Evaluation scaries

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Hey everyone!

I am new to the site and I am in need of some help/advice. Last month I was accused of diverting drugs from a hospital in SC while on a travel assignment. I am guilty. I feel horrible for what I have done. I took some narcotics a few times and took them with a friend. I was never physically dependent. I am being charged criminally by the hospital, but have not yet received my charges. I was told to contact the RPP program in SC and report to the sc BON. I have done both and signed my contract last week and they referred me to an evaluator to "receive a diagnosis or not." From what I have read.. it is in my best interest NOT to see an evaluator that they recommend. Do I have a choice? Does anyone know of a fair evaluator in SC? What can I expect at this evaluation? Can I expect a hair/drug test? I am so scared and overwhelmed. Any advice or recommendations would be SO SO GREATLY appreciated!

Specializes in OR.
I would start by looking at the credentials of the guy that the SC BON recommended, so that your evaluator will be considered "just as good as" theirs. Also, maybe google some substance abuse treatment centers near you. You're going to have to do treatment, so try to locate the one you'll want to use, if you are given the choice. An outpatient treatment center would be ideal, so that inpatient isn't even on the table. Then look at their staff or services, they will have to have evaluation services, or an MD that diagnoses substance use disorder and refers patients to them. Or if not officially on their staff, they would be able to give you a list, if you contact them, of doctors (MD? Psychiatrist? Psychologist? Idk) who you could contact for your evaluation. I had never heard the term "IOP" before this all started, but you can google it and it will bring up pages of treatment centers.

Once you locate a treatment center that offers IOP that you like the looks of online, you can just call them up, tell them you need to find an addictionologist to do your evaluation, and they will know exactly what you're asking. It's all new terminology to you, but this is what they do every day.

This ^^^^

Additionally, I would avoid like the plague, anything that claims to have a ‘professionals program.' You can bet that would be the treatment factory associated with the NC program. My personal feeling is when it comes to stuff like this be it substance abuse or mental health, there ain't nothing different about us nurses from anyone else that justifies spending a metric ton of money on some special program.

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Catsmeow, I got a call from the only other evaluator today. This one would like 3500 (but stated if I could come up with most of it that she might could discount it) ha. I'm curious how this evaluation is going to go, so I was excited to see this thread.

It occurred to me the board had said if I had treatment before it could be 3 day eval. Does detox count as treatment??

Saying I do come up with the money for this first hoop, make arrangements for my child....i have this fear that although I have been sober for yearss now, they are somehow going to suggest treatment.

Also, a lawyer returned my call today and told me that she didn't think retaining a lawyer would actually do anything. Appreciated her honesty. So now, I just gotta call the board back and see what all this vdap was a one time offer nonsense is.

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I don't understand how they can justify $3500!! My evaluation was a single day, 3-4 hours, and cost $350 or something like that. Having said that, yes, 3 days would clearly be more in depth and accurate, but jeez, we all know the end result is gonna be the same! It's not like any of it is TRULY individualized.

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As best I can tell, contracts seem to require that you only work as a nurse for 12 months of the duration of the contract. Given the difficulty that many have of finding a job with the restrictions put into place, it often takes quite some time to do that. Heck, if they made people work in nursing for the whole five years of a contract, nobody would ever be done. God help us if they cooked up that idea

Our board order requires you do practice nursing for at least 600 hours for each year of your 5 year contract!!

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I don't understand how they can justify $3500!! My evaluation was a single day, 3-4 hours, and cost $350 or something like that. Having said that, yes, 3 days would clearly be more in depth and accurate, but jeez, we all know the end result is gonna be the same! It's not like any of it is TRULY individualized.

I used EAP the day after I got fired so it was free for me. Of course the money I've spent on 48 drug tests/yr and AODA 4 times a month for the past 2 years has more than made up for my "free Eval"!

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Specializes in OR.
I don't understand how they can justify $3500!! My evaluation was a single day, 3-4 hours, and cost $350 or something like that. Having said that, yes, 3 days would clearly be more in depth and accurate, but jeez, we all know the end result is gonna be the same! It's not like any of it is TRULY individualized.

There's nothing "in depth and accurate" about any of this trash. As long as the whole evaluation process is controlled by the same people who issue the contracts and the evaluators they send you to stand to make a killing off of what they say, accuracy is nowhere to be seen in that equation. I'm sorry but as far as I am concerned, these are not even legitimate "evaluations." In my experience they are just opinions produced by a barely qualified extortionist. Just sayin.....

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I'd love to see just for "kick and giggles" what one of these evaluators would say about me - the last time I had any alcohol was before I got pregnant with my son, and he's 32 years old, and the last time I took anything stronger than Ibuprofen was when my horse stepped on my leg in 1999 (1/2 Norco.) What do you bet I would fail an evaluation and be recommended for treatment? (Just from reading the threads on this site......)

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This is just so damn sad. As a consultant in LTC, I interacted regularly with a certain RN supervisor. She seemed very decent and caring, and I respected her.

We sometimes have relatively young IV drug users in LTC for IV antibiotics, due to endocarditis. So the topic of addiction presents itself.

This RN self disclosed to me that she had inpatient treatment for ETOH, which it seems she truly needed, based on her own description of the severity of the situation.

She actually said the program was wonderful.

She told me that she was in a state monitoring program, and that she was very happy and grateful.

She said she was in "long term recovery, 2 years."

I wanted to say "long term" is at least 5 years, but I congratulated her anyway.

But a couple of months later she disappeared from the job, and recently I learned that she was diverting narcotics.

I just shake my head, and truly cannot grasp why.

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What? What states are you guys in requiring you to work in nursing while in contract?

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What? What states are you guys in requiring you to work in nursing while in contract?

I'm in Texas and for my 3 year contract I am required to work as a nurse for 12 consecutive months during some part of that 3 year time period. There have been nurses who haven't been able to finish in 3 years because it took them so long to finally get a job! So many employers have no interest after finding out about the monitoring contract.

The idea is that they need to see that you can re-enter nursing, where you had your problem that sent you to monitoring, and practice safely. You have to show that after your narcotic restriction is lifted (usually 6 months), when you are allowed to administer narcotics, that you won't be tempted to divert again.

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What? What states are you guys in requiring you to work in nursing while in contract?

Wisconsin

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I have read in several threads that dialysis centers will hire nurses in monitoring.....

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