What kind of pre-employment drug screen do most employers do?

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  1. This is a discussion on What kind of pre-employment drug screen do most employers do? in Nursing Career Advice ... I want to apply for jobs but I'm worried about getting a hair test for the pre-employment drug...

    by Mar 20, '12
    I want to apply for jobs but I'm worried about getting a hair test for the pre-employment drug test. I made a stupid decision at a party so I'm just worried about failing a hair test (yes I know it was dumb and I would never do it again ever). What if I just walk out of the place if they want to test my hair? Is that a refusal and automatic fail and would they report that to the board? The nursing community in my town is kinda small so I would be worried about getting blacklisted/getting a bad reputation if I did something like that and never getting hired in this town

    I'm not worried about a UDS at all and know I can pass that, is that what most employers do these days? just test urine?
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    by northw3 Mar 20, '12 11:53 am
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  3. 26 Comments so far...

  4. Mar 20, '12 by
    Never had my hair tested, only my urine.
  5. Mar 20, '12 by
    I just had my urine and blood test. Never heard they would need to test your hair. Maybe there is such thing but I probably missed it.
  6. Guide
    Mar 20, '12 by
    OP, it doesn't really matter what anyone else here has experienced ... it only matters what hurdles you now face as an applicant.
    IowaKaren and hey_suz like this.
  7. Mar 20, '12 by
    well I'm unsure of what to do. Don't most hair tests only detect up to 90 days? It's been longer than 90 days so I wonder if I'm fine and just paranoid about nothing? I want to apply for jobs but the thought of a hair test terrifies me
  8. Mar 20, '12 by
    I've never had a hair test. I wouldn't worry about it.
  9. Mar 20, '12 by
    I would just hang out until I thought the coast, or in this case, the hair, was clear. You are ahead of the game to be aware enough to be concerned, so it might not be a bad idea to take the easy remedy.
    calinurse11 likes this.
  10. Mar 20, '12 by
    Can't it stay in your hair though for up to a year? That would mean I'd have a long time to wait until I could apply for jobs. I took one of my klonopins that I had saved from a past rx (I was having anxiety issues that day), I'm sure that rx isn't current (probably a year old or something), what if that shows up in my hair too even though I had an old rx for it
  11. Guide
    Mar 20, '12 by
    certainly, when i was hired they did the urine, and blood test, however, now a days they do the hair as well. consequently, i was told by one of the reps. that was doing the testing that for a 1/2 inch of hair it goes back 30 days, and they have a 5 panel screening or a 10 panel, and you're correct they mostly go back 90 days. wishing you the best always...aloha~
  12. Mar 20, '12 by
    so that 1 klonopin I took 2 weeks ago with an expired rx could affect it :\ I guess I'll just wait on applying for now