I May be in huge trouble....

FORTHELOVEOF!!!! · Apr 17, 2012

No one, even the nursing program, can access your medical records without your consent. Medical records are not needed for nursing school, boards, or licensure. Unless you were arrested for this substance and have it on your Criminal Record, no one will ever know. Don't worry yourself about medical records, substance abuse is a disease and is treated in that manner and would never be held against someone unless you received a criminal record due to it. (And I'm not saying you abuse anything, just giving you an idea of how it's handled.)

allnurses Guide · Apr 17, 2012

The only way this would show up is if:

A. you were still doing it and have a positive drug screen

or

B. There were criminal charges filed.

Other than those, you have nothing to worry about.

RLtinker, LPN · Apr 17, 2012

Basiclly all they care about are vaccines, current drug test, cpr, if you have a suspended medical or nurse license and a criminal background check. If you were never charged it won't show up on a background check and they have noway of knowing.

commonsense · Apr 17, 2012

okay guys, I just recently got accepted to a nursing program. With that being said, I am very worried about something on my medical record. Now, please, try to be gentle as I openly admit this was a huge mistake on my part and a isolated incident. I tried synthetic marijuana on 2010; this also landed me in the ER. Could this ban me from the Nursing program? It isn't an illegal substance (It should be, I wholeheartedly believe) but it does show poor judgment on my part.
I am very embarrassed and ashamed of myself for this but I will be the first to admit that I made a huge mistake. Will this ruin my chance at getting through my program? or do they even look into your medical history for this purpose.
Again, Please don't be too harsh on me in your replies; I have to look at myself in the mirror every morning and carry this burden on a daily basis. I'm just very worried that this mistake will compromise my future in the healthcare field.
Thank you all for your time,
hlr2752

You might want to call the school and see if any of the nursing instructors have supernatural powers. If they do you might be in trouble, if not I wouldn't worry.

NCRNMDM, ASN, RN · Apr 18, 2012

Everyone makes bad decisions, and it's good to see that you've learned from yours. At my school, we had to submit a record of our vaccinations, we had to have a physical exam, and we had to take submit urine for a UDS (urine drug screen). If we had any significant medical conditions that might affect us during clinical or class (such as seizures, diabetes, etc, we were asked to divulge those). The program did not, however, dig into our medical records. No peeks were taken at how often we had been to the ED, what our complaints were, etc. We were also required to undergo a mental health evaluation by our personal physician, and we were asked if we had a history of mental illness.

To make a long story short, no nursing program should be asking for your medical records, and you are in no way obligated to give them to them. That is private information which is protected by HIPAA. They will only find out if you feel the need to personally divulge the information (something I wouldn't recommend). It was two years ago, and you seem to have learned your lesson. Don't worry about it. Good luck with nursing school!

grpman · Apr 18, 2012

Do you really think all of your instructors have not tried any drug? If you applied your standards to the faculty, many of them would have to step down.

Having tried a drug is not illegal. Just don't get caught with it in your pocket, car, or house. You're fine.