deep breath and resign ourselves to the fact that these are our consequences and we are damn lucky that we even have a chance to redeem ourselves and save our careers. The fact that we are allowed to be in a monitoring program at all is a true gift, sure it gets to be rough, expensive, scary, tough, inconvenient.....again, we are not innocent bystanders who got caught in the crossfire. I say, take a long hard look at the angst you are projecting onto the BON and drug testing, and truly investigate where that is originating...and I think you will see that ultimately all of this angst is caught up in something much closer to home.

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

Ok, for starters, my initial post was not bellyaching about the drug screen costs etc. It was just a question posed out of curiosity. The bit about being called 4 times in the space of one week was perfectly justified. What exactly does anyone expect to change in say 24-48 hours?

Sorry, i don't consider this crap to be a "gift." It is no gift to lose my entire savings, be run through the mill of a farce of treatment for a problem i don't have and to have the problems i do have be completely ignored.

I have had occurrences where certain individuals associated with this program have straight up lied, screamed at me and caused a fantastic job offer to go down in flames. So yes, i have every reason to be disgusted. I long ago resigned myself to having to do this garbage but I will never, ever consider it to be any kind of gift. or consider it to have done anything positive for my mental health or my career.

If you are grateful for this, than by all means, be so. i don't know your situation and you don't know mine, but know this...I will come out of this a better, stronger person and nurse but it will be no thanks to this experience. Yes, my disgust still stands. Disgust and resentment are not synonyms.

[malamud69, BSN, RN]

Ok, for starters, my initial post was not bellyaching about the drug screen costs etc. It was just a question posed out of curiosity. The bit about being called 4 times in the space of one week was perfectly justified. What exactly does anyone expect to change in say 24-48 hours?

Sorry, i don't consider this crap to be a "gift." It is no gift to lose my entire savings, be run through the mill of a farce of treatment for a problem i don't have and to have the problems i do have be completely ignored.

I have had occurrences where certain individuals associated with this program have straight up lied, screamed at me and caused a fantastic job offer to go down in flames. So yes, i have every reason to be disgusted. I long ago resigned myself to having to do this garbage but I will never, ever consider it to be any kind of gift. or consider it to have done anything positive for my mental health or my career.

If you are grateful for this, than by all means, be so. i don't know your situation and you don't know mine, but know this...I will come out of this a better, stronger person and nurse but it will be no thanks to this experience. Yes, my disgust still stands. Disgust and resentment are not synonyms.

Well said!!! Personally I am DONE hearing/reading all the forced platitudes...jargons and slogan cons inherent in a psuedo-religious based "program". And yes by that I mean the junk science perpetrated by the 12 steps...onward!

[sallyrnrrt, ADN, RN]

It is a very bumpy and curves road, we traverse in monitoring....

like posters , others suggested, the path in early sobriety helped keep me sober, the AA. Influence, I learned from mature sobriety members, even though I was not an alcoholic....

i promise at se at the completion of monitoring, if successful, you will be an even better nurse...

hang ng in there, remember one of those AA sayings, " this to, shall pass"

Best wishes, you are not alone