So my background: I have some mental diagnosis anxiety, panic attacks, Bipolar, ptsd, adhd and depression. What led up to my whole issue here was a big man came into my work and tried to rob me of my narcotics, I wouldn’t give them up in fear he would just target the other nurses and I was trying to protect my patients and get him out but he beat me up pretty good triggering my ptsd and depression. My boss didn’t care or do anything so it sent me into deep depression and I quit my job to take time to heal. I Socially drank-but rarely, Never a drug user. Until after all this went down so last year, just after I quit my job, when I was taking time to heal, I Had a quick 4 week drug binge due to being an idiot and allowing myself to do horrible things for someone I loved so I let him shoot me up like he was doing to try and save our relationship plus I was still having issues with the attempted robbery. I quickly learned he wasn’t doing this for any other purpose than to kill me for life Insurance! So he was arrested and I went to out patient treatment, voluntarily, got on suboxone immediately because I could not handle the kick, it was horrible! During this time I was only on suboxone for only 6 weeks and I was done and good to return to normal. I took 2.5 months off of work total and went I was ready I applied at other places and found a new job. Been there since. I never did drugs before, not a narcotic pill taker or any other issues other than mental illnesses. and I’ve been clean for 9 months after my one and only 4 week use of IV drugs in my life! So I’ve always been medicated for my mental diagnosis but my doctors mess with my meds And can cause instability which effects my anxiety and I miss work. So they cut me off my Xanax cold turkey, had a fun withdrawal then the other stuff happens. I lost my PCP due to insurance changes and now have no medicine for anxiety or panic attacks. Also suffering from severe insomnia! I am on leave right now for exposure to COVID at work and have plenty of time to try and find psych help, I’ve been calling everyone with no luck! Got in to see a lady Who promised to help me with my anxiety and tell her (she can visibly see I’m having panic attacks and anxiety!) my BP is crazy high , I have adhd and with the insomnia I’m a mess! I tell her I need anxiety meds and she says she isn’t giving me Xanax cause She can see I was on suboxone (she’s assuming I like pain pills or benzos) and she’s looking at me like I’m a piece of crap! I am telling you I’m not right mentally right now so I told her “I don’t have a ***ing pill problem you judgmental ***! I didn’t have a pill addiction, I never have! I’m not asking for Xanax, I don’t want Xanax! Can’t you give me buspar or Zoloft with my bipolar meds? And something to help me sleep until I can stabilize? My suboxone use was for something else and it has nothing to do with why I’m here! Will you please deal with my anxiety and panic instead of sitting there judging me!!”? She asked if it was from drug use and I didn’t even have to say, she already knew somehow. As I’m in the middle of my panic attack and chest pains Which I’ve been dealing with for the last 6 days! she says she is going to report me to the board of nursing! She said I have no right to be a nurse! Being a nurse is the only thing I am good at! Plus none of this affects my work unless I’m not being treated for my anxiety which I can’t help! I immediately yelled at her “are you ***ing kidding me! I’m trying to get myself stabilized right now and you’re gonna take away the one thing going good In my life right now? The only thing I’ve got right my whole life? That’s like telling me you’re taking my life away, the way I pay for my house, I’ll be homeless and what about my kids!?! Huh?” Then told her “you might as well just sign my death certificate now cause I can’t live without my career!” Then told her she’s messed up and hopes she’s the one who has to explain to my kids why we are homeless and how one mistake takes away your whole career and life!
so I’ve done some research and have determined the only thing I messed up on was my license renewal and denial of drug use. That’s the only thing they can get me on. I won’t pass a hair test my use is 9 months ago. So busted for that. Can’t deny it with hair. I do have 9 months clean and I’ll never go back. I love my life and I made a huge mistake. I’m a great nurse, never had complaints. Everyone loves me there but if she reports me to the board what is going to happen? I can’t deny past drug use. I was off work at the time. Did the right thing. What the heck do I do now?!? Do I self report that I did have drug use 9 months ago, or admit to drug treatment 9 months ago.??? someone please help! I’ve never been so scared in my life!
Specializes in Med Surg/ Specializing in in Surgical aspects.
My advice to you is to Stop pointing the finger at others, take responsibility for you OWN actions & behavior, and take the advice you have been given, for your in No shape to care for patients, nor others from the sound of things. And no this isn’t a jab at you, Nor do I want to Sugar coat things to make you feel better or Co-sign the instability that I’m hearing from you. However, I do suggest getting some form of Psychological help, from a Professional and just let them do their job in terms of recommendation and care. Then and Only then should you/Therapist evaluate whether your ready/capable of caring for others.
I guess I'm the only one seeing this as a huge breach of what the public views is a confidential relationship. Since I am in finance and not a part of the medical field just yet, this is actually enlightening because I did think that with very few exceptions, everything you said/revealed was completely private. The OP went full Stone Cold Steve Austin after the psychiatrist told her she was reporting her to the board for drug use. Regardless of how you feel about drugs, if you aren't doing them while doing your job, are you really endangering patients enough to justify reporting you? That just opens up such a floodgate of revealing patient's info, makes me glad I don't have anything too stigmatizing floating around a hospital or clinic about me in a patient file.
I've never had a problem with mental illness (existential realities are hard to ignore sometimes) or drug use, but if I ever do, I'm going to take my own advice to be quiet and keep it to myself LOL
I guess I'm the only one seeing this as a huge breach of what the public views is a confidential relationship. Since I am in finance and not a part of the medical field just yet, this is actually enlightening because I did think that with very few exceptions, everything you said/revealed was completely private. The OP went full Stone Cold Steve Austin after the psychiatrist told her she was reporting her to the board for drug use. Regardless of how you feel about drugs, if you aren't doing them while doing your job, are you really endangering patients enough to justify reporting you? That just opens up such a floodgate of revealing patient's info, makes me glad I don't have anything too stigmatizing floating around a hospital or clinic about me in a patient file.
I've never had a problem with mental illness (existential realities are hard to ignore sometimes) or drug use, but if I ever do, I'm going to take my own advice to be quiet and keep it to myself LOL
The best advice I’ve read on this forum was get your mental healthcare from a provider outside your own hospital system; not that it would have helped in this instance. This situation could have been avoided by never letting the psychiatrist know what you did for a living, and going private pay cash for everything. I don’t think it should have to be like that, but that’s how I would handle it to avoid these problems.
I tell her I need anxiety meds and she says she isn’t giving me Xanax cause She can see I was on suboxone (she’s assuming I like pain pills or benzos) and she’s looking at me like I’m a piece of crap! I am telling you I’m not right mentally right now so I told her “I don’t have a ***ing pill problem you judgmental ***!
5 hours ago, DMQ48 said:
The OP went full Stone Cold Steve Austin after the psychiatrist told her she was reporting her to the board for drug use.
Except that's not how it actually went down. She lost her mind when the psychiatrist told her she wasn't going to give her Ativan, again a highly abused drug, to someone who had been on Suboxone (which is only used for the treatment of drug abuse). The board reporting issue came after the OP lobbed really foul names at the doctor, admitted she wasn't "mentally right", screamed and threatened suicide. Would you want someone that unstable to treat someone you care about?
Where in the OP's post does she mention asking for any controlled substance?
synopsis of OP's interaction with psychiatrist without inner narrative:
OP: I need anxiety meds
Doctor: I'm not giving you Xanax because you are on suboxone *judgmental look*
OP: I don’t have a expletive pill problem you judgmental expletive. I didn’t have a pill addiction, I never have! I’m not asking for Xanax, I don’t want Xanax Can’t you give me buspar or Zoloft with my bipolar meds? And something to help me sleep until I can stabilize? My suboxone use was for something else and it has nothing to do with why I’m here! Will you please deal with my anxiety and panic instead of sitting there judging me?"
Doctor: Was your suboxone from drug use?
*no answer* OP is visibly panicking
Doctor: I'm reporting you to the board of nursing, you have no right to be a nurse.
That was all the interaction her and the psychiatrist had leading up to the doctor telling her she was contacting the BON. She never actually voiced she wasn't mentally right (this was an internal thought) and the suicide (which sounds like more of a hyperbole) came afterwards.
Again, because you are in the world of finance you do not understand how things work in the world of medicine. The suboxone complicates things. The history of drug abuse complicates things. The over the top reaction to the perceived "judgmental look" complicated things. The screaming expletives complicated things. These are not the actions of a rational adult. You need to be a rational adult to safely care for vulnerable patients. We were not there but, in general, psychiatrists do not overreact to out of control clients so it makes me wonder what behaviors we aren't privvy to. The patient was previously on Xanax to treat her anxiety which would be on her medication list (that ALL physicians require) so it is not unreasonable for the psychiatrist to review it and be up front that she was not going to prescribe that particular medication. Before she could say another would about what she would do to help the OP went off on her. Again, not the behavior of a rational adult. The OP's behavior forced the psychiatrist's hand because she is bound by law to report a potentially unfit health care worker no matter what the cause. FTR, we can also lose our licenses for things such as public intoxication and fighting, for DUI's and other things that the general public might not see any repercussions for outside of the law. In other words we wouldn't just lose our jobs but lose our ability to actually work in health care at all.
We don't even know if she was a psychiatrist. The OP lost her PCP because of insurance coverage and called this doctor's office to ask if she would treat her anxiety, which leads me to believe that this is a general clinic.
You keep diminishing and belittling what I consider to be valid points (actually, diminishing me as a person in general: lack of ethics, clueless) but I am still partaker in healthcare even if my role is of a patients. Your interpretation of the OP's post makes me question if you even bothered to read it at all before giving her a lecture on how she is the one in the wrong with this situation
hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I
4 Articles; 5,212 Posts
There is also specific exclusions to HIPAA that make a provider responsible for reporting information that may lead to unsafe practice.