drug testing in school

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NeoNurseTX, RN

1,803 Posts

Specializes in NICU Level III.

I think it's wrong to do it for SCHOOL, but for a job, yes. Most jobs require it anyway.

I've never had a random one.

wannabeanRN90

111 Posts

If I am on birth control medication, do I need to tell the school before I have the test? I start ns in January....but have no idea what the entire drill is?

We had to have a drug test done before clinicals, along with all of our other compliance documents (proof of vaccination, flu shot, etc). I had one clinical site where we were told that if there was a miscount for the narcotics, the unit was locked and no one was allowed to leave before giving a drug test, students, faculty, regular staff.

BabyLady, BSN, RN

2,300 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
So I am a nursing student and I hear all the time that hospitals do random drug testing often. However; I only had to take a drug test to get into school, and haven't had one since. Do you think schools should also do random drug screens, how many drug test did you take while in school, and was there a reason for having to submit more than one?

If you are not using, then it shouldn't matter if they give you a drug test, randomly or scheduled.

FYI: It also doesn't matter how the test is administered.

BabyLady, BSN, RN

2,300 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.
If I am on birth control medication, do I need to tell the school before I have the test? I start ns in January....but have no idea what the entire drill is?

Birth control pills are NOT what drug tests test for.

They test for illegal medications and drugs that have a high tendency to be abused, barbituates, opiates, etc.

Hormones don't count.

They will inform you of what their disclosure practice is....SOME clinics want a full med list up front...MOST will call you but only if the test comes back positive and then will ask for documentation only on that particular drug to comply with HIPAA

wannabeanRN90

111 Posts

Birth control pills are NOT what drug tests test for.

They test for illegal medications and drugs that have a high tendency to be abused, barbituates, opiates, etc.

Hormones don't count.

They will inform you of what their disclosure practice is....SOME clinics want a full med list up front...MOST will call you but only if the test comes back positive and then will ask for documentation only on that particular drug to comply with HIPAA

Thank you!:up:

Specializes in FNP.

No one in nursing school or practice should have any hesitancy about submitting a sample for a drug screen at any time. If you do, I don't want you as my nurse or working alongside me.

regularRN

400 Posts

I don't really get this post - as a student or as an RN, drug testing is common place. Prescribed drugs with evidence of a prescription is a different matter, but recreational drugs... well, think twice or thrice. Even non-nursing corporate companies do random drug screens for employees who are not directly involved with making life or death decisions...

Think about it...

ashnem

42 Posts

My thought and experiences with drug testing in general:

I just graduated in December. Our school did not do drug testing prior to admission and I don't know if there was a policy in place that allowed them to do so for just cause. One of the clinical sites that our school used did require testing. We did not know until the first day of peds when the instructor said, "Raise your hand if you are going to X Hospital for clinical. Okay you need to do a drug test." (On our own dime, of course.) So there was no time to "modify" your behavior, if need be.

I find drug testing to be an intrusive violation, on principle alone. If I have given no just cause, don't make me prove my innocence. I really don't think that drug tests prove much. They just prove that either you can or can't modify your behavior for a specified amount of time (length of time depending on the drug and how it is metabolized and excreted). For those that test positive for Rx drugs, as long as they have documentation that they have a legal Rx than it's OK. Yet, most folks that are addicted to Rx painkillers began as legitimately prescribed patients (r/t chronic illness or injury) and they became addicted over time b/c their pain wasn't adequately managed or they didn't have the resources or time to use adjunctive therapy (PT, massage therapy, chiro...) leading to them obtaining illegally or Dr shopping. So they could have a legal prescription AND still be a drug abuser!

Consider the length of time certain drugs are present in urine: cocaine 12hours, meth 1-4d, codiene 2-3d, morphine 2-4d, heroin 3-4 and marijauna one month+! So yesderday you could have been snorting some coke and a few days ago shooting up heroin and you would probably come up negative. But LAST MONTH on a trip to Europe you could have smoked a joint and test positive. I am not advocating/condoning drug use at all but that doesn't make any sense when you consider that most research has proved that marijuana use poses little risk, is not addictive and has lots of medical uses. Due to the legth of time that it takes to be excreted (b/c stored in fat cells) it is the most common drug to come up in testing, yet (according to most) it is the most innocuous! I shudder to think of all of the drugs that were pumped into my daughter's body when she had cancer (not inc chemo) just to manage side effects- zofran, megace, reglan, phenergan, morphine, methadone, fentanyl... I have often thought if she ever relasped, if just making a batch of "special brownies" would be safer and possibly more effective.

I also had a clinical experience that reinforced my beliefs and made me sick. The hospital had mandatory drug testing on all pregnant women prior to delivery. This woman was a mess anyway- she had been raped and was agonizing over whether to keep the baby or not. The woman had not even seen her 2 day old baby yet and was emotionally unstable. THIS is when her drug results came in- she had tested positive to amphetamines and the social worker was on her way to see her and child protective services had been called. I did not believe the charge and kept questioning the woman, it just didn't make sense! Turned out that she had taken Claritin-D. I alerted the social worker and she investigated and came back and said that the dates didn't match when she said that she had taken the meds (should have cleared by then). UMMM, first how much research has been done specifically on pregnant women and drug clearance? I talked to the woman more and found out the she had brought with her on admission a 48h urine collection. That was how they had obtained the sample! This woman was tormented for NOTHING. She was treated like an unfit mother and a drug addict with no reasonable cause. This should not ever have to happen to anyone.

My $0.02.

sunnycalifRN

902 Posts

I've been randomly tested twice in 5 years. When the lab person came with the notice, someone immediately took my assignment and I went up to the lab. I have no problem whatsoever with random drug testing.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN

5,879 Posts

in all my days i have only been drug tested when i applied for a job. not a single random test otherwise. i do not think that there should be more drug testing unless a problem is noted.

it is not very easy to get away with being an addict for very long in a hospital setting and it is all but impossible to actually steal drugs unless protocol is not being followed. i think it would be silly to drug test students more often...

i think it would be really easy to steal drugs at work-and i believe it happens much more than we realize. who's to know if you ever gave those drugs you pulled out of the pyxis? i've had many patients change their minds after i pulled out their narcotics. chances are slim to none that anyone would ever know if you pocketed the drug after refusal, or substituted a requested drug for something else.

i've never gone down that road-never want to-as it is just a path to heart break. but i could have many, many times.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN

5,879 Posts

I've never had to have a drug test for school. My husband never had one the whole time he was in NS. At work, I had to pass a drug test before they would hire me. After the pre-employment, they only test if they suspect you've come to work under-the-influence.

That may or may not be true. I hurt my back once at work. I was leaning over drawing blood and all of a sudden pain just went through me like a lightening bolt. It was all I could do to walk out of the room and over to the nurse's station. My nurse manager sent me home, but I was required by hospital policy to go to employee health first, where I was evaluated as well as drug tested. I heard later that anyone injured on the job will be drug tested.

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