Help stop unfair hiring practices for stipulated nurses in Texas

june2009 · May 22, 2015

What kind of stipulations are you talking about? In PA, if a nurse still has narcotic restrictions I think makes sense to not hire a nurse on a floor that has a lot of pain medications. I know that even when I worked LTC it was difficult for the other nurses to have to pass my medications. They had to stop what they were doing to pass my narcotics. Or, worse yet, the patient had to wait for the other nurse to be free before getting their prescribed pain medication. Sometimes they had to wait as much as an hour. This could be considered a delay in treatment.

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · May 22, 2015

I have always wondered why they can't replace arbitrarily taking our keys for X amount of time with more drug screens. Closer to what physician programs do. That actually seems safer since the window to use or fudge UAs becomes more narrow. I know several folks who relapsed after getting their keys back and flew under the radar for a while because their DOC was, say, fentanyl.

/random thought of the day

pixiestudent2 · May 22, 2015

I wasn't aware that your license could have other stipulations beside narcotics.

TXRNC · May 22, 2015

Texas is a at will employment state if they don't want you they don't want you . I put in 100s of applications keep looking LTCs with med aids are a better bet

allnurses Guide · May 22, 2015

I wasn't aware that your license could have other stipulations beside narcotics.

When I was in the program my stips were no narcotics, no charge, no noc shifts, no overtime

I got a job in psych - a pretty good job really - for 5 years I didn't workweekends or holidays

Hppygr8ful

Red Kryptonite · May 22, 2015

Look, I'm sure this is going to tick you off, but paying a penalty you earned through your choices is not discrimination.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · May 22, 2015

I'm sorry, I have to say that I agree with the BON measures. I am not being mean, just realistic.

What you want to do, is to force an employer to put you on equal playing field, even give you special protections, up and above nurses that followed the rules.

You also want to force an employer to hire you over a less experienced nurse that also, played by the rules.

You still have a license. They could have revoked it, but didn't. You have to be at least thankful you still have your license.

Twoyearnurse · May 23, 2015

I think it strongly depends on why you are under contract.

i do think it is unfair to not hire a nurse based on stipulations that stem from addiction without any criminal actions (I.e. You have been on long term pain management and go to treatment to get off, you are an alcoholic and seek help). There should be laws that ban hospitals from not hiring these nurses as they would any other nurse.

With that said, I stole from drugs from my workplace due to my addiction. And while I had no criminal charges stem from that action, it was criminal, and it states I "diverted narcotics" on my contact with the BON. I do not expect employers to take that lightly, and they have a right to take that into account when I am up against another qualified nurse.

I consider myself insanely fortunate to keep my license. What I would consider worth focusing on is abuses that take place within monitoring programs to make them more feasible and less arbitrary in the way they lump all actions against a nurse together. I earned my five year without a doubt, but I know many nurses who didn't take the actions that earned them that much time.

It is the price we pay for our actions.

WookieeRN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 23, 2015

How do you intend to prove they are screening you based on your stipulations if Texas is an at will state and can hire/not hire anyone they please?

Tigerlily8 · May 24, 2015

You do not offer many details but from what I read I am in total agreement. I am curious about the details of your case, sorry if I overlooked them. Are you in a monitoring program for substance abuse or is it for mental illness? The monitoring program in Texas is unnecessarily restrictive as I have no history of drug diversion or being impaired at work. However, I am not allowed to handle narcotics for the first 6 months of employment. I have 30 years of critical care experience but am not allowed to do critical care which includes ER, telemetry,cath lab and so on. The job market is tight and I am almost 60 years old. On the other hand, there is a lack of support among the nursing community for nurses with substance abuse issues. I personally have applied for numerous jobs that would involve no controlled substances such as case management, telephone triage,home health,nurse navigator, dialysis, educator and clinic supervisor. Health care professionals should be aware that substance abuse is a disease and a treatable one at that, not a moral failure. And we all know that the incidence of substance abuse among health professionals is at least equal to the general public. It is very frustrating to be abandoned by those that should be offering support. Imagine what we could accomplish if nurses supported each other.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · May 24, 2015

If you are going to censor/delete (if you're able) every opinion that isn't rainbows and unicorns then you don't appear to be ready to return to the work force even if anyone would hire you.

Without knowing your stipulations I certainly won't be signing any petition.