For anyone that's had an IPN Eval.

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Hi fellow nurses! I just got my list of evaluators I can pick from(how do they pick these people anyways, it's not by my location because these three aren't anywhere near me) and I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of them? 
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A little bit of backstory on me, I voluntarily relinquished my license back in 2015 after being arrested for possession. I was not working as a nurse when this happened. I've been sober three years, petitioned the board to get my license back and they told me that I had to have a V6 B. I'm trying to avoid the IPN program, but the more research I do, the more I see that that's probably not likely. Can anybody give me some insight on these three evaluators? I realize that their names might be blocked out, 

Sorry, forgot to say that I'm in Florida!

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1. You will do monitoring, period, if you want to work as a nurse and keep your license, REGARDLESS of what the Florida evaluators say. 

2. There is a near zero chance that a nurse who voluntarily relinquished their license due to a drug related arrest/possession, will be able to come back into nursing in Florida and get zero monitoring time. 

3. Exception to the above......if you have PROVEN documented sobriety with Random Drug Testing for the past 3 years (you said you have been sober for 3 year) then that will Limit your time in monitoring. The SUD evaluators are not going to simply "take your word for it." They will want proof and not just a friend who says you have been sober for 3 years and not even a therapist who says you have been sober for 3 years, the proof they will want is random drug testing for the past 3 years. Assuming you don't have the above, it's near certain you will get monitoring and Florida is tough. The 3 sites Florida picks are Alleged....Keyword...Alleged to have very difficult standards and a very low threshold for giving people a SUD diagnosis. Even If.....you don't get an SUD diagnosis, it's near certain you will get at least some time in monitoring, and likely not the full 5 years IF...IF...the evaluators declare you to not have an SUD. 

4. P.S. The one in the Orlando area is considered the least toughest from what I've been told compared to the other 2, but even that one is tough compared to many other states.

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NurseJackie69 said:

1. You will do monitoring, period, if you want to work as a nurse and keep your license, REGARDLESS of what the Florida evaluators say. 

2. There is a near zero chance that a nurse who voluntarily relinquished their license due to a drug related arrest/possession, will be able to come back into nursing in Florida and get zero monitoring time. 

3. Exception to the above......if you have PROVEN documented sobriety with Random Drug Testing for the past 3 years (you said you have been sober for 3 year) then that will Limit your time in monitoring. The SUD evaluators are not going to simply "take your word for it." They will want proof and not just a friend who says you have been sober for 3 years and not even a therapist who says you have been sober for 3 years, the proof they will want is random drug testing for the past 3 years. Assuming you don't have the above, it's near certain you will get monitoring and Florida is tough. The 3 sites Florida picks are Alleged....Keyword...Alleged to have very difficult standards and a very low threshold for giving people a SUD diagnosis. Even If.....you don't get an SUD diagnosis, it's near certain you will get at least some time in monitoring, and likely not the full 5 years IF...IF...the evaluators declare you to not have an SUD. 

4. P.S. The one in the Orlando area is considered the least toughest from what I've been told compared to the other 2, but even that one is tough compared to many other states.

I do have drug test from the last three years that I can have sent over. Maybe that will help with a shorter contract? Also, the one of the evaluators on my list are from Tampa and the other two are from Gainesville. It would be my luck that the one from Orlando wouldn't be there 😫

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer! This whole thing is so stressful, it helps a little to see what I'm going up against. 

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Jennifer Baldo said:

I do have drug test from the last three years that I can have sent over. Maybe that will help with a shorter contract? Also, the one of the evaluators on my list are from Tampa and the other two are from Gainesville. It would be my luck that the one from Orlando wouldn't be there 😫

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer! This whole thing is so stressful, it helps a little to see what I'm going up against. 

I meant Tampa, my apologies. It's the one that is South of Gainesville which is Tampa. Disregard Orlando. Florida has had these 3 sites for years and I use to live in St Augustine and still get Orlando and Tampa mixed up in naming. AVOID Gainesville. Go to Tampa. They use to have a 4th in Jacksonville that was BON approved, but those evaluators were actually Fair, and I guess....too many people were coming out of there Without an SUD eval, so the BON dropped them, LOL. This is what I heard. I can't verify that though.

The previous drug tests are HUGE. A HUGE factor for the SUD evaluator and it likely WILL decrease your time.

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