Just getting started and already confused!!

[shea76]

NC here! So here goes....after graduating nursing school in 2007, I voluntarily surrendered my license in Jan. 2009 due to diversion and positive UA. I was going through a particularly difficult divorce and self-medicated with drugs occasionally and alcohol daily. When i surrendered my license, I thought I was giving up nursing for good. I honestly didn't think I would even be alive. I had given up on everything and attempted suicide on several occasions and just basically lived a dangerous lifestyle. All of that changed when I found myself pregnant with my son in 2010. It's been a struggle, but I have turned my life around and now have two healthy, beautiful boys. Needless to say, finding gainful employment has been next to impossible. Thankfully all that changed in Jan. 2014 when a friend referred me to a small, family owned managed services provider. I loved my job and moved up the ranks quickly, from receptionist, dispatcher, customer service rep, to project coordinator. I was so proud of myself! I made enough to support myself and my children and we had it pretty good. Then I was laid off in Jan of this year....since then I've lost my home and had to move in with family. I'm receiving unemployment but it's maxed out at 12 weeks. I've been putting in applications and resumes galore, only to have received one interview. So I started thinking....why not try to have my license reinstated? I know it will involve jumping through hoops and lots of money, but in the end it will be worth it to be able to provide for my family again. I started looking into it for the first time. From what I can see, part of the process involves taking refresher courses since I have been out of the field for so long. No problem, I expected and welcomed that. Here's the rub...I'm on the OIG exclusion list which from what I understand will prevent me from taking part in the required clinicals. To be removed from the list, I have to get my license reinstated. How can I get my license reinstated if I'm on the OIG list and can't particiapate in clinicals, and how can I get off the OIG list if I can't get my license reinstated????? I am just getting started and already at what seems to be an insurmountable roadblock. Am I misunderstanding the process?