Affinity Testing

RickG85 · Aug 1, 2017

This is probably the peth test that treats for alcohol use within the past 90 days

ChryssyD · Aug 1, 2017

You're not supposed to know what the tests are for. If you're not doing anything wrong, don't worry about it. Ignorance is bliss! Hope it is, anyway, because they will purposely keep you in the dark whenever they can. These programs are rough and they don't care about your feelings or your anxiety. It's not right, but it is. Hang in there.

Headlights7 · Aug 1, 2017

Thanks for responding! Haven't drank in over a year :)

catsmeow1972, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2017

I could not care less what they test for because i know I am not doing anything questionable. My twitchiness comes from the fact that many of us may be unemployed or underemployed due to some of these stipulations and can barely afford the $55 hits, never mind the Surprise!!!!! We want more money. Now! Last summer, i got hit for the $80 and 3 of the $55 ones...within the space of 8 days! Really? oh but it's random was the response i got....Uh...whatever...

I will disagree on the "ignorance is bliss" because it is true that a lot of this is not right (and occasionally outright abusive , in my opinion) but the only way that will ever change is if we stand up and advocate for ourselves, because IPN sure as heck isn't going to. Nothing may change in the time that many of us have left in this nightmare but perhaps down the road, nurses in need of help won't be seen as cash cows.

Headlights7 · Aug 2, 2017

Catsmeow1972 - I couldn't have said it better myself! I have many more issues and choice words concerning this whole process but I will refrain and keep those to myself í ½í¸‡

jfox01, BSN · Aug 8, 2017

I could not agree with you more!! Somehow we need to get this program monitored better. I'm happy for people who had good experiences and received the help they needed. But if you do not have a problem and are treated like you do it is not just not right . It takes a lot to finish school and become a nurse. To be treated with such disrespect is not acceptable and Backing nurses into a corner with IPN being the only savor. It's not working for many

emergencynurse2011 · Sep 1, 2017

I totally agree! I really question if they actually want to help us...i had a false positive at my vivitrol appointment (No chain of custody, urine was dumped into 3 different cups, etc...i think it was a tiny piece okf poppyseed bread [i was assured by labcorp it wouldn't make me positive]). Anyway, I scheduled myself for an IPN test as soon as that came back positive, and my Dr refused to let me retest. IPN test came back negative, but because my addictionologist was pissed that I missed an appointment due to a family emergency, he insisted I get hair tested ($178) and increase the frequency of my urine tests, even though my test (that had a chain of custody) came back completely negative. I'm being punished for being innocent!

bowana70 · Apr 20, 2018

Anybody know what F panel 764056 for affinity is?

NurseDiane · Jul 6, 2018

What IPN is putting nurses through is downright abusive. Pushing nurses into debt so they can keep their licenses is not reasonable, not to mention all of the other conditions required of nurses to "comply" with the monitoring program. There must be legislation passed that will set limits on what IPN is allowed to do---including which complaints/reports they are permitted to investigate; what is required in an "investigation"; what is necessary to prove that a nurse is guilty; individualized monitoring programs appropriate for the particular situation (not forcing a nurse into a 5 year contract for a monitoring program for getting one DUI or some other extremely minor infraction---getting a DUI doesn't mean that you're an alcoholic and having too much to drink one time doesn't mean that you have an alcohol abuse problem); setting realistic goals & not prohibiting nurses from making a living & paying their bills by setting extremely restrictive conditions such as not working in ICU, ER, PACU, OB, home care, night shifts, overtime, etc.; reducing the program times, or reducing the requirements after being in the program for a certain amount of time without any problems (5 years of urine, blood & hair testing is ludicrous---after one or two years, that should stop if the nurse did not test positive during the one-two year period of time); allowing nurses to obtain evaluations from providers other than from only the "approved providers" on the IPN list (the same goes for rehab facilities---if a nurse has insurance that will cover rehab in places other than only the "approved" facilities (which don't accept insurance for nurses & must be paid out of pocket). The amount of control & power being wielded over nurses unnecessarily is getting completely out of hand & must be stopped. This goes not only for Florida, but for all states.

michelle4SN · Jul 7, 2018

Very frustrating indeed. I have a nurse in my support group that had to drop because he simply couldn't afford all the testing anymore. It was ludicrous, he was such a good guy. My support group facilitator said in my state there are about 300k nurses but only about 1-2k in IPN. Then all the testing kinda made sense. They make their money off us and with such a small amount of nurses enrolled, they hit us with these BS tests like mad-men.

I got 5 years for something I should've gotten 2 on. And my facilitator said they're pretty much giving everyone 5 years now regardless of the instance.

NurseDiane · Jul 9, 2018

Arbitrarily handing out 5 year programs is absurd. Even in criminal cases, sentences are individualized & based on current & past history.

What I find ironic & totally against the current medical thinking is how the BON treats nurses with substance abuse problems or mental health issues like outcasts that caused their own problems, like they wanted & chose to have those things. Pricing drug screens so high that people unable to find jobs because of the restrictions placed on working cannot afford them, causing them to drop out of the program entirely not because of something they did, but because they couldn't afford it, is discrimination. If I were that nurse, I would file a lawsuit against against the whole "system"---there is nothing in the consent agreement about being kicked out of the program due to a nurse's inability to pay for the drug screens. If a person was in a pain management program & required drug screens to stay in it, the drug screens would be ordered by a physician & therefore paid for by insurance. Since substance abuse & mental health issues are legitimate diseases with formal diagnoses in the DSM IV, and nurses in monitoring programs have been "diagnosed" by the illustrious "approved providers" with some sort of substance abuse or mental health issue, their drug screens should be prescribed by the "providers" and therefore paid for by insurance. This is just one of the issues that require legislative control & governance to prevent these programs from running amuck, leaving nurses with no control over anything.

Now that all of this stuff can be found online, nurses should make the BON include in the contracts that their inability to afford drug testing should not automatically eject them from the program, and alternate plans for drug testing must be considered for those nurses. Being kicked out of the program for no fault of your own when a nurse has complied with the requirements & stayed clean the whole time because they can't afford thousands of dollars in drug testing every year is unfair & discriminatory. If that happened to me, I would file a lawsuit against all the entities involved for discrimination, as participating in a monitoring program with the purpose of rehabilitating a nurse shouldn't not be based on their socioeconomic status & whether they can afford the drug testing. These issues must be addressed, if they are not going to be addressed by the BON itself, then it must be addressed in other ways. If the BON refused to add something like that into the contract, I would contact a state legislator for assistance since it is a loosely associated arm of the state government, and discrimination is a legal issue. I would let the BON know that I was seeking assistance from state legislators with respect to the discriminatory aspects of the monitoring program only being sustainable for those who are able to afford the drug testing. I doubt that state BON's would want to get involved in a legal scuffle that involves discrimination over whether an unemployed nurse can afford the drug testing requirements. Perhaps this is an issue that should be picked up by major media outlets, because the general public thinks that licensing boards are out there to "do good" & has no idea that nurses that truly need help & are complying with the BON's requirements to get better are being kicked out because the drug testing is ridiculously expensive & there is no other option---if a nurse can't afford it, they get ejected from the program and that is not only unfair, it is discriminatory.