another clueless employer

Hey get this, I interviewed at inpatient chemical dependency treatment facility within a major hospital and was declined the position. My background is mental health and now with over 3 years in recovery. I asked the interviewing panel if they had any issues with my monitoring and one of them stated, "now if I did, I would be a hypocrite wouldn't I?"

One would think, working in Chemical Dependency with a mental health background would be a perfect fit, but apparently they didn't think so. I felt and they appeared to be very comfortable with me and thought for sure they were going to offer me the job. Not the case. I bet it was some "suit" that made the decision and not nursing management. It frustrating and discouraging at times. The search goes on...

hahaa well, the EDUCATOR at the acute care hospital that I am currently employed had no idea what TPAPN means. There is a lot of ignorance out there, even in the healthcare workforce.

Is the dialysis company willing to give you the job? If they are, I'd say take it. You did your part by telling them you're in tpapn. I don't know what type of restrictions you have since I'm in pnap which is PA. Find out exactly what you are and aren't allowed to do. If the dialysis company wants you to do any of them be honest and tell them you can't because of tpapn. Make sure you get all your required documents signed (contract, progress reports, etc.) and into your case manager on time and go from there. From what my case manager has said, (in PA anyway) you're not allowed to be offered a job and then let go because of being in pnap. That's not to say it doesn't happen....

Good luck!

I too am in TPAPN, since November 2009. I self-reported and then 1 month later got fired by the DON. Although I got unemployment (now I'm on the Emergency Unemployment Insurance that congress finally passed), it's been a challenging 9 months. I never in my wildest dreams thought it would be so difficult to find employment with my TPAPN status. I thought healthcare was more informed but I was 180 degrees wrong. In Texas, ignorance is bliss in the eyes of healthcare toward the disease of addiction among their own.

I did, however, have an empowering experience about a week ago. I applied for a part-time LVN program Teacher's Assistant position. I had to give a short 15 minute lecture on a "topic" to demonstrate my ability to teach. Right when I got off of the phone, I thought, "what better subject to teach than TPAPN!" So I gave a talk on the disease of addiction among nurses and the profession's response. There were 3 instructors and the Dean who were involved in my interview and they responded very positively when I completed my talk. They commented on the fact that, although they had heard of some kind of program for impaired nurses, they had no idea as to what TPAPN stood for or how prolific this disease is in the field of healthcare. I got alot of compliments. Then the Dean asked me if I was a TPAPN Advocate. I replied that "no, I am a TPAPN participant". I thought she was going to swallow her teeth! The other instructors were very supportive and all of them even talked about how they needed to incorporate the subject of "impairment" in their curriculum. I haven't heard back from them and I probably won't get it since I cannot accompany the students to clinicals without another nurse accompanying me. But this experience was one of the most empowering moments in my life! I really felt like I made a difference!

Anyway, I'm still looking and have alot of irons in the fire. Even though what I am experiencing is "life on life's terms", recovery has been both one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do and also one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life. I am a grateful, recovering addict today and PROUD OF IT!!!