Drug Testing Question, new student

Nursing Students General Students

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Hello all :mad:

I applied to the Lonestar Kingwood College nursing program and read that I have to do a Backround check and drug test.

Does anyone know if Kingwood also drug tests before each semester as well as before the program starts? I take some medications for back pain and was wondering how this would affect me during the program.

Thanks for your help!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

You shouldn't have anything to worry about if you have a prescription. If you don't have a prescription, then you WILL have problems.

Some schools test every semester AND do random testing.

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
Hello all :mad:

I applied to the Lonestar Kingwood College nursing program and read that I have to do a Backround check and drug test.

Does anyone know if Kingwood also drug tests before each semester as well as before the program starts? I take some medications for back pain and was wondering how this would affect me during the program.

Thanks for your help!

As long as you have a prescription, you don't have anything to worry about.

If you don't have a prescription that is valid or are taking amounts significantly higher than the prescription allows for...then I would recommend you not apply at this time.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

When you take the drug test you take your prescription medications with you as well as a photo ID. They ask you at the time of the test if you are taking any prescription medications that are going to affect the outcome of the test and that is when you show them to the examiner.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

Ummmm, I hate to the be the gray cloud but at my school you aren't allowed ANYTHING in your system that "might impair judgement". Prescription or not. I had a lump removed from my breast 2 weeks before classes started. I only took one pain pill immediately after the surgery thank goodness cause I woke up to the email stating I had to go for my drug test. I called the DON at our clinical site, the pharmacy, human resources, our Nursing school director and I got the same answer. Even if you have a prescription, if its in your system you are still "impaired" and unable to complete clincials at our hospital therefore, unable to complete the nursing program.

I contacted my surgeon and he was furious and said he would fight it tooth and nail for me if I got kicked out. I didnt want to go through that so I just did without the pain meds and luckily was fine for the test. A drug test is the LAST thing in the world I thought I would have to worry about.

Anyway, guess I'm saying it depends on the school and the clinical site, but I thought I would be OK with a prescription also but I wasn't.

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Specializes in ..

Wow. We dont do this as a routine in Australia, though I'm sure they'd test if there was a reason, too.

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Specializes in ED.

Are you sure Nursing is a good career choice if you are on prescription meds for back pain? Nursing will only worsen your back problems.

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it's illegal to kick someone out of a program for taking medication that you NEED to take. just because you take pain medication doesn't automatically mean that you're impaired. that's evaluated on a case by case basis. i think you might be overreacting a bit by saying you aren't allowed to take medicine with a rx. they can not tell you that - that is i l l e g a l.

schools usually test once during the program - usually at the beginning. anything more than that would have to be required. no school in their right mind is going to blow money on random drug tests. that's just not how it works. schools are businesses and they can't afford to waste money on random drug screens. the only time they would test more than that one time is if they were required by law or if there was suspicion that required a drug test.

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I would think you'd be just as impaired if you are working in extreme pain because you couldn't take your pain medication. I find it funny that there are programs that won't let you take a prescription medication...it is the MEDICAL field afterall...shouldn't they understand the importance of prescription medication be it a pain pill or not?

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Ummmm, I hate to the be the gray cloud but at my school you aren't allowed ANYTHING in your system that "might impair judgement". Prescription or not. I had a lump removed from my breast 2 weeks before classes started. I only took one pain pill immediately after the surgery thank goodness cause I woke up to the email stating I had to go for my drug test. I called the DON at our clinical site, the pharmacy, human resources, our Nursing school director and I got the same answer. Even if you have a prescription, if its in your system you are still "impaired" and unable to complete clincials at our hospital therefore, unable to complete the nursing program.

I don't think that is the norm.

Usually drug tests are administered & reviewed by an independant 3rd party.

You take the test, if anything comes back positive you're contacted and asked to submit proof of prescription. After they receive it they report your test results to the requesting entity as 'passed'.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.
it's illegal to kick someone out of a program for taking medication that you NEED to take. just because you take pain medication doesn't automatically mean that you're impaired. that's evaluated on a case by case basis. i think you might be overreacting a bit by saying you aren't allowed to take medicine with a rx. they can not tell you that - that is i l l e g a l.

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Well, it may be illegal but they do it and I wasn't willing to jeopardize my chance in the program over some pain meds that I wouldn't need in a week anyway. It's not the program per se. It was the hospital itself. You are NOT allowed to be on any drugs that could "impair judgement". Therefore, if you are, you are not able to do clinicals at the hospital. Without being able to do clinicals, you are not able to pass the program. So, its a rock and a hard place.

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Yes programs do test randomly throughout. Every week or so a handful of students would be held after class for random drugs tests. My name was never called. But it could have been so I was careful to only take what I had a rx for or OTCs. Random drug testing depends on the area, state requirements and hospital requirements where clinicals are being conducted. Our area has a huge drug problem, so they are very vigilant. Just have you rx with you. There were students on pain medication in my program for various reasons. As long as the reason did not prevent you from perform your tasks in clinical there was no problem. On issue to consider is will you even be able to lift/roll patients with back pain.

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