Be Careful With Vacation in Monitoring

[solarex]

For any nurses in monitoring programs, be careful requesting vacation time.  Some of you will have allowed maximum amount of vacation time specified in your monitoring agreement per year.  Some will say it's at your case managers discretion.  Some will not say anything about it other than that you simply have to clear it with your case manager before going.  

Here is what I am getting at and why it's important to think twice.  If your monitoring program is for alcohol and is 4 years, or lets say it's for Diversion and it's 5 years and you request vacation time which means.....you are getting permission to travel and you are getting permission to not have to check in daily while on vacation for a week or 2.  Here is what is happening across the country with monitoring programs.  Many of them are tacking on your vacation time to the end of your monitoring discharge time.  For example, if you are doing a 4 year monitoring agreement and you are within a month of discharge, you may not be discharged in one month.  Monitoring programs are moving to this.  They are looking back and adding up the vacation time you took over the past 4 years, and lets say it's 8 weeks total.  You just added 8 weeks to your 4 year monitoring period.  Is it a big deal?  No, not really, but it is an extension and it is a real thing.  They are doing this more and more.

What I have seen many nurses and monitoring programs do is this.  You simply take vacation and still call in every day and if selected to test, then you test at the site where your vacation is and you are the one responsible for knowing where that site is.  Many monitoring agreements......actually most of them.....do not require you to "request vacation or travel" if it's inside the USA.  Some do, but most don't.  They absolutely and obviously do require you to request permission to travel/vacation AND be exempted from having to check in daily while on vacation. 

The easiest thing, and keeping with your routine, might simply be to travel, go on vacation, and treat it like any other day and check in and be prepared to test if selected.  I know for some....for some people, you are required to get permission to simply leave the state or travel regardless of whether you are requesting to check in or not check in, but most monitoring agreements don't require that.  Most only request you get permission to travel if you are planning on not checking in daily while you are on your trip and vacation.

[Sam_0896]

Thanks for mentioning this. I requested 3 weeks vacation but it is abroad. I didn't even think to ask if that meant my time would be longer as a result. 

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

I traveled both domestically for my sister's wedding in Hawaii and to Greece wfound hile in monitoring. Both times I did my homework. The Hawaii trip request including a test site that I found and a list of AA meetings on Maui. They exempted me from testing and meeting attendance though I did attend an awsome sunrise meeting on the beach. When I went to Greece also exempted from testing and meetings I went to a great meeting in Athens. To my knowledge no time was addeded to my contract but that was 20 years ago so my memory it not what it once was.

I do believe that I showed a willingness to test and attend meetings  helped to get the exemptions for both trips. 

 

Hppy 

 

[Universe93B]

What in the world!   Tack on vacation time at the end because you can't check in on an out of country vacation?   How ridiculous are these monitoring agencies getting?!

I'm used to the following - inside the country, you can travel but need to find a lab or urgent care in the area you are going to if selected.

If outside the country or at a place where you can't check in like camping in remote Wyoming or cruise, you tell them travel dates and then agree to more long testing when you get back.  Like Peth blood test and/or hair test per protocol since you didn't check in daily.

what is this nonsense about lengthening the time period for vacation! 

[Healer555]

As far as I know, we have to ask for vacation snd are given a site to test and we check in daily.  They usually don't make us test while on vacation but do a hair and peth test when we return.  I would rather skip vacation and do a shorter sentence if it means a longer sentence.  I want my life back 

[DistressedRN]

TNPAP does not require you to serve the time at the end.  However, the only time I requested an actual break in testing was when I was on a cruise and once when we were in a remote area hiking.  Any time we went to the beach or to Disney or anywhere else within the lower 48, I just told my case manager that we were traveling, but I had identified several testing facilities nearby just in case.  In three years I never got tested while on vacation.

[Babygirl38]

What will happen if you have a positive drug test while in TNPAP? Can anyone help with this question? 

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

It's going to be dependent on your contract but is not good. Possible scenario s include being sent back to inpatient, lengthining of contract of loss of liscensure

[Babygirl38]

I never got reported to the BON, I didn't have to do inpatient just go to meetings and see a therapist. I was drinking herbal TEAS to help with insomnia and I read some cause positive results. I was so scared to take any type of pill due to having to be in the program. I did it voluntarily. 

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

Babygirl38 said:

I never got reported to the BON, I didn't have to do inpatient just go to meetings and see a therapist. I was drinking herbal TEAS to help with insomnia and I read some cause positive results. I was so scared to take any type of pill due to having to be in the program. I did it voluntarily. 

I did it voluntary as well but it was still a total abstinance program. I had a friend give me an herbal tea for sleep and it turned out to be marijuana