Drug Testing Questions!!!

Wave Watcher · Mar 18, 2012

Employer's do drug screens to see if you have taken "recreational or illegal drugs" without a prescription. If you had a prescription for your medication then you are fine. OTC meds do not count and are not tested for. Anyone can take Tylenol and will not be arrested for illegal drug use. You will be fine.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Mar 18, 2012

Why would an employer care if you take Tylenol or Advil?

They're looking for things like benzos, narcotics (without a valid prescription this would be a problem) and illicit substances like marijuana.

FutureRN_NP · Mar 19, 2012

I guess I am just over worried myself to death since this will be my first hospital job. I mean all of us taking some type of meds at one time or the other. No one really 100 percent healthy so drug screening just fricking me out. I am not and never taken or used any illegal substance in my entire adult life other than OTC meds controlling pain. I have this chronic headaches. It's terrible that I have to take OTC very frequently.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Mar 19, 2012

My concern for you is .. you are naive regarding standard drug testing, and worrying yourself into a tizzy about Tylenol.

Even your chosen avatar portrays anxiety.

Trust me,,, working in a hospital will be very stressful, in many ways.

Choose your battles (concerns) wisely.. or your anxiety will overwhelm you ability to succeed.

FutureRN_NP · Mar 19, 2012

I will not dispute the fact that I am naive and yes I tend to over worried on something really minor. It is not something I am very proud of and I am working to improve this side of me. I chose this Avatar because I thought it was really cute and funny. I should chose something else then lol.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2012

drugs (or their metabolites, what happens to them after they break down in your body) stay in your system for different amounts of time depending on the drug. these times are all well-known, but none of them are lifetime. what the test is looking for is if you have any illegal drugs of abuse on board, or any other drugs of abuse which are prescription-only.

for example, if you had a tooth extraction on monday and the dentist gave you a prescription for percocet, and you took some on tuesday and wednesday before your drug test thursday, it would show up there. however, you have a form to fill out before your urine test that asks if you have had any medications prescribed for you. you would fill that out, "percocet, dental extraction, dr. dentistname, monday date." they might want to see the rx bottle so you would bring it with you; they might call the pharmacy to be sure that's real. result: no problem.

if you test positive for percocet without a prescription: big problem.

that's the purpose of a urine test. it sounds as if you have nothing to worry about. you'll be less afraid of the unknown when you learn more in school. good luck in school!

I love my cat! · Mar 19, 2012

One can take Percocet and Xanax every day, 5x a day and if they possess a legal, valid Prescription for those medications. Well, you are safe where I work, anyway. Denying a person work because they take a med is just a form of disability discrimination, IMO. Some people function much better when their pain or anxiety is under control-better than saying a person can't take anything and then force them to work and then they make errors.....because only A BAD person takes scheduled drugs! (Which sadly seems to be a common theme on this board for many years now).

My gosh, I would bet 1/2 the staff around here takes Scheduled drugs (pain, anxiety or sleep and/or some sort of or Psychotropic drug). That's life.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2012

One can take Percocet and Xanax every day, 5x a day and if they possess a legal, valid Prescription for those medications. Well, you are safe where I work, anyway. Denying a person work because they take a med is just a form of disability discrimination, IMO. Some people function much better when their pain or anxiety is under control-better than saying a person can't take anything and then force them to work and then they make errors.....because only A BAD person takes scheduled drugs! (Which sadly seems to be a common theme on this board for many years now).
My gosh, I would bet 1/2 the staff around here takes Scheduled drugs (pain, anxiety or sleep and/or some sort of or Psychotropic drug). That's life.

That actually depends on the facility. You wouldn't fail a drug test if you tested positive for narcotics but had a valid prescription for Vicodin but I know my facility does not allow people to work if they are on narcotics... a Nurse Practitioner from Occupational Health told me as much when I was on lifting restrictions because of a back problem (and not on narcotics, she was incredibly rude and presumptuous). They also don't do pre-employment drug screening though, so I guess the only way they'd actually find out if someone was on narcs was if that person told them.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 19, 2012

The first facility I worked at did not require employees to disclose what they were taking before the test, the reason being that they'd deal with positives when they came up. The second facility requested that employees disclose everything they were taking--prescription and OTC--as well as when the last dose was, before the drug test. Different places, different policies.

Also, I agree with KelRN: having a script is not bulletproof protection when your drug test comes up positive. Most of the time, it will protect you and clear your name. However, when you are on the job or are injured and test positive, it can be a different story.

Just try to relax. Odds are that as long as you are not doing anything you shouldn't be doing, you should be fine.

FutureRN_NP · Mar 20, 2012

So the question is, should I disclose what I have taken before the test? I do not take narc but just other OTC meds that is all. So I was just wondering if I need to write that down if they were to ask me lists all meds that are or were taken.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 20, 2012

If asked, you should list any and ALL medications you have taken: prescription, OTC, herbal, anything. The reason is that in rare cases cross-reactions can occur in medications, including OTCs and herbals, which can result in false positives.

For example, ibuprofen could cause a false positive UDS for THC (marijuana). It's rare but it can happen, and if they knew you were on Motrin before the test and you popped positive, they could put the sample through additional testing to confirm that it is in fact not THC.

If you didn't tell them about the Motrin and you popped positive for THC, however...you may not get the chance to.