APRN seeking employment after being reported to NPDB for substance use disorder

crna05, CRNA · Mar 19

Big Blondie said:

Not sure how old this is, but I know of a CRNA who was in my group and he was able to work at an outpatient endo unit. He was blackballed by a former DON who blocked him getting hired at a couple of places. Don't give up. I am a NP and was able to continue practice with full scope of practice. It did take some negotiation with the monitor from my state. These programs are designed to assist us to safe practice. Not to destroy our careers. Many Providers including physicians are in recovery. Find a recovery group for professionals and network. You will find a job. Keep plugging, don't settle to return to basic nursing practice. You are an Advanced Practice Nurse, that is where you belong.

Thank you for these words of encouragement, I have found a job as a CRNA and have been working for almost 6 months now and it feels great to be back in practice.

sch76, MSN, RN · Apr 14

crna05 said:

Thank you for these words of encouragement, I have found a job as a CRNA and have been working for almost 6 months now and it feels great to be back in practice.

Thank you- hoping to send you a PM but I need a certain # of posts first. Happy to hear you secured a job!

sch76, MSN, RN · Apr 14

Healer555 said:

I know a CRNA who worked as a RN during her monitoring agreement because she couldn't get a job as a CRNA. MAYBE that's an option?

I have applied to a facility but am afraid they aren't going to even look at my application as they might think me overqualified. I might need to directly contact someone there.

Healer555 · Apr 14

sch76 said:

I have applied to a facility but am afraid they aren't going to even look at my application as they might think me overqualified. I might need to directly contact someone there.

I would 100% contact someone directly.

RNigothis · May 12

Steven Thompson said:

Apply for GI centers, eye centers, large metropolitan area hospitals that need help and you will be surprised at how many CRNAs and RNs and Physicians are in recovery at large hospitals. Getting your first job is tough, but it will happen. I am a recovery instructor, RN, and Psych NP and lead recovery online groups for nurses, physicians, and CRNAs, pharmacists, etc. I've worked with, know or have known approximately 100 plus CRNAs over the years who have diverted and come back into practice. For the ones that completed rehab and were in active 5 year monitoring programs and compliant, I NEVER met one who did not eventually find a job and return to practice as a CRNA. The overwhelming majority of them had a tough time getting that first job back and many of them...it took one year from the time they started applying to their first day on the job in the OR, but every one of them found one.

Do NOT waste your time applying with CRNA staffing groups/locums. A hospital will not credential you as a locum CRNA even though the locum group/CRNA staffers tell you you can work for them. The resistance comes as the hospitals they are trying to staff you/credential you at.

Apply for every GI Center in your state. Apply for hospitals in your state in which you directly work for the hospital. Be very open, up front and honest, and sooner or later someone doing the hiring and on the credentials committee will either be someone in recovery or have had a family member in recovery, etc. For all of those CRNAs who returned to practice and found that first job back/re entry....90 plus percent of them told me they didn't think they would find a job only for......them to find a job. Be prepared to be told No and be turned down. That's par for the course. Be prepared to move within your state. Think GI centers where you work directly for the GI Center, Surgical Centers where you are directly hired by the surgical center (no groups or anesthesia staffing agency) eye centers (direct hires) and hospitals that are very rural (in great need) or very large metro based hospitals (in need because it's considered an undesirable CRNA job)

Be prepared for it to take yp to 1 year from the time you put your first application in until the time you begin work. Think VOLUME of applications, not onesies or twosies, flood the market with a high volume of applications. You will find a job sooner or later and that's all it takes. One you have your foot in the door and are credentialed, you are set when your monitoring agreement ends. You will find that only a small handful of places will not hire you after your monitoring agreement is over and license is clear bases on your background that they will always know about. If only 1 in 8 hospitals will hire you now, after you have practiced somewhere eith that first job back and completed yourb5 year contract, 7 in 8 will hire you.

Hi Steven,

I hope you're doing well. I saw that you work with nurses in recovery and wanted to reach out with a quick question.

I'm currently enrolled in a confidential alternative-to-discipline monitoring program in my state. My license remains completely clean—there are no public restrictions or disciplinary actions, and even my narcotics restriction is private.

Once that restriction is lifted, I'm hoping to return to inpatient nursing, particularly in a med-surg setting, which is where most of my experience lies. Given that my license is unencumbered, I'm wondering if, in your experience, this might make it "easier" to secure a hospital position again—especially considering the liaison requirement in the early stages of monitoring, which I know some employers view differently. My case manager talks about not having to fully disclose why I am being monitored after I get an offer, and she said I do not have to go into details. But I am not sure.

I'd really appreciate any insights you might have.

Thank you so much for your time and support.