failed pre-employment drug screen

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi nurses

Recently i failed a pre-employment drug screen because I smoked some weed a few weeks earlier... now I have to meet with the board... has anybody ever had to go thru this in Michigan... whats going to happen next?

For all the kiddos posting. What's real is nobody who will give you a job cares about your philosophy about recreational anything. You can pout around about it, but your are just always gonna be **** outta luck. Now that is real.

How true :D.... You're just seen as a liability with lousy judgement- not "progressive"....

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A quantitative (vs qualitative) drug screen will help deal with that :) Employers aren't that stupid :D At least most !!

Could have been in a room with a lot of THC.

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Could have been in a room with a lot of THC.

Please tell me you're not serious.....It's so hard to tell when people are advocating that anything to do with pot is some trivial activity with no effect on others...

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not that I am condoning smoking pot because I personally do not smoke anything or do any illegal drugs, but I know there are a lot of people in the health care field that do drugs whether they are illegal or not is another story. I will say that the OP made a dumb move when he/she decided to actually go through with the drug test... I mean come on, if you are going to smoke pot, don't take a damn drug test while doing so.

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Call me uninformed but I didn't know that weed stays a person's system for weeks.

Yes, I live a sheltered life.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
Yup, lesson learned. If MJ is that important to you then I would probably consider another career option.

No sympathy here.

PS: Does anyone find it odd that this would be reportable on a PRE-EMPLOYMENT drug screen?

The OP wasn't even employeed yet.

I find that odd as well. I would think that it would be reportable to the BON if the person's work duties were affected by it. Pre-employment, no work duties yet. There is something we're not being told here.

thanks to all the non-judgemental replies... to all the others get bent... and no im not addicted... and in another 20yrs all of this wont matter... weed will be legal by then... we just have to wait on a few more old conservatives to die off

Get bent, huh? Spoken like a true addict. The biggest problem you'll face with the Board is your lack of remorse, and belief that you've done nothing wrong. People that a) do not show remorse and b) don't feel that they've made a mistake are considered "likely to reoffend"...and obviously, since you see no problem with it, you are. That results in harsher consequences, with license suspension or revocation being distinct possibilities.

I'm curious to know if they test nurses for anti-depressants or other types of medications that could interfere with working with patients.

(https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/nursing-and-depression-21324.html)

This is most definitely an infringement upon your rights as a person, and as long as you aren't actively intoxicated when you are at work I don't feel it should be an issue. What you do on your private time shouldn't be a source of firing.

It's too bad the majority of the US has been brainwashed to believe that M.J. (not Michael Jackson) is bad for you and will lead straight to heroin abuse. This is mainly due to the conservative agenda which is uneducated and uninformed on this specific topic.

I'm sorry to hear the news, I hope everything works out!

They do not test for anti depressants. Drug screens test for (sometimes) alcohol, barbiturates, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, etc. Meds likely to be abused and/or taken illegally.

I would be considered a "conservative," and am definitely not "uneducated" or "uninformed." I believe marijuana can and does serve a useful purpose, but only in very specific instances and under the supervision of a physician. I do not believe it is necessary to be made legal, however, even for medical purposes; there are other medications that can fill it's purpose. I agree with whoever said it already....any "pro-marijuana" articles and stances are made by hardcore potheads.

OP, whether or not you agree with it, it is still illegal. That's the bottom line. No BON or employer is going to give a rip about your personal beliefs about marijuana, or will want to hear you sing it's praises. That makes you sound like an ignorant druggie. You break the law, you pay the consequences. Period. Some people may believe that driving drunk is no big deal; that doesn't make it ok. Grow up.

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If it happened to be a JCAHO certified facility, there is a great chance they reported this to the BON.. The fact the OP went for a UDS implies employment.

OP-I know what you are saying-- When I hear "impaired nurse" I think of the crack-heads and pill-poppers that seem to never get caught. You may indeed not have a problem but the board will want to hear otherwise. They will expect you to come out and say "I have a problem & need help" if you dont, they will assume you are in denial and do worse than ding your license.

Your other alternative is to deny, deny, deny, challenge the test, raise hell, lawyer up & make sure you are clean for any future testing.

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If you can't stay clean and sober long enough to pass a drug test you know of in advance what will you do when you work for one of the many employers who have random drug testing? Many hospitals do random testing of nursing staff and almost all hospitals, NH, LTC places will test everyone on the floor at the time of an incident. Also most places will test all nursing staff when the count if short.

How will you pass random or an *incident based random drug test* if you can't pass a drug screen you knew about.

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not that I am condoning smoking pot because I personally do not smoke anything or do any illegal drugs, but I know there are a lot of people in the health care field that do drugs whether they are illegal or not is another story. I will say that the OP made a dumb move when he/she decided to actually go through with the drug test... I mean come on, if you are going to smoke pot, don't take a damn drug test while doing so.

OK- I can breathe again :D

Many healthcare workers are on prescribed meds that show + on drug screens, but in the 19 years I worked, it was uncommon to have impaired co-workers- and we did random screens at some of the places I worked (obviously, more so as time went on and drugs were seen as a bigger problem). If someone is on prescribed medication, and not abusing it (big point!), they are unlikely to work as an impaired person. The dose is therapeutic. :) And, there are a lot of nurses (and others) who do take prescribed meds- or their level of functioning would not be good :) Some are for physical disorders, others for emotional-and also physiological- disorders ... to not take them would be as irresponsible as someone taking recreational drugs :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
Could have been in a room with a lot of THC.

Oh please. Even if that WERE the case (which is a common excuse, I am sure...kind of like the cheating spouse that brings their SO an STD home, and swears up and down they got it from a toilet seat). Being "in a room with a lot of THC" still speaks to your lousy judgment. I don't know people, or hang around with people, that smoke a lot of pot. We're not in high school anymore, it's not "cool."

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If it happened to be a JCAHO certified facility, there is a great chance they reported this to the BON.. The fact the OP went for a UDS implies employment.

OP-I know what you are saying-- When I hear "impaired nurse" I think of the crack-heads and pill-poppers that seem to never get caught. You may indeed not have a problem but the board will want to hear otherwise. They will expect you to come out and say "I have a problem & need help" if you dont, they will assume you are in denial and do worse than ding your license.

Your other alternative is to deny, deny, deny, challenge the test, raise hell, lawyer up & make sure you are clean for any future testing.

Yeah- but what are the chances of being successful with this? :)

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Specializes in Trauma, Emergency.

Wow. Dumb move. If you know you have a drug screen coming up, don't smoke pot. If you have a drug screen sprung on you (pre-employment) claim you're out of town and can't take it til next week (or whenever). Deurrrrr. Seriously? No sympathy here. I don't smoke anything, pot, cigs, whatever, but i know people who get high and i've seen them act stupid for up to a couple of days after smoking...so NO, I do NOT want those people caring for my family or myself. Sure, I get tipsy every now and then, but would NEVER think of doing so before a shift or even the night before a shift (because let's be honest, a hangover can impair abilities pretty heavily... :rolleyes:). In my opinion, the most important facet to nursing is sharp wit and quick analytical thinking...and pot throws a big stinkin' wet blanket on both of those.

All side effects of pot aside, IT IS ILLEGAL. HELLOOOO?!?! It's not about me being a conservative ol' (26yo) fuddyduddy, it's about me being a law-abiding citizen. :smackingf

Did anyone else like how the OP told anyone who didn't completely love and encourage him that they could "get bent?" I have to say, OP earned 5 points back just for making a reference to The Simpsons...;)

Guess I'll go get bent now!

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