giving up vrp?

nursling07 · Feb 28, 2011

im in the same predicament!!! i got a dui in feb 2010 i was never told i couldnt work anymore i continued working, the woman from pnap and i had and still have alot of misscommunication..i started the program (unofficially and i mean this bc my contract wasnt finalized until jan 2011) in august 2010, i have been doing the drug screenings and everything..back in jan they told me i had a positive drug screening..i found out later after i tested that a desert i ate had alcohol in it..i submitted a letter stating what happen but basically the vrp said that they dont believe me and that i need to have a better reasoning for my "relapse" well i wish i had a better reasoning but i dont..my pnap cm told me it would be better to just say i drank than to fight it..but i dont kknow what to do..she said if i say i drank than i would look at a 90 work suspension that a possible 3 year license suspension..i havent submitted a letter yet because i dont know what to do!!! im so lost with all of this..ive been a nurse for 3 years..i worked sooooo hard to get where i am..its so discouraging..i want to still be a nurse but sometimes with this i feel like giving up..this program was made to help someone who made a mistake not be a witch hunt and i feel like thats all it is.. makes me want to just look for a new career..wish i could!..but i do know people who have been in the program and have successfully gotten through it..they said its not easy at all but possible!! that gives me faith..i get chest pains literally thinking about loosing my license!!!

im just thankful i have a great guy by my side that has been completely supportive during this time because its been hard!

best of luck...i just think to myself there will be light at the end of this dark tunnel!!! hopefully we both see it

lpn in pa · Feb 28, 2011

thank you very much for your reply. i can understand how you feel about the process you are going through. were you ever stopped from working related to the dui?

i have been a nurse for 15 years and i think its the only thing i know how to do anymore and feel i do it well. i was never in trouble at work or even questioned about any addiction/ drinking problem. yes, i did get a dui and who would ever imagine that would effect your work status. my record was in the process of being expundged when i renewed my license and alerted the board by admiting to the dui within that year. again, it took them another year to prevent me from working. it has been almost four months and i am still not back to work. the reason why im questioning leaving the program is that i am out of time on my leave of absence from my job. (they are trying to hold my position) my counselor cannot seem to even give a target date and so i risk losing medical coverage to help with those fees. i am being called "randomly" once a week for testing. it has been six times since jan 19. i really dont think i can keep up with the mounting expenses if i dont return to work soon. my pleas for some understanding seem to fall on deaf ears with that subject. after all isnt that why they are doing the testing? i am an lpn who was very comfortable and secure with my position. i wasnt looking for a new job but the way its going i will be forced to find one anyway. reluctant to the thought of having to enlighten a new employer of my circumstances.

feeling broken inside as a human being i really have no desire to continue this mission. i was grateful for the opportunity to attend marworth and it gave me a lot of me time and put things in perspective. i would really just like to feel secure (finacally) again. this has left me more anxious about the future than ever before. i understand let go and let God, but my higher power does not pay bills.

the information i desire to make a final decision to continue is unknown. my "advocate" makes it sound threatening if i do not continue with the program. she states the board will take legal action against my license in that event. what are those actions?? however, if am not to continue in the nursing field what could happen??? along with so many more unanswered questions. i just dont need this to follow me for the rest of my working days.as is i have to live with the reminder of my mistake everyday. i am looking for what my options are and what the outcome will be if i surrender my license. i didnt want to give up but is this more stress than what its worth??? :confused:

i dont know what they are looking for in our sobriety. i am not sure how much more you will need to do to prove that. im still trying to figure that out. sorry i cannot give you more advice but like you i am new to the vrp. which i dont think really is voluntary but mandatory.

i wish you well and hope you continue your faith in this. i dont want my self conflict and bad experience to have an impact on you. if you have the desire and the means to see it through, jump through whatever hoops you need to accomplish the goal.

nursling07 · Feb 28, 2011

i have only been a nurse for three years...and a good one too...i never thought a dui would completely mess up my status...my employer told me to take a week to get things straightened out which i did then i was able to return back my pnap case manager told me i couldnt return to work and i told her i was already back to work and she didnt say anything..i feel like my world is crashing down right now..im preparing a new letter maintaining i didnt drink and to please allow me to continue..i want to keep being a nurse..im hoping theyll allow me! i just can financially afford to not work right now..my mother said shell help me and my family but i dont want them to carry my burden..its very depressing im just trying to stay positive and keep looking for the light!!!

let me know how you make out..i hope it works out for you! just know your not alone

Vehn · Mar 1, 2011

I have been in PNAP since last summer as the result of a DUI I got back in 2009 while I was still in nursing school. Its odd that you wouldn't get the 'ok' to go back to work yet. Perhaps you should talk to your case manager from PNAP? Mine has been an excellent advocate for me and I was given the OK to look for work right after I passed my boards. They also dropped the majority of my restrictions which made the process a whole lot easier for me. If you are only in the program as the result of a DUI, I don't see why it would be any different for you, but remember that you have to ask, and it wouldn't hurt to get a therapist/counselor to write a letter to them for you as well. Thats what I did. I definitely think you should try to open a dialogue with your CM-- thats what they're there for after all.

I can't give much advice on the legal aspects of it, unfortunately, but I do not see how the state could take legal action if you left the program, seeing as how you are not in PNAP as the result of a diversion, but for a DUI which I assume you are already facing legal action for. You will probably lose your license though, but I cannot say how long you will lose it for.

I can definitely relate to the stress, anxiety, and frustration of the program, but I really think you should talk to your CM and your counselor before you make any decisions. I was about to give it all up too early on, but within a few days of being proactive and advocating for myself, I managed to get the OK to begin looking for work, and got a bunch of my restrictions dropped. I was employed shortly after, and believe me, if newly graduated, recovering alcoholic, with 2 DUIs, and involved in the VPR can get a job...anyone can.

lpn in pa · Mar 1, 2011

thank you vehn,

i have spoken to cm on this subject. she says she will release me to return to work upon my counselors approval.... however, she(my counselor) is the one who will not release me. she states she does not know me well enough to know if i will relapse. that makes me chuckle for if she can predict when an addict/alcoholic will relapse she could prevent all further treatment for everyone and all will be cured of their disease.

i most certainly cannot understand this process for yes it was a dui not diversion or under the influence at my job. so that said, i really dont know what my counselor is looking for in my sobriety.

from what i gather from conversations with my cm i will lose my license and the board will take action, but i would like to know what action they will take. my cm also told me that i may not be able to apply for any further type of license in the future with the board of occupation with relations to this. not even if i wanted to apply for a cosmotology license. sounds like being black balled out of a lot of occupations for many in this state require a license with the board.

just frustrated and exhausted mentally. there has been no reward for my efforts and i am ready to give up.

TMueller · Mar 2, 2011

Hello, reading all of these comments makes me realize how lucky I was. I had been picked up for a DUI in WI 2weeks prior to moving to another state, I had my temporary License 2days prior to bing picked up and did not realize I needed to report this to the board. I moved and found out 2 months later that this was going to be a problem. Received a letter stating I had lied on my application, I had not. To make a long story short I able to keep my job, my employer agreed to purchase a breathalyzer that I use prior to and at the end of my work day, mind you I never had any issues on the job and I have never had a run in with the law before, it was I one time mistake that will never, never be repeated. I quit drinking the day after being stopped and have not drank since. I am on monitoring for 2 years and obligated to attend AA 2 times weekly but often go to more, counciling monthly, weekly nurse support group and daily calls for possible urine testing. Initially I was very upset but have since realized it was the best thing that could of happened to me. I did update WI on the DUI and they were not going to restrict my license at all, so I could of moved back home and went on with my life without any restrictions, I decided to face the music and it has been a blessing. I hope everything works out for all of you but hang in there and take one day at a time. Best of Luck!!

lpn in pa · Mar 4, 2011

well, i am still on the fence with giving up... getting more and more pushed to the giving up part.

twice this week for urine testing and its only march 4th. spoke with my cm and she just said "oh, boy". then referred me to the bureau of occupational and vocational rehab to see if they could help me the cost of testing. she is also looking into setting up new group counseling in my area for there is only one pnap approved counselor where i live. the other closest is in allentown and that would be almost an hour away. also not doable with the gas prices being what they are. apparently my current counselor is not doing me any justice and is only concerned with being able to predict if i will relapse. today was also the deadline for my fmla at my job.... so i suppose i wont be having those medical benefits to help with cost of counseling.

this has been a long road to travel and still my destiny is hanging in the breeze. i am no further along knowing when i can return to my position as a nurses. i am not fighting treatment but just dont understand why i am not being given the opportunity to prove i am capable of being productive while acting as a nurse in my current position. i was working in the same capacity for over a year after the dui. wow... that process at least had an end to it.

nursling07 · Mar 10, 2011

hope all is well LPN IN PA..i just got a phone call from my boss today saying she was called by a woman in hr who was called from the vrp saying i can not work..my boss was nice and understanding on the phone and said well walk through it but didnt give me much more information than that..you would think the vrp/pnap would call me!!! soooo frustrated..im getting an attorney...i recieved a dui..that was later dismissed in court...im not an addict i dont have a problem (i know they say addicts say that) i wasnt diverting..getting high...going to work inebriated at work..sooo soooo frustrated.. i hope you update us when you can

lpn in pa · Mar 11, 2011

thanks phillynurse,

you sound like your in the same boat i am. i thought about getting an attorney even contacted my old attorney from the dui. however, can we really fight city hall?? the state has their regulations and not sure what can be done to change that anytime soon. i dont consider myself an addict either but taking the education of alcohol use/abuse in stride and apply it to myself for it cannot hurt. i really just wish there was another set of rules for those of us who didnt divert or attempt to function under the influence on the job. i am not putting down addicts/alcoholics in anyway, for it is a disease and i have met good people who suffer from it.

hope all works out for you also. its tough not being allowed to work when you know you did nothing wrong on the job site or put any patients at risk. please let us know if you get any further information.

jackstem · Mar 14, 2011

Contact the American Association of Nurse Attorneys (http://www.taana.org) and get the nameof a nurse attorney with experience representing nurses before the board of nursing. Just as medicine is specialized, so too is the practice of law. A DUI attorney with no experience in administrative law and representing nurses may have no understanding of the nurse practice act, or have any sort of relationship with board investigators or PNAP. The attorney I consult with has been invaluable for many nurses dealing with a variety of different cases involving DUI, diversion, and chemical dependence. Having the right attorney can make a huge difference in these kinds of cases.

Good luck!

Jack

lpn in pa · Mar 15, 2011

Jack,

thank you for the information and the provided link. i intend to look into it and see what further education i can obtain for my own use.

i am sure that the other posters with some of their own questions will be able to benefit from it also.

thanks again