Failed drug screen before ever utilizing license

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Hi everyone! I've read tons of great advice here so I finally decided to post my own question. For reference, I am in Tennessee.

I have used cannabis on and off for the past 5-6 years. I have dabbled/experimented with cocaine less than a handful of times in the past couple of years. Upon receiving my license in May of 2018, I began the process of completely quitting cannabis and cbd products. I had not used anything in approximately 40 days when I decided to apply for a hospital job. I was confident that there was nothing in my system, but to be safe I did drink extra water the couple of days before my pre-employment drug screen. After submitting the screen, I was celebrating my new career that evening with some friends and like an idiot did a couple of bumps of coke as one last "hoorah". The next day I was called by the employer and asked to come in that day to finish some paperwork. I obliged, but then had a confirmatory drug screen sprung onto me when I got to the facility, as my first specimen was dilute. I was given the option to retake the test right then, without leaving the premises or forfeit the job opportunity. I panicked and agreed to the second test, naturally failing for the coke I'd done the night before but also for thc! Again I had truly not used it for well over a month but anywho... Double whammy. My license was suspended 3 months after obtaining it, and I am now under a monitoring agreement with TNPaP.

My question is this: if I'd not yet even held a licensed nursing position (and therefore could not have been caring for any patients while using aforementioned substances), is this the way my case should've been handled? I don't understand why I was reported if I was not technically a practicing nurse at the time of the test or even any time before. I did have to pay $500 and undergo and evaluation by a professional addiction specialist and was found not to have any substance abuse disorders, but still received a one-year monitoring agreement and 3 years probation.

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Specializes in Home care.

I would personally take the 1 year monitoring.. it will fly by.. sucks at first... what is entailed in the agreement? What is 3 yrs probation mean?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Women's Health, LTC.
9 hours ago, NicoleDime said:

My question is this: if I'd not yet even held a licensed nursing position (and therefore could not have been caring for any patients while using aforementioned substances), is this the way my case should've been handled?

Unfortunately, yes, it was handled as per your state board rules. It does not matter that you had not even worked as a nurse.

Read through this forum and you will see people with DUI's on their record YEARS before even starting nursing school who are saddled with monitoring contracts. DUI's while holding a license still get you a contract.

Best bet...stay away from the MJ and cocaine, and avoid all alcohol while in the monitoring. One year isn't as bad as some folks get. Hopefully, your license will not have any record of this discipline on it once you finish your monitoring.

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Specializes in ICU.

The Board exists to "protect the public." My nursing instructor said "your license to practice does not belong to you. The State Board owns it and allows you to borrow it." I know the Board is not right 100% of the time, it's not possible, but they would certainly be putting the public at risk by not monitoring you after popping positive for a seriously illegal substance like cocaine. Although you had plans to quit, your choice to use reflects your poor judgement.

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You applied for a job to take care of patients. That employer did the right thing and took the right steps for the safety of the general public. 1 year monitoring isn’t harsh and will go by quick. I hope this will be a lesson for you and that you’ll get the help you need. As nurses, we are around a lot of substances and it’s important that the patients receive them. The way an employer/BON sees it, if an employee is using a drug like cocaine, what are they going to do around all the controlled substances (morphine, dilaudid, fentanyl, etc)?

I find it extremely concerning that you don’t understand why you were reported.

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I'm certainly in no position to lecture you; I am in recovery and haven't even taken my NCLEX yet because of a pending legal situation.

However, I do echo what other people are saying to a certain degree. Even though I don't think doing cocaine once is the absolute *worst* thing in the entire world, I do think it reflects a level of immaturity considering the fact that you were just hired and a new grad nurse, and you also didn't have an addiction which would explain it either. A lot of new RNs are very young, so immaturity isn't something I hold you entirely responsible for either. But it's important that you come to recognize that in yourself.

I do hope you come around to a few realizations:

1) Don't mess around with drugs; that's how this type of thing happens, and more than that, everybody with an addiction started by taking that first drug or drink. You aren't immune, and addiction could happen if you play around with substances even once.

2) Your prospective employer was not wrong or inappropriate to report you to the BON. I'm not saying that you can't be upset about it, but try to consider that the anger is better served being directed at the situation and not at them for doing what was expected.

3) You are very lucky that the BON is only requiring a 1 year recovery contract, and that you are getting to keep your license. Also, you are not somehow totally different than everybody else in the recovery program. Nurses are placed in those programs for *all* types of reasons, be it psychiatric, narcotic abuse, first time DUIs without an active addiction, alcohol addiction, and situations just like yours. Take this as a learning opportunity and try to keep an open mind. It can be miserable or it can be a blessing.

Also, if the program requires you to use a weekly recovery meeting, I highly suggest you check out SMART recovery.

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I’m so confused as to why you would take a drug test knowing you would fail it? Why not just forfeit the job offer? You had already taken 1 test that was obviously negative. (Dilute but negative) You knew the second test would be positive when you took it. Sorry, I’m not trying to scold you but I’m banging my head on a wall trying to figure out your reasoning. But like the others said, a year will go by quickly unless you drink or do drugs and get caught again.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

Like others here have said I would take the year and be grateful the consequences were not much worse. In the eyes of the BONs it makes no difference if you had a license at the time you were caught. Scan this forum and you will read many stories of people who got DUIs long before they even went to nursing school.

The board cares only for public safety and they reserved the right to deny, suspend and revoke licenses of those they consider to demonstrate behavior it considers unsafe or reckless.

That being said and I am not judging you but nursing practice and recreational drug use are not consistent with each other. If you you think you have a problem get help. Keep you nose clean (no pun intended) for the next 4 years (Program + Probation. And get on with your life.

Hppy

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Specializes in Nursing Education, Public Health, Medical Policy.
On 9/21/2019 at 9:03 AM, babysplash said:

The Board exists to "protect the public." My nursing instructor said "your license to practice does not belong to you. The State Board owns it and allows you to borrow it." I know the Board is not right 100% of the time, it's not possible, but they would certainly be putting the public at risk by not monitoring you after popping positive for a seriously illegal substance like cocaine. Although you had plans to quit, your choice to use reflects your poor judgement.

^^^ this 100% You showed incredible poor judgement in choosing to use an illegal substance and you definitely have the potential to put the public at risk. SMH

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Cocaine is still a thing? Why the heck did you agree to a test knowing, at minimum, it would be positive for cocaine when you could have turned down the job? As for THC I am a bit surprised that would show however you state using that more frequently, when I had a background for corrections the detective with whom I interviewed told me in no uncertain terms that marijuana was disallowed even though recreational use is permitted in my state. It was not anything which floated my boat to begin with. He did not so much like my extensive use of drugs in the 1980's although I did not do IV and had never tried heroin (both of which would have disqualified me.)

When asked how many times I'd used cocaine between heaviest use '85-'89 I told him I honestly could not recall due to my blackout drinking, that and it sounded better than telling him I used it every day which ended in 'y' during those years; be cautious with it, I tried it 1st time age 15, thought it was sort of boring but used it on and off and did not become addicted until age 24.

Cocaine is sneaky, if used with any frequency the crash coming down is brutal, most God-awful depression I'd ever known and I would do anything to avoid it (and the only way to avoid it is to keep using until too exhausted to continue.) Being an alcoholic I already had that misery to deal with.

Meth was beginning to take the place of cocaine and the very few times I used it I thought my mind was becoming unraveled, thankfully I was only a few weeks away from getting clean and sober. I took various electives and did not begin my pre-nursing until I was sure being clean and sober was a true commitment. You do not sound as if you have any addiction which is good, don't let any get you and best of luck with this.

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ICU.

"I don't understand why I was reported if I was not technically a practicing nurse at the time of the test or even any time before."

Because you're exhibiting signs of abusing cocaine and marijuana. That should be obvious. As a nurse now, you should be well aware that puts you at risk of diversion, using again in between shifts, or even before work. Many nurses have abused drugs and felt their situation was "different" and made the abuse more acceptable. Regardless, it impairs your judgement and patients deserve better.

Be open to the monitoring program and what it could potentially teach you.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

Your first mistake was using as a "last hoorah." Your second mistake was agreeing to test knowing full well you would be positive for at least the cocaine and as it turned out the marijuana was still in your system as well. Why you though this might end in other way than a report to your BON is beyond me.

As it is be eternally thankful your contract is only one year plus three years probation. It could have potentially been worse. Maybe you will even get something from it that will help you avoid making such poor decisions going forward.

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