....I’m free at last (with apologies to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
It’s over.
Got a phone call from the case manager at approximately 3:04 pm today. However there will be no celebratory glass of wine or whatever until I have the written confirmation in my hot little hand.
Actually, I don’t even want to ‘celebrate.’ It’s just over and that is all. I can breathe for the first time in over 5 years and that is enough.
Congrats @cats ! Enjoy your freedom! I will be getting started soon . I just pray I’m not suspended . Hell it took 3 1/2 years for them to get to me and I’ve been nursing this whole time. I did take off work for 12 weeks for rehab. Then a couple of more months for outpatient. I just hope they take all of that into consideration. ??
I have been a TPAPN participant for....well that’s hard to say. I initially started in 1/2017. I was lucky enough to find work as an admissions nurse at facility for only 4 months. The new DON they hired dc’d the position all together. 2 weeks later I found out that I was no longer in the program because the DON that hired me or the nurse manager of the facility NEVER submitted my work agreement(I completed it twice . My case manager was notified about the job the day they hired me and he never once picked up the phone to talk to management( in 4 months). When I questioned him about all of this he stated all he stated was “I don’t make phone calls.” That is what this idiot said. He kicked it to the BON and was forced to start over. After 11 months of drug screens, reports, appointments and all the rest of their BS. I had to re-enroll and literally start over. I found another job at a substance abuse treatment center but that only lasted 2 months because the facility closed its doors permanently. The money was not great but the work we did there was rewarding. I found another job recently at a psychiatric facility and was approved by HR but my case manager said no. There was absolutely no med passes to give, just assessments and consents, all in a shared office with therapist and case managers. I asked my case manager why they changed their minds after a conversation they had with her and she never answered my question. Now I’m out of work again. It just doesn’t stop. I am really happy for you, I truly am but I wish it was me.?
There were times when I seriously wondered if these people were intentionally setting fire to job opportunities. My personal experience involved some lies and back peddling in regards to the ‘supervision’ stipulation. I had gotten a great offer, totally lateral move in terms of the job description, no differences in what I would be doing, in fact there would have been many more people around than my prior position. I saw no reason why it would be a problem....until....that ‘chat’ that is required between the case manager and the nurse manager.
What did grasshopper learn? Get everything in writing. Get copies of everything and trust no one associated with this mess. Contact them daily if need be via email, etc. in order to get your documentation in place.
It sadly seems with many of these programs, we are nothing but a number in a file folder and most of the time the case managers just. Don’t. Care. Period. As long as the boxes are checked and the money is paid, no one cares if you are an inch from living on the street because of it. Regardless of the varying names of these programs, there is nothing remotely resembling assistance, support, advocacy, recovery or whatever other buzz word they like. It’s punishment, plain and simple.
When I started standing up for myself, things got done. I did my part by following the rules to a tee, no matter how stupid, useless and inappropriate. I stopped allowing them to intimidate me. When I called out the CM on the lies and BS, the game playing seemed to stop. I was fortunate in that I had an open line to an attorney and was not afraid to use it. My purpose was not to escape the contract (that ship sailed years ago off to ‘if I had only known’ land) but to hold them to their end of the thing.
Many of These programs have morphed into a sad, corrupt reflection of something that could be so beneficial....
It sadly seems with many of these programs, we are nothing but a number in a file folder and most of the time the case managers just. Don’t. Care. Period. As long as the boxes are checked and the money is paid, no one cares if you are an inch from living on the street because of it. Regardless of the varying names of these programs, there is nothing remotely resembling assistance, support, advocacy, recovery or whatever other buzz word they like. It’s punishment, plain and simple.
YES! A thousand times YES! Did I deserve some punishment? I’m sure I did. But if they were “protecting the public”, why did they never suspend me or wait 6 months to even put me in monitoring? No one ever, once, asked me if I was okay.
I should be done in 3/21. It’s just seems forever. I originally volunteered for the program until they had me start over. Before I could re-enter the program, I had to see all their specialist. One doctor was 1000.00 flat fee. I didn’t even have a job at the time. That money came from my mortgage. Not to mention I had to do a hair follicle test so they could see if I had relapsed while out of TPAPN. The fact that it was negative meant absolutely nothing. My license was still suspended for a year until I re-entered TPAPN. It’s been nothing but uphill for 3 years, One disaster after another with these ppl. They want to go on and on about consequences but these programs have no idea the damage they also do on our psyche and self esteem. And they get paid to do it. TPAPN will see this and think just another addict who doesn’t want to take responsibility which in turn makes them feel better and provides justification for their actions. I guess whatever helps them sleep at night. I’m sorry this is so long but I’m just tired. Tired of frustration, unemployment and disappointment.
mississippiRN71
433 Posts
Congrats @cats ! Enjoy your freedom! I will be getting started soon . I just pray I’m not suspended . Hell it took 3 1/2 years for them to get to me and I’ve been nursing this whole time. I did take off work for 12 weeks for rehab. Then a couple of more months for outpatient. I just hope they take all of that into consideration. ??