Help, unable to comply with IPN

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I made a huge mistake, and diverted after injuring my back. When I was confronted, I owned up to everything, and referred to IPN. It took a month for the evaluator to send in her report, and I got the worst case scenario. 28 day minimum with residential requirement. I can't leave my family for that long.  My wife would have to quit her job to watch our daughter, and can't drive. I explained that to the evaluator, but that's what she recommended anyways. 

I'm at a loss. I know it's going to go to the board, and they'll just refer me right back to IPN. Will I at least get a clean slate and another eval? Or am I stuck with worst case? I  really want to do the right thing, and I love caring for people as a nurse.  Is this the end? Has anyone else been down this road that can offer advice? 

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Specializes in Research & Critical Care.

Diversion isn't a small thing; what IPN and their evaluators say is what goes. You could try speaking with a lawyer to see if there are other options, but I can almost guarantee that the BON will not let a nurse with a history of abuse continue without treatment and monitoring.

It's not easy by any means and it's not doable by everyone. I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the reality of where you are. Best of luck.

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I want to do the treatment, I'm more than confident that I can remain clean. But inpatient isn't in the cards right now. 

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Specializes in Research & Critical Care.

Unfortunately, they're not ones for negotiating.

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You can do this!  Get a loan, hire a sitter, tap your 401 K. Ask family for help. It's worth it to get back on track. It's 4 weeks. Just do it!

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You don't really have a choice. You have to do what they say or you will lose your license. They don't care about your finances or family. It is what it is. You have to find a way to make it work or you will have to find a new career.

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Ovrblown said:

I want to do the treatment, I'm more than confident that I can remain clean. But inpatient isn't in the cards right now. 

Here is the thing.  You being "more than confident that you can remain clean" isn't the decider.  You being more than confident that you can remain clean is the standard BEFORE you begin diverting.  Once you have been diverting and you are now caught, the standard and expectations and rules to allow you back into practice set by the Board is not based on your perception of whether you can remain clean.  That standard is no longer considered.  If you have diverted and the Board say 28 days residential, I would do it.  Why?  You aren't just looking at your nursing license, you are also doing the 28 days to help decrease the chances of criminal charges.  Pharmacies have a duty to report not only to the Board, but also to the DEA and Police Detectives (locally-county or state) and those detectives are made aware of every diversion case.  You decision to do what the Board says regarding 28 days has a huge part in whether or not you are charged criminally.  

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You can decline and your case will go to the board. They will either suspend or revoke your license for a certain period of time (1-2 years). Once that time is up you can go back to the board and present evidence of why you should get your license back (show negative drug screens, proof of outpatient rehab, therapy, etc.). So no you will not lose your license forever even if you decline IPN, but you will be out of nursing for longer than if you would have done the treatment recommendation. Whatever you do, do not voluntarily surrender your license, as I believe it is really hard to get back once surrendering. 

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solarex said:

Here is the thing.  You being "more than confident that you can remain clean" isn't the decider.  You being more than confident that you can remain clean is the standard BEFORE you begin diverting.  Once you have been diverting and you are now caught, the standard and expectations and rules to allow you back into practice set by the Board is not based on your perception of whether you can remain clean.  That standard is no longer considered.  If you have diverted and the Board say 28 days residential, I would do it.  Why?  You aren't just looking at your nursing license, you are also doing the 28 days to help decrease the chances of criminal charges.  Pharmacies have a duty to report not only to the Board, but also to the DEA and Police Detectives (locally-county or state) and those detectives are made aware of every diversion case.  You decision to do what the Board says regarding 28 days has a huge part in whether or not you are charged criminally.  

That is not necessarily true... most hospitals choose to not charge criminally. Also in this state (FL) IPN remains confidential from the board and the nurses license remains clear during and after monitoring.

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1.  Rose, please don't post about things you have no clue or concept of what you are talking about.  I am a CRNA and use to set on the California Board prior to CRNA school while an RN.  I did it for 2 years.  I have seen over 25 nurses criminally charged in my time.  After leaving the Board, I diverted 4 years later as a CRNA and have been through both sides of the process, both the working for the Board side, and then actually being an offending nurse who diverted.

2.  Hospitals can't "charge you criminally."  A Hospital isn't a Prosecutor.  The DA is the Prosecutor.  What did I write in the previous post?  I did NOT write anything about "Hospitals Charging Someone."  That's not possible. What I DID write was....hospitals and the Chief of Pharmacy has a DUTY, by LAW, to NOTIFY the local/county police and the DEA and the State Board in diversion cases because diversion is a criminal act.  As to whether the District Attorney decides to prosecute a nurse is not simply based on "what the Hospital wants to do." LOL.  That has ZERO to do with it.  It's about three things.  The first is how many cases does the DA have and does he have the time to fool with you.  Usually, that answer is no.  I can tell you that Southern States are far likelier to bring charges compared to western more liberal states.  2nd, the volume of evidence plays a part.  For example, is the evidence overwhelming and obvious.  3rd, and often the biggest factor involved if the first 2 criteria above are met.  For example, if the DA decides he or she is going to bring charges and has the time and money to do so, and the evidence is overwhelming, then the 3rd factor is your behavior AFTER getting caught.  Are you denying, lawyering up, not responding to the Board, and MOST important, have you yet to enter a recovery program.  Of all the people that do get charged criminally, I can tell you this, 99 percent of them meet these three criteria above.

Aside from your nurse license.  Just put that aside.  Any lawyer will tell you the this.  If you have a drug problem and the evidene is overwhelming against you, GET to rehab IMMEDIATELY.  Why?  It can literally make the difference in whether or not you are criminally charged.  If a DA is thinking about bringing charges, the first thing they do is look to see what you are doing at present, and if you are in rehab, in monitoring as well, your changes just went WAY down of being charged.  Even if charged, if you have gone to rehab and are in monitoring program, the changes of those charges being dropped go trough the roof.

Again, Hospitals are not in the legal criminal field.  A hospital doesn't decide whether or not you are charged.  We are talking about criminal law, not civil law.  In criminal law, the District Attorney, who represents the citizens of the State you live in decides whether to bring charges regardless of what a Hospital wants to do.  Let me assure you of this.  In EVERY suspected diversion case in America, the Hospital-Chief of Pharmacy has a duty to report to the DEA, and the Board of Nursing.  If not, the hospital can and will be fined millions of dollars, and the Chief of Pharmacy can lose his or her license to practice, so I promise you, they report it.  Again, reporting it, and then a District Attorney bringing criminal charges are two different things, but once again, your actions, your behavior AFTER you have been caught diverting can dramatically effect the odds of whether or not you are charged criminally.

Last of all, Rose stated you could not talk to the Board and your license suspended for a year or 2, and then you get it back.  What nurses don't understand is that it is pretty easy to "get your license back."  That's not difficult.  The problem is when you get that license back in 2 years, the stipulations that follow.  The Board will say, yep, you got your license back, congrats, now here are the stipulations you have that allow you to keep it, and if you don't the following, we will revoke it.  And when revoked, you aren't getting it back.  Choose another profession quickly.  As for those stipulations after you "get it back."  You are on probation.  You will attend 3 recovering meetings weekly and your Supervisor at Work will send the Board a report every 3 months, and you can't have access to controlled substances at work, and you should have completed a 6 week PHP program, a 6 week IOP program, and a one year Aftercare Program, and you will call in daily and be in random drug testing.  These conditions above last for 5 years, but we will give you your controlled substance ability and privaleges back after 1 year to 18 months.  By the way, we need to approve where you work before the first day that you start work and will be contacting your Supervisor frequently via phone or email to check in on you, and oh yea, good luck getting a nursing job without narcotic privaleges.  The only place that will hire you is Dialysis if you are lucky or a plasma center, and both have long hours and pay very little.  But hey, "you have your license back."

My point is....when you here the words, "you got it back," most nurses who just don't think very clearly either choose not to, or don't have the ability to tell you what "having your license back" involves.  I just told you, and was being honest.  

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solarex said:

1.  Rose, please don't post about things you have no clue or concept of what you are talking about.  I am a CRNA and use to set on the California Board prior to CRNA school while an RN.  I did it for 2 years.  I have seen over 25 nurses criminally charged in my time.  After leaving the Board, I diverted 4 years later as a CRNA and have been through both sides of the process, both the working for the Board side, and then actually being an offending nurse who diverted.

2.  Hospitals can't "charge you criminally."  A Hospital isn't a Prosecutor.  The DA is the Prosecutor.  What did I write in the previous post?  I did NOT write anything about "Hospitals Charging Someone."  That's not possible. What I DID write was....hospitals and the Chief of Pharmacy has a DUTY, by LAW, to NOTIFY the local/county police and the DEA and the State Board in diversion cases because diversion is a criminal act.  As to whether the District Attorney decides to prosecute a nurse is not simply based on "what the Hospital wants to do." LOL.  That has ZERO to do with it.  It's about three things.  The first is how many cases does the DA have and does he have the time to fool with you.  Usually, that answer is no.  I can tell you that Southern States are far likelier to bring charges compared to western more liberal states.  2nd, the volume of evidence plays a part.  For example, is the evidence overwhelming and obvious.  3rd, and often the biggest factor involved if the first 2 criteria above are met.  For example, if the DA decides he or she is going to bring charges and has the time and money to do so, and the evidence is overwhelming, then the 3rd factor is your behavior AFTER getting caught.  Are you denying, lawyering up, not responding to the Board, and MOST important, have you yet to enter a recovery program.  Of all the people that do get charged criminally, I can tell you this, 99 percent of them meet these three criteria above.

Aside from your nurse license.  Just put that aside.  Any lawyer will tell you the this.  If you have a drug problem and the evidene is overwhelming against you, GET to rehab IMMEDIATELY.  Why?  It can literally make the difference in whether or not you are criminally charged.  If a DA is thinking about bringing charges, the first thing they do is look to see what you are doing at present, and if you are in rehab, in monitoring as well, your changes just went WAY down of being charged.  Even if charged, if you have gone to rehab and are in monitoring program, the changes of those charges being dropped go trough the roof.

Again, Hospitals are not in the legal criminal field.  A hospital doesn't decide whether or not you are charged.  We are talking about criminal law, not civil law.  In criminal law, the District Attorney, who represents the citizens of the State you live in decides whether to bring charges regardless of what a Hospital wants to do.  Let me assure you of this.  In EVERY suspected diversion case in America, the Hospital-Chief of Pharmacy has a duty to report to the DEA, and the Board of Nursing.  If not, the hospital can and will be fined millions of dollars, and the Chief of Pharmacy can lose his or her license to practice, so I promise you, they report it.  Again, reporting it, and then a District Attorney bringing criminal charges are two different things, but once again, your actions, your behavior AFTER you have been caught diverting can dramatically effect the odds of whether or not you are charged criminally.

Last of all, Rose stated you could not talk to the Board and your license suspended for a year or 2, and then you get it back.  What nurses don't understand is that it is pretty easy to "get your license back."  That's not difficult.  The problem is when you get that license back in 2 years, the stipulations that follow.  The Board will say, yep, you got your license back, congrats, now here are the stipulations you have that allow you to keep it, and if you don't the following, we will revoke it.  And when revoked, you aren't getting it back.  Choose another profession quickly.  As for those stipulations after you "get it back."  You are on probation.  You will attend 3 recovering meetings weekly and your Supervisor at Work will send the Board a report every 3 months, and you can't have access to controlled substances at work, and you should have completed a 6 week PHP program, a 6 week IOP program, and a one year Aftercare Program, and you will call in daily and be in random drug testing.  These conditions above last for 5 years, but we will give you your controlled substance ability and privaleges back after 1 year to 18 months.  By the way, we need to approve where you work before the first day that you start work and will be contacting your Supervisor frequently via phone or email to check in on you, and oh yea, good luck getting a nursing job without narcotic privaleges.  The only place that will hire you is Dialysis if you are lucky or a plasma center, and both have long hours and pay very little.  But hey, "you have your license back."

My point is....when you here the words, "you got it back," most nurses who just don't think very clearly either choose not to, or don't have the ability to tell you what "having your license back" involves.  I just told you, and was being honest.  

Good to know about your experience in California. In Florida however the employer has the option to only report to the states recovery program to meet mandatory reporting laws, and this poster is asking about advice in Florida with our recovery program (IPN). I understand that Cali is different (every state is different). You're right about the stipulations after getting a license back, but it still stands that the nurse is not "banned forever" from nursing like some might assume.

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).

You need the advice of a Attorney! Please do not discuss this any further as it may validate the case against you. Try this.

TAANA.org

They can provide a free initial consultation and provide legal representation.

Good Luck 

Hppy

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