DUI's & Licensure

renerian, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

Noelle I am sorry you were injured by another impaired person. I hope you get better soon.

renerian

passing thru · Jul 11, 2003

And once a fracture heals, there is a high percentage of life long achiness and ultimately arthritis in the break area... pain til the end of time. Don't let the perpetrator off lightly.

The original poster............. copped an attitude when the

situation was seen in the bright light of day.

She will probably kill/injure someone, and eventually serve time.

The prosecuting attorney in any state will find her three "driving under the influence" convictions.

Of course it will be too late for her victims and their families.

As I said, she is not quitting. I guarantee you she has had a drink since July 4th. Not drinking and driving again, not yet.

But drinking, yes.

Does her post reflect humility? or Arrogance?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

Originally posted by passing thru
Does her post reflect humility? or Arrogance?

Neither, as zoeboboey, has pointed out it reflects the insanity of the disease of alcoholism.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

Originally posted by passing thru
Patients I have personally cared for in ICU who were there as a result of a drunk driver:

An 18 year old male - -his mother's only child - - brain dead

A 16 year old female -her parents only daughter - - brain dead-
the car in which she was a passenger was rear ended by a drunk, at one in the afternoon.

Three teen males who were sideswiped/run off the road - at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The drunk survived, the teens did not.

A couple in their early thirties, pedestrians - ran down in the crosswalk by a
drunk driver, "blind drunk", he never saw them. They died.

Three daughters from one family- - killed at 10 a.m., by a woman who was on her way to a funeral, the driver had had a few drinks to "get me going."

A 16 month old boy, killed by a drunk driver who ran a red light and broadsided the family car.

Two teen sisters who died in our ICU. I refused to allow the drunk driver to be admitted to our unit or floor. He was taken to a step-down ICU. He said it was their fault, "they shouldn't have been in my way." His BAL 0.21. He survived to get another DUI.

There's a dozen more I personally know of. The wails & cries; the shock and disbelief of the parents and families of these victims are burned in my memory.

The original poster ..... she is NOT going to stop drinking. A couple of her posts are almost poetic, almost prose in her
perception of drinking/quitting.

She goes out to get drunk...hence, taking cabs.
She isn't assuming responsibility, now or next year or the next.
Reread her posts.
Take my word for it. She is not quitting.
Once she is out of court and knows how this DUI will be resolved, the
pressure will be off....and it's time to "relax" with a drink.

Alochol and drug related crashes are probably a factor in the majority of our admission in my hospital. As well as the myriad of medical problems in patients with the disease.

Frankly, it wasn't for drugs and alcohol the hospital I work in would be forced to close down. I would gladly mop floors if drug and alochol related injuries and medical conditions suddenly disappeared from our society.

It's our greatest tragedy.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

Noelle, sorry this has happened to you.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2003

Originally posted by sbn8tv
This is getting way too wierd for me. I won't be posting anymore but I just have a couple questions for all you who asume that I am some kind of monster because I got a 3rd DUI in ten years. Do any of you smoke? Do you know the statistics on that? Do you come down this hard on people who do?

Peace

I was so going to stay out of this..but...

Excuse me, you know that you have a "drinking" gene, How? Were you tested? Or do you know from your experience? If you know from experience, don't drink. And if you drink - so much as a sip of wine, beer or alcohol - DON'T DRIVE.

NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

During this thread, I have seen a lot of excuses:

- I have this gene

- I haven't done this in a long time.

- It was a holiday.

- I don't drink that much.

- It was just this once.

- I haven't done it again (in the last week!)

- It's not as bad as smoking.

- You are just being mean, you all do things, etc.

And the main focus, is how do I keep this from affecting my life too much?

Well, you need desperately for this to affect your life, NOW!!!!! Because if it doesn't, you will be getting in a lot more trouble soon.

Life as a nurse is full of stress, lots and lots of stress. Life as a nurse is also very unfair, frequently. And excuses will not cut it there. It doesn't matter how unfair and stressful it is, you MUST be able to function well in all situations and learn from your mistakes. And if you didn't learn from the first DUI and if you didn't learn from the second DUI .... knowing full well the cost, very few people are going to have Faith that this one will teach you.

You need to step back and take some counseling on why you are doing this - a year or two at least - or you will repeat this pattern. And as a nurse, too many lives are hanging in the balance. I worry about you feeling the stress and using these excuses to reach for the bottle. And I believe that the Board is going to worry about that, too.

You are not a monster - you have one on your back. And you need to get it off your back before even thinking about being a nurse. And it doesn't matter what genes that you have, or how your homelife is, or how long since your last drink was, or how little that you think that you drink, etc.

You must never put the car keys in your hand within 18 hours of having a sip of alcohol.

As an aside, as several of the members here know, I have autoimmune disease and depression. I take several meds that do not mix well with alcohol. I accept that if so much as a sip of alcohol (toasts at oneg-religious service or with dinner), I cannot drive - NO EXCEPTIONS. This is very inconvenient at times. I accept this as my price for being a healthy, functional, responsible individual. Being a healthy nurse requires this of me. And if you wish to be a responsible nurse, you may find that you must prove that your behavior has changed.

And I most certainly dislike smoking and yes, I avoid them. But they are not likely to kill someone by being behind the wheel, of a car. And therein lies a big difference.

passing thru · Jul 12, 2003

3rd shift: All drunk driving deaths are preventable.

Caroladybelle: My opinion; your excellent & simple advice

is too intelligent for the poster. It's not what she is

wants to hear.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2003

passing thru, I agree. I wasn't arguing that point. Just that I found the original poster neither humble or arrogant, just insane with the disease.

caroladybelle, awesome post!

nursenoelle · Jul 12, 2003

caroladybelle- very well said.

rebelwaclause, ASN, RN · Jul 12, 2003

(Psssst....I think this thread was started to shake-up our feathers. This Grand Puba of DUI's CANNOT be serious!)

nursenoelle · Jul 12, 2003

DOH! Ya gotta point there Reb- OP has not returned.....

sbn8tv · Jul 12, 2003

Uhm- Did you call me the grand puba? That is quite a strong statement. You people need to realize that I am neither female nor insane with any kind of disease. I am a proud man of 34 from San Diego. Noelle - Please accept my apologies for anything I've done to you personallyand also for my silly blatherings. I know you are in a bad place. Also - Passing thru - ...Dude that is some whacked stuff that you've seen. However I am not any kind of DUI machine that just jumps in a car after a hard night of Tequila Shots and Wild Turkey. I have scruples. I know I screwed up. All I was doing here is asking for some information. If you people are hurting for a target why don't you go to your nearest bar and watch how many asswipes get in the car and drive home. It's an epidemic for christs sake. Don't feed off me just because I chose to post here. I guarantee that if you go to dinner and drink three glasses of wine you could get a DUI but does that make you a bad person? I don't think so.

I have a friend who was very athletic. He had it all going for him. He was a Hockey Referree. He was on his way from Santa Barbara to San Diego to ref a game when someone fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the median. The car jumped up and rolled over and landed on my friend. It killed him instantly. This affected everyone I know. It wasn't alcohol related it was sleep deprivation related but it still sucked.

I ain't tryin to make excuses. I'm just tired of hearing all you silly ninny's trying to make me feel bad for getting a DUI. I paid my dues and I will again. You should pay attention to yourselves and your families. Keep them safe. I don't really care what you say about me because I know the truth. I just had to come back and reply because I love a good intellectual debate.

"Deaths caused by smoking are six times higher than the 20,170 deaths arising from: road accidents (3,444); poisoning and overdose (2,663); other accidental deaths (8,986); murder and manslaughter (503); suicide (4,379); and HIV infection (195) in the US during 1998.[8] World-wide, about 4 million die prematurely each year as a result of smoking. Based on current trends, this will rise to 10 million a year by 2030.[9]"

Stats from http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4559

so lets hear the end of it.

SBN8TV