Completed California intervention program

Congratulations! Can I ask what you were in the program for? So now your license is "clean" right? 

Congratulations! Now you can put this chapter behind you. I hope you have some time to heal and do some self-care by rewarding yourself for all of your hard work! 

I was reported for my alcohol used, I went out one night before work and came back the next day hungover. They thought I look really tired so they decided to drug screen me. I didn't think that alcohol would be tested so when I came back positive I was reported. Also my last drink before showing up to work had been about 8hrs but it will still show up in drug screen.  

Congratulations! I finished about 2 weeks ago so I know the feeling, mine was 4 long years. We did it!

I'm confused on how it works if you were ever asked to get drug screened at work...do they do the typical urine EtG test? So alcohol would stay in your system for like 3 days in that case....so is the best rule of thumb to not have a drink if you know you have to work within the next 3 days? What if you only have weekends off, does that mean it's best to just never drink since if you had a drink on Friday after work, it would show up in your system if you had to drug test on Monday? 

Also, this is if you're NOT in monitoring.....I know obviously if you are in monitoring you should not drink or do drugs for the entirety of it. I'm asking if you are NOT in monitoring, but say something happened and you were randomly asked to do a drug screen at work like OP who looked 'tired' one day. 

Just asking so I can practice safely in the future. 

If you are not in a monitoring program and not in trouble with the BON...............you can drink alcohol, chew tobacco, eat double cheeseburgers, look at porn, get intoxicated multiple times weekly and it's LEGAL in the United States.  The point I am making is......if you are doing a pre-employment drug screen for a job, you can have 12 beers the night before if you want.  THAT'S LEGAL.  The BON simply can't tell nurses (that are NOT in monitoring) that they can't consume alcohol for heaven's sakes.  

Pre-Employment Drug Screens are usually a 5 or 10 panel drug screen.  They don't test for EtG.  If they did test for EtG, then no biggy.  You can still get hammered the night before and if they did test for EtG and they asked, do you drink alcohol?  Tell em, "yep, and had a bunch of it last night and had lots of fun doing it."  A pre-employment drug screen cares ZERO about EtG, and again for the the rare one's that do, your test is not "A Failed Drug Screen" because you have EtG in your urine.  Again, alcohol is legal in the United States.  Now.........all of the above is ASSUMING you aren't in a monitoring program by the BON.  Everything changes then.  

As for your question on "not having a drink if you know you have to work for the next 3 days?"  Why on earth would you do that?  You can have a drink of alcohol the night before work.  It does not MATTER if your work tests you the next day and EtG is in your urine.  It's in the urine of half the staff inside the hospital.  It's legal.  It's not a "failure of a drug test."  

In summary, EtG is rarely tested for in pre employment drug screens or hospital-at work drug screens.  Why?  Because it's a legal drug in the United States in all 50 days and by the Federal Government.  There's zero point and again, if you do have EtG in your urine on the rare occasion EtG would be tested for, that's OK.  It's fine.  There's no harm in it.  It's not a "failed drug test."  

That makes sense, I guess I'm just confused why it mattered for OP that the drug screen came back positive for alcohol. 

If someone isn't in trouble with BON or in monitoring, but they show up to work tired and randomly get screened because someone at work reported that they 'looked hungover',  it's possible for them to be penalized if they have EtG in their urine for drinking 2 nights ago? 

ADN244 said:

That makes sense, I guess I'm just confused why it mattered for OP that the drug screen came back positive for alcohol. 

If someone isn't in trouble with BON or in monitoring, but they show up to work tired and randomly get screened because someone at work reported that they 'looked hungover',  it's possible for them to be penalized if they have EtG in their urine for drinking 2 nights ago? 

No. Not enough evidence.  Someone can't simply "look hungover."  Do they smell like alcohol?  Is their speech slurred?  Also, if another employee makes a complaint and the employer feels the complaint is legit enough to pursue further, then it's no longer a "random screen."  Its technically a "for cause" screen.  "For Cause" means reasonable suspicion.  What would be done to determine possible alcohol impairment by the employer IF the above 2 criteria or one of the 2 above criteria were met?  A blood alcohol level (blood draw). Even a breathalyzer would be more valuable and used more than a urine EtG, because urine EtG isn't really telling the employer much about the persons alcohol level right now. It proves nothing if it's positive other than the person has drank alcohol at some point in the last 3 days which is legal in the United States.  In the case you described above, 99% of the time, the employer would do a Blood Alcohol Level (Blood Draw). That will tell whether someone is legally intoxicated or not at That Specific Time.  

OK that makes a lot more sense to me now. Thank you for explaining. 

Based on all of the above though, let me give you fair warning.  There are nurses who end up in monitoring programs from similar incidences above and here is exactly how it happens.

Nurse A and Nurse B and Nurse C and Nurse D go out the night before work.  They get pretty dang drunk, but not passing out drunk and they all agree to go home at 9 pm.  Nurse A finds out that Nurse D has been messing around with Nurse A's boyfriend later than night. Nurse A finds out this has been going on for 2 months. Nurse A didn't drink a ton, only had 3 drinks.  Nurse D got pretty dang drunk.  Nurse A wakes up the next morning, incredibly angry and vengeful, and at around 7:30 AM, she reports to the Supervisor that Nurse D "looks like she might be drunk."  The supervisor does notice a smell of alcohol and Nurse D does look pretty rough.  The higher ups get called.  Nurse D finds herself doing a Blood Alcohol Test and Barely, by the skin of her teeth, reaches the legal limit of intoxicated.  Nurse D just had her career changed forever.

Moral of the story.......Do NOT ever go out drinking the night before work.  If you are going to go out drinking the night before work, limit it to 2 or 3.  If you are going to go out drinking the night before work and you get really, really drunk, make sure you aren't with ANYONE that could be your enemy or with Anyone that could turn on your the next morning.  In summary.....Don't go out and drink with other nurses or hospital employees or in public being around ANYone that works at your facility or hospital or clinic the night before work. If you are going to do it, go 10 miles outside of your town and away from coworkers.  Otherwise, you are playing with fire.

That's good advice and good to know. Thanks so much. 

JKL65423 said:

Congratulations! I finished about 2 weeks ago so I know the feeling, mine was 4 long years. We did it!

Can I ask if employers will still know you were in the program even after you finish your monitoring agreement? I am worried because I was reported to the NPDB. I'm worried this will hurt my nursing job prospects for the rest of my life.