Encouragement

YAY Oogie. The only things that cure the ills of this program are complete compliance (and some darn luck not getting a false positive) and time. You are getting it done my friend!!!!

Success stories help so much! I'm 12 months into a 60 month program, and it's so hard to not feel defeated and anxious. I mean, the last year went pretty quickly, but when I think about 4 more years, I sometimes feel like I'm drowning. Thank you for the encouragement...keep it coming.

Eris, you can't think of the totality of the BS you face (or at least I can't). I try to break the stuff into more easily digestible days at a time and celebrate the time gone & accomplished and try to think too much about the giant poop ocean I still face

Depending on the way I look at it (and I have several ways I do that) I have 536 days left. Supposedly though, I hear rumors (always rumors, never anything in print as that would require a commitment) that people get "paroled" a month or two early around here. I'm not holding my breath. As I've said before. I don't trust anything that orbits around this whole thing.

But yes, counting days seems to be a little less demoralizing. While the numbers are bigger, they move faster. This however is only useful if you are a detail freak like I am.

Don't let yourself get caught up in the counting though. As bitter and angry as I am about the whole experience, I do realize that it is not the healthiest thought process. I don't fuel myself on bitterness but I also refuse to "just let it go." I don't find the Pollyanna-ish-ness (is that a word? It is now.) of that healthy either.

I digress. You will get through this. I do recall, at the beginning, looking at my contract, at that date in 2019 and thinking ‘that's never going to get here, I'm going to be 4- when this is over.' It however is almost here. Yours will be here before you know it.

My story is a little different variation of the same. I had almost 2 years of sobriety under my belt before I petitioned the board for relicensure by endorsement. I began my IPN contract with 2 years, took the refresher course and have put in about 60 applications total. There is a 12 YEAR gap on my resume and I am finding it difficult to even get interviews ( cancer survivor ). I'm 2 1/2 years into a 5 year contract and if I can't work off that key restriction I will stay in IPN until I do. I have 4 1/2 years off of opiates, I wasn't a diverter, my record is clean, but I might as well be a convicted felon. This is so difficult, but I appreciate your positivity. Wishes for a speedy contract completion!

My story is a little different variation of the same. I had almost 2 years of sobriety under my belt before I petitioned the board for relicensure by endorsement. I began my IPN contract with 2 years, took the refresher course and have put in about 60 applications total. There is a 12 YEAR gap on my resume and I am finding it difficult to even get interviews ( cancer survivor ). I'm 2 1/2 years into a 5 year contract and if I can't work off that key restriction I will stay in IPN until I do. I have 4 1/2 years off of opiates, I wasn't a diverter, my record is clean, but I might as well be a convicted felon. This is so difficult, but I appreciate your positivity. Wishes for a speedy contract completion!

How long do you have to work to work off the key restriction?

Also, I found success in a psychiatric hospital that is part of a medical hospital; it has it's own tower. The entire facility is monitoring friendly, but if you have key restrictions, you have to start in psych first. It's a multi-state corporation as well.

I'm one of 8 nurses in the hospital (medical included) who are in the program. Everyone started in psych but three transferred over to medical when their key restrictions lifted.

Keep pounding the pavement. It's hard, but it can happen.