I am new to the forum and am looking for a place to turn for support and help. I have spent some time reading some of the posts and am appreciative for everyone's honesty. I am also glad to see that there are no harsh, judging comments made by anyone, that's wonderful.
So, here's the situation - confronted for suspicion of diversion, admitted to diversion, blessed by employer with ability to self report to IPN (Florida) and complete their requirements necessary prior to being able to return to work. Employer is a faith based organization that believes in helping everyone, thankfully. The head of HR and manager of the dept I work in have advised that they will help me apply for FMLA and will merely place me on a leave of abscence until I report myself to IPN Monday and complete their assigned tasks, at which point I will be able to return to work under the requirements given by IPN. Apparently our organization has experienced a great deal of diversion lately and they feel some people are worth saving, so they have developed this plan when they have an employee they'd like to help out and retain. I felt in my situation honesty was the best policy, and it is actually as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders now that this has come to light. They have advised that provided I self report to IPN they will take no further action against me. They will be making no report to the board, nor will they suspend or terminate as long as the follow through is completed.
My question is truly, what do you expect in a situation like this? I feel their concern for my situation and they advised me several times that this is a far more common occurrence than I realize and they believe people deserve a second chance so they try to make a situation work out with the best outcome for employee and employer. Has anyone else experienced this? Would it still be wise to seek a free legal consultation before calling to self report? Can any one tell me what to expect next once I have self reported? This is a first offense and I've read the minimum fine is $250 and IPN evaluation, and maximum is $500 with action against your license. I am just hoping to gain some guidance and insight from people who have been through the process. I think that's where most of the anxiety I have is coming from, the unknown. I am also terrified in the back of my mind that things won't be the way they were discussed, but I feel they were incredibly genuine during the conversation. So any advice or thoughts at this point are greatly appreciated.
I was referred to IPN and received a crazy 5 year contract because I have been on Wellbutrin for 15 years. The hospital I work with stated that I would get Short term disability , as Other nurses have in the past. I was refused and have just received my appeal that was also refused. I am going back to work this week but have been off since may. I am unable to appeal again. They gave me the reason of not enough medical information. Even though a full psych and Dr assessment was made. I am out ALOT of money because as you know you have to pay out of pocket for all IPN. The company is liberty mutual which is through the hospital. I don't understand how the hospital who will actually be paying me the disability money says I will get it but the company I pay has refused. Hope for the best with your situation.
I know this post is late from the initial date on the posting but I did want to add my story as I think it may help someone else along the way with recognizing their options if they find themselves in the dire situation of IPN breathing down their neck. By the detail in my story, I am not trying to gain 'sympathy' or mitigate my responsibility in the matter....just telling what exactly happened.
I was arrested for a cocaine possession charge in Florida in June of 2012 (not work related). I did not have cocaine on me at the time because I did not have it in my possession yet. (This was an obvious set-up from the person I was attempting to buy from.) My employer did find out about the arrest from a local newspaper and I was placed on a suspension without pay (I knew this was essentially a termination). I was in such a dire place and did not know what to do so I thought I would 'do the right thing' and self-report to IPN. Mind you, at that time and I am pretty sure this is still the case, you DO NOT HAVE TO REPORT to IPN for a charge...only if it is a CONVICTION. This was my first mistake. I should have contacted an attorney before calling IPN.
Since even possessing a speck of cocaine in Florida is a felony charge, all I could think about was getting this charge dropped and expunged from my record. Even though I did not have cocaine on my person, it was my word against the Melbourne police (who never read miranda rights and who also conducted an illegal search of my vehicle), supposedly finding traces of cocaine in the truck.
My nursing license took the back seat at this time. I entered into a drug court program (Florida is notorious for these as they started under Janet Reno in the Miami area in the late 80's early 90's.) The drug court program was way more rigorous than anything the IPN could imagine or conjure up, yet IPN would not accept results from the Drug Court program. Still thinking I could (and wanted to) save my RN license, I signed a 5 year contract with IPN. This was my second mistake.
Drug Court in Brevard county requires you to call in 7 days a week/365 days a year in the morning to see if you have to go in for a MONITORED urine screen. (Yes, someone is literally watching you use the bathroom and pee into a cup). This was NOT the case with the few urine screens I did for IPN. IPN required you to call in Monday - Friday only to see if you had to test. After several months, the dreaded day came when I was selected to donate my urine to both programs on the same day. I would literally have to hold my urine for drug court due to a shy bladder and also having someone watch me pee. I injured myself and started peeing blood that morning because I HAD to use the bathroom before leaving home and I was trying to 'save' as much urine as I could for both 'donations'. Naturally, since my freedom was at stake, I went to make a deposit at drug court first. I then went to donate at an IPN approved center. (Note that YOU are paying for all of this...drug screens, 'therapy groups', etc. NONE of it is free!)
A few days later, I received an email/notification through the IPN drug screening portal that my urine creatinine was too low for the IPN donation (but since it was the first time, I was granted a one time pass/warning). At this point, I could no longer take the psychological $&#@&^t and decided that the self-righteous IPN could go %$&* themselves. (Trust me, these people who work for the IPN DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!) I stopped returning calls to my case manager with IPN and did not answer when she called me except for one day right before or after Christmas. I explained to her what was going on with the urine test and also with an AA sponsor who called me a liar and another AA person who violated my anonymity. She said I was being 'tested' (by a higher power I assume she meant) and she did seem to have a slight bit of compassion on the phone that morning. She said she was still under obligation to file a formal complaint against my license. I honestly did not care at this point. To me, nursing is such an overrated profession anyway, and I had lost all faith in humanity at this point (definitely in other nurses).
I went about my daily life and focused on getting through drug court and eventually getting the charges dropped and later expunged. HOWEVER, the sanction against my RN license will be on a federal register after I am dead (it is for 50 years. Research the National Practitioners Data Bank and license sanction reporting requirements). I simply waited at this point to get notification from the Board of Nursing as to what would happen next.
Several months later, I did receive a board order that I could either surrender my license, appear at a scheduled hearing or enter back into the IPN program. However, at this point, the board order was and will always be public knowledge. So once you have board action against your license OF ANY KIND, it will always show up when your credentials are checked (I.e.: during pre-employment credentialing). I sent back my intent to voluntarily surrender my license to the board.
A couple of months later I received another board order that my license had been suspended for failure to appear before the board. The board's 'crooked' attorney had decided to ignore my voluntary surrender and make me pay even more. (Remember, these people ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS!) I had to bow down to these a**holes and appear before a board hearing in front of 100's of people and nursing students JUST so I could ask them to accept my voluntary surrender. They did so with disgust in their eyes.
If you are caught in a situation where the IPN has your name, DO NOT TALK TO THEM WITHOUT YOUR OWN COUNSEL! Also, DO NOT VOLUNTARILY REPORT YOURSELF! (Unless your employer is saying they are going to report you if you do not.) Trust me, you will not get an goodwill/good faith 'credit' from IPN for reporting yourself.
IPN WILL make you go to and pay for your own 5 to 6 hour substance abuse evaluation (mine was around $800). I then had to attend 8 weeks of 'Intensive Outpatient Therapy' at a cost of $2500 before IPN would issue me a 5 year contract. (Funny, I have always thought being issued a contract was a good thing...DEFINITELY NOT in this case, well not for me or you...good for IPN.)
The nurse 'support groups' were not supportive and the counselor who led the nurse support group was extremely ineffective and judgmental. (I had to pay her $10 for each session just so she could judge me.)
I would not wish the emotional and financial abuse that the IPN hashes out to these nurses on my worst enemy. These people cause more damage than good to MANY people. The 12 step programs are not effective for most people, and most of the people who have to attend them are just putting on an act to get through what they have to get through.
I can definitely say that I am in a much better place now BUT it is no thanks to the IPN. I would give some credit to drug court for getting me off a path of drug use that could have led to disaster...it is a shame that the IPN would not accept the state's correctional system as a valid entity.
I worked long and hard for my RN license and am still paying on the student loans so yes, I think the turn of events was extremely unfair in the way that the IPN went about it. I was in the middle of financial disaster at the time, was living off of family sending me money (I couldn't leave the state due to the felony charge), and I was getting food with food stamps.
I think there needs to be some type of regulation placed on these intervention programs. Nurses/professionals who find themselves in the cross hairs of one of these programs do not all fit a black or white mold. Nobody on this planet is perfect but there are many people who try to make you think they are. Reach out to a professional nurse/medical attorney if you have the money to do so (I didn't) OR consider relinquishing your license if you have another professional to fall back on (fortunately I did). I now have another professional license but I did have to admit on my application for it that I had previous disciplinary action on another professional license and had to appear before that licensing board before I got my license. I did not need an attorney for that and they had no problem issuing the license immediately once they heard my story.
If enough people collaborate together to petition our governmental bodies to do something about these licensing intervention programs, we might be able to get something done to better the programs.
After finishing your contract in the ipn program , do your work manager has to sign it ? Can you quit your job while in the program ? Will that affect your license ? I'm new there
jfox01, BSN
35 Posts
I was referred to IPN and received a crazy 5 year contract because I have been on Wellbutrin for 15 years. The hospital I work with stated that I would get Short term disability , as Other nurses have in the past. I was refused and have just received my appeal that was also refused. I am going back to work this week but have been off since may. I am unable to appeal again. They gave me the reason of not enough medical information. Even though a full psych and Dr assessment was made. I am out ALOT of money because as you know you have to pay out of pocket for all IPN. The company is liberty mutual which is through the hospital. I don't understand how the hospital who will actually be paying me the disability money says I will get it but the company I pay has refused. Hope for the best with your situation.