If you are drunk, don't drive!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

If you are a nurse, and you drive while you are drunk; the Board of Nursing can suspend your nursing license for good!!! This is hard to believe...but it is true!!!!

Specializes in ICU/CCU, CVICU, Trauma.
Of course I am serious. It is completely absurd to me to think that the same people who issue licenses are in any position to carry out such judgments. There are people that do this - the courts. The first irony is that such "morality clauses" are immoral. The second irony is that the same people that are so specific about what actions you can and cannot take under a license feel so free to abuse power in this way.

-S

I will not argue with you; this is not the place.

Ann

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Specializes in Nurses who are mentally sicked.
Of course I am serious. It is completely absurd to me to think that the same people who issue licenses are in any position to carry out such judgments. There are people that do this - the courts. The first irony is that such "morality clauses" are immoral. The second irony is that the same people that are so specific about what actions you can and cannot take under a license feel so free to abuse power in this way.

-S

Interesting!:monkeydance::monkeydance:

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Specializes in SRNA.
I will not argue with you; this is not the place.

Ann

Thats too bad .... as this is a discussion forum.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept.

I don't necessarily think that a DUI should cause a mark against a nursing license, but I will be the first in line to say that our DUI laws are WAY too lax. I'm all for a little shock jail time for a first offender - and you don't even want to know what I think we should do to repeat offenders.

You want to risk your own life - fine with me, but when you get on the road where you could hit my friends or family - that is intolerable.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU, CVICU, Trauma.

Our country as a whole suffers the effects of a more lax attitude about drunken driving. While DUI laws are being toughened, none yet compare to that of Europe. Over 50% of U.S. adult trauma victims are legally intoxicated.

In 2003 Pennsylvania (I work in PA) took a major leap toward eradicating drunken driving with the passing of Act 24. This new law dropped the legal BAC (blood alcohol content) from 0.10% to 0.08% and introduced alcohol treatment into the penalty package.

You can obtain the mandatory court ordered penalties from your states DMV website. In addition to court ordered penalties, you will also get socked by higher car insurance rates that can haunt you for the rest of your life. Your rates typically will triple, and in some cases your carrier will drop you.

Alcohol is a depressant - it slows you down. It affects all body cells, but especially those in the brain and CNS. Alcohol limits your concentration, insight, perception, judgment and memory. It also slows down your movements and reactions. It makes you feel dangerously confident, so drinking drivers can be out of control and not even know it.

Zero Tolerance Law - If you are under 21, you are considered to be under the influence with ANY alcohol in your system, no matter how minimal.

For drivers 21 and older, you should not drink more than 1 drink/hour. Your body needs at least 1 hour to process the alcohol in each and every drink you have. Coffee does not speed this process.

Implied Consent Law - The law covering chemical testing states that you have agreed to take such a test - just by being licensed to drive. If you are arrested for DUI, and you refuse to take a test, your license will be automatically suspended for AT LEAST 1 year.

I stand by my belief that ALL licensed professionals shouild be held accountable for DUI in accordance with their licensing board. They ensure that the public is protected from unsafe care.

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Please tell me you are not serious. The consequences of drinking & driving are not unjust. It is not "punishing" nurses. It is not "unfair treatment". If I am a patient I would want someone to show an "abuse of power" in order to ensure that I get safe patient care. I do not want anyone taking care of me or my loved ones that shows the irresponsibility of putting lives in danger outside of their workplace.

Ann

Please tell me what drinking and driving has to do with job performance.

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I stand by my belief that ALL licensed professionals shouild be held accountable for DUI in accordance with their licensing board.

It has to be this way if it's law but again, what in the world does a DUI have to do with job performance...the answer is...nothing unless the DUI is gotten on the job.

They ensure that the public is protected from unsafe care.

This is perhaps one of the most absurd statements I have seen on this thread.

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Case by case seems right to me.

Did it happen once twenty years ago? What was the blood alcohol level? Were you being chased by an ax murderer?

I have a friend who got pulled over because her tail light was out. Passed w/ a .07 . The cop arrested her anyway and charged her with a reckless driving misdemeanor . She still had to do court appointed AA and everything like a DUI. So is it fair to say she shouldn't be a nurse?

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Specializes in SRNA.

It's this kind of absurdity that makes me want to run out and go to law school.

-S

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
Please tell me what drinking and driving has to do with job performance.

What does pedophilia have to do with job performance???????? What does rape, violent assault or murder have to do with job performance?????

For matter, given that a large number of nursing positions require credit checks, what does a credit rating have to do with job performance????

It is simple, how one handles one's life is an excellent indicator of how one handles work. You may not like that view and it may hurt some feelings, but those of us that have hired and fired, have found from long experience, that people that do not keep their lives/finances in order, most often are lacking in job performance. Some may argue to the contrary, but it gets demonstrated in life, time and again.

It is very simple - if you work an a profession governed by law...you need to OBEY THE LAW. No big mystery here. If you feel the need to break the law, it demonstrates your clear disregard for those legal issues.

If you cannot obey the law, then you have no business being in a licensed profession....Feel free to choose from the thousands of other careers out that that do not require licensure, and you can flaunt the legal system to your heart's content.

Nursing licensure is not a right, but is a privilege that must be earned and standards upheld.

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Specializes in SRNA.

All professions are governed by law and there are no professions that I know of where you are free to "flaunt the legal system to your heart's content"

You make a point thought - requiring a credit check for any employment should be illegal. It is certainly unethical behavoir.

-S

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What does pedophilia have to do with job performance???????? What does rape, violent assault or murder have to do with job performance?????

For matter, given that a large number of nursing positions require credit checks, what does a credit rating have to do with job performance????

To answer all of the above...absolutely nothing. That's the whole point. I'm glad you feel the same.

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