IPN question (enter or not?)

evandavid24 · Aug 21, 2011

Once again, I say that I'm sure IPN is a useful program for some. However, the treatment plan they have laid out for me and the 2 yr contract is as costly and time consuming as if I was being disciplined for a DUI. The punishment is far harsher in my particular circumstance than the crime. I got a disorderly intox charge for urinating outside in November of 2008. I've been licensed as an LPN since 2004, and now that I have passed the RN NCLEX exam, they are withholding my license until the eval and contract are in force. The state of FL already knew about the DUI (1998) and breach of peace (2003, also for urinating outside, very ridiculous, I know)...so the issue was that I didn't report the dis intox to the state, and now there are 3 arrests in 13 yrs. So, they want me to be abstinent completely, attend all these support groups, AA, and submit to about 14 random urinalyses throughout a yr. Do you think that sounds like fitting punishment? I noticed at the state board hearings that they were throwing the book at their "fallen" nurses left and right, and very few people were granted amnesty or a realistic chance of regaining an unrestricted license to practice nursing again...seemed rather brutal and unforgiving.

evandavid24 · Aug 21, 2011

Indeed, I have contacted several administrative attorneys and they do concur that fighting the BON is practically useless...to diva: you are paying about 100 bucks a months ($1200/yr) on top of your evaluation. How much did you pay for an evaluation? And finally, I might ask you: why are you in the program? You haven't yet mentioned why you are being disciplined

diva rn, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2011

I totally understand your frustration, but if you already sat in on a BON hearing you saw that they were not too liberal with granting any variances...what they are proposing is the standard IPN contract...your is not any different than anyone elses..and yes it is a total abstinence contract....but maybe that's what you need since you seem to keep getting in trouble with ETOH.

You are lucky in one respect...most contracts are now 5 years...yours would be 2 and a probable early release...I just wanted to say you are not being unjustly punished....this is the usual IPN contract....but you can take your chance with the Board...I know they meet in September...it may be too late to get on the docket unless you have already filed....good luck...I am serious...I would LOVE to see someone "beat the rap"...I just don't think the odds are very good based on the day I spent from 8am-6pm observing the proceedings....they are pretty set in their ways...

evandavid24 · Aug 21, 2011

I have already appealed the decision this month in Tampa; there are no options other than to find a lawyer to fight it or enter the program and get my license. I lean toward the latter. ...I'm not suggesting that my punishment is harsher than others' may be, but I am saying that in my estimation the degree to which they are punishing me is extreme. Remember, in 7 years of being a nurse, I have one charge (disorderly intox). It is the impingement on my personal freedom that ultimately I object to most adamantly. The IPN webpage states IPN is for those nurses who the board deems may be unsafe to practice their profession. There is no evidence that I am unsafe to practice as a nurse. Still, I am curious, what is the reason, Diva RN, that you are in the IPN program? You seem to be something of an advocate for the program, and I'm led to believe that you are really benefitting from it on a personal level.

diva rn, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2011

Indeed, I have contacted several administrative attorneys and they do concur that fighting the BON is practically useless...to diva: you are paying about 100 bucks a months ($1200/yr) on top of your evaluation. How much did you pay for an evaluation? And finally, I might ask you: why are you in the program? You haven't yet mentioned why you are being disciplined

Sure, fair enough...

My evaluation was done almost 3 years ago....it was very expensive...I saw a psychiatrist who is an addiction specialist...I saw him x2 for 2 hours at a time. It did cost me around $1,000.

I have rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis which have led to chronic pain syndromes. I have had bilateral hip and bilateral knee replacements (which have worked out well)...however, over the course of about 10 years I was prescribed by my doctors and then pain specialists increasingly higher doses of opiates. By December of 2008, I was absolutely in over my head...I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and sick of being on all of the crap I was taking....the doses were phenomenal...you wouldn't believe it if I told you!

I was tired of worrying if I would run out of my meds before they could be refilled and worried I would go into withdrawal...I finally made the decision to stop the maddness!

In January 2009 ...I went to an addiction specialist for treatment......and I stopped working while I detoxed at home (under a doctor's care).....which was the hardest thing I have ever done...that really was hell...

I waited a short while and then I SELF reported to the IPN...

That's when went for the evaluation, then to Intensive Outpatient therapy...that was for 9 weeks...I got my IPN contract in Nov 2009...I was lucky because I was able to get the first job I applied for in December of 2009 and I have been working ever since.

For me IPN has worked out ok. I am also an alcoholic, but I stopped drinking almost 12 years ago...lest you think I am kidding around,and I am not really an alcoholic, I am not. My father was an alcoholic who died at 40..and if I had not quit when I did I am sure I would be dead as well. There is really something to this genetic component, also to the opiate addiction thing.

My pain is now pretty well controlled by massage, exercise and NSAIDS...and I will never ever go back to that life of hell again...

I really do wish the best for you, I would like to see you win this...

diva rn, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2011

Hey evandavid,

I am not really an advocate. It's just the only way I can keep my license and practice. By the way, my contract is for 5 years...as are most of them....and I want to move to Seattle, so that really screws me up... I am going to try to appeal for an early release or I will have to try to transfer to Washington State's program...but I can't do anything for at least 1 year or so...that will put me at the 3 year mark...so maybe..I am totally compliant...and the name of the game is "fly under the radar"...

evandavid24 · Aug 21, 2011

See, now I understand better your support of the program; in your case (as I've mentioned) the program was quite possibly a life saver. And the fact that you self reported is big. This is all being mandated for me, and it's hard to accept the stringent terms of the contract; and the BON's treatment of the nurses appealing for mercy or 2nd chances I did find appalling and merciless. So far this has been my experience, and of course has thus shaped my perspective. I'll have no choice but to do what they ask if I want my RN license. I will not even be allowed to have a glass of wine with my wife over dinner. I object to that, but it's futile to fight it.

I do salute your recovery, sounds pretty frightening the place you were in.

diva rn, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2011

Yes, it was a living hell..and I am truely grateful for where I am today...I do not feel however, that the IPN has anything at all to do with my decision to get off of the opiates or stay off of them...the IPN is merely a nuisance that allows me to keep my license in good standing. My recovery is very personal... It was something that I never thought I would be able to do and other than my children and grandchildren-it's the MOST important thing in my life and like I said before the most difficult thing I ever accomplished.

I still wake up every morning and laugh...and it's been 2 years 8 months and 3 weeks (but who's counting)...because I am so amazed that I am clear headed and drug free!!!

I guess I would be p*ssed off too, if I had not entered into IPN willingly...I had been thru such hell and had not worked for almost 1 year, I was ready to do what it would take to get back...

So, you know, it really isn't that bad, and it will go by fast...