Kentucky Board KARE

Oh my goodness y'all... my friend just found this for me... I have recently been enrolled into the KARE program and for some reason I feel so defeated and overwhelmed with it. I think it's more or less the whole 5 DANG YEAR thing!! Anyone else super super anxious about this? I am so happy to find somewhere that I can talk to nurses going through the same.

Just enrolled and am SUPER ANXIOUS about it!!! But time

So you're enjoying this program? I gotta say I just started I am beyond anxious and overwhelmed.

I understand... I guess with me the thing is.. is this had nothing to do with work. Got addicted to prescription pain meds and as hard as it was I told my husband I needed to go get help.. So I thought I should be honest and tell my supervisor what was up and where I was going. I had no idea how long I would be off, ya know? Anyways, when I come back to work I was called to HR and told basically it was the law that any nurse in KY with a substance abuse problem had to self report. Of course I was still in a bad way and not feeling back to myself and did what I was told. Not knowing THIS is what would happen.

So this is very frustrating to me for many reasons. I mean a lot of this is mega overkill. Especially the fact that it's 5 dang years.

Thank you for responding.. I have been googling and trying to find a support group with other nurses. I really need this.

No way. Ive never heard of anyone being subjected to that. Must be expensive as well

I'm nearing 3 years into the program and I'm finally figuring out that KARE is not a recovery program for nurses but strictly a monitoring program.

I always understood that the rigorous requirements from the program were put into place to protect the squeaky clean image of the KBN: "We did everything we could to help this nurse, even giving them a second chance but they made a personal decesion to not follow the 5 year probation". This mindset keeps nurses reputations and the board unaffected in the publics eye.

Behind the scenes however we each have a case manager. A case managers job is primarily be an advocate, a second voice for their client and to assist them in ANY way possible with the ultimate goal in mind of acheiving client wellness (sobriety).

Now each case manager (which I imagine is just a handful) can have up to 100 clients to monitor. This leaves virtually no time for individualized attention or "KARE". The rules and regulations of the program are not individually based but a large singular veil cast over all participants (no matter your culture, religion, financial means, familial status, or anything). It's like expecting a serial rapist to rehabilitate in the same program as a shop lifter and the board expects this to work. The only time you will here from your only contact from within the board is when you've done something wrong. Otherwise there won't be a single "hey are you" or "just checking up on you". How would feel if your older son or daughter only called when they needed money, that's how isolated and alone I feel in this program.

I have made quite a bit of mistakes that were mostly trivial but when some questionable things came up in my UDS boy was in for it with my CM. I had been seriously ill for weeks and took it upon myself to buy OTC cold and flu medication which unfortunately contains alcohol. I received the phone call telling me there was a "high concentration" of alcohol in my test result. I specifically remember testing that day as it was only a week prior. I didn't test until 215pm and had my daughter with me all day. I didn't ask about the levels but one would assume in order to have a "high" concentration you'd have to either be completely and utterly drunk the night before or wake up drinking during the day. But since I had been sick for literally 3 weeks straight and taking into consideration all the liquid OTC medication I had taken that large amounts of ETOH accumulated in my system.

Anyway when I received the call my feelings were hurt because I had proof that I really was sick in the form of prescribed ABX but there was no sympathy or empathy. There was no "how are you feeling now" or "I'm worried about you" in any form. If you make a mistake, the only thing that will happen is you'll have the contract thrown in your face and hear "you agreed, you agreed, you agreed to the contract" over and over again.

Someone I know in KARE had to have an EMERGENCY medical procedure done and was given pain medication for the surgical procedure. Guess what? She was repremainded for not getting the MD to read over her entire contract, sign a form stating that he understood she was in the program and then sign another form explaining he's going to give her a dose of pain medication for the surgery. The tricky part is that her CM would have had to be notified of this BEFORE she actually took any medicine that was offered. Guys, it's 100,000% unreasonable to expect someone to say to an EMT oh wait before we go I need to print of my KARE paperwork for the doctor to sign and grab a copy of my KARE agreement all while I'm experiencing the most severe pain my life. THAT is what you'll deal with in this program. And this forum is the only way to tell these stories, to advocate for one another and support each other.

Don't bother defending your mistakes, don't bother trying to make sense out of the situation, don't bother thinking anything will be okay if something goes wrong. Always, always be vigelent and remember the KARE program is in place to monitor you for 5 years. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's been a very emotional last couple of months. I've finally broken the cycle of seasonal depression by getting on depression medication and I have felt absolutely wonderful, happy and positive. But those phone calls will bring you down into a very very dark place because you know they have their hands around your throat whilst dangling your license in front of your face. There is NO room for error or mistakes in this program. If you forget one signature or take one Tylenol without permission you risk losing your license. You must only rely on those around you for support as I've given my CM the benefit of the doubt by writing some of my most exclusive thoughts and feelings on each report only to be treated like a name and number on a page when something bad happens. It hurts and I suggest anyone in this avoid that pain by reading the contract rules once a month (just so you know) and live the cleanest and most honest life possible.

I'm here for anyone who needs support our is feeling alone, depressed or overwhelmed by the program. Sometimes others who are going exactly thriough what you are is a great way to relieve some of that stress and anxiety created by the program.

On 10/15/2018 at 5:47 PM, Leigh37 said:

Oh my goodness y'all... my friend just found this for me... I have recently been enrolled into the KARE program and for some reason I feel so defeated and overwhelmed with it. I think it's more or less the whole 5 DANG YEAR thing!! Anyone else super super anxious about this? I am so happy to find somewhere that I can talk to nurses going through the same.

I have a meeting with the KBN next week. I am sick over the KARE “draft” they sent me. I have been a nurse for 21 years and never had anything bad on my record. I’ve worked on the same unit for 20 years and am the unit “go to” for every possible patient worry or concern a less experienced nurse my have. I cannot believe what the “KARE” program is expecting of me. I was arrested for my first (& ONLY) DUI last year and have been living in a nightmare ever since. Rapists get off easier than what I have been through. I want to give my career up. I’m anxious and depressed. Giving up isn’t an options though. I have three children and a mortgage. My husband, who is also a nurse, doesn’t drink alcohol (has never approved of alcohol or drugs of any kind), is also APPALLED at what the KBN is putting me through. This is an absolute nightmare!!

On 12/22/2016 at 12:13 PM, tarab333 said:

Hi there,

I just wanted to start a thread for anyone who is in the Kentucky Board of Nursing's KARE program. I thought this would be a good place to share/exchange info and lend some support to one another!

I could definitely use some support

4 hours ago, Tracey Kuchowicz said:

I have a meeting with the KBN next week. I am sick over the KARE “draft” they sent me. I have been a nurse for 21 years and never had anything bad on my record. I’ve worked on the same unit for 20 years and am the unit “go to” for every possible patient worry or concern a less experienced nurse my have. I cannot believe what the “KARE” program is expecting of me. I was arrested for my first (& ONLY) DUI last year and have been living in a nightmare ever since. Rapists get off easier than what I have been through. I want to give my career up. I’m anxious and depressed. Giving up isn’t an options though. I have three children and a mortgage. My husband, who is also a nurse, doesn’t drink alcohol (has never approved of alcohol or drugs of any kind), is also APPALLED at what the KBN is putting me through. This is an absolute nightmare!!

It is a nightmare! I was a nurse for 5 years before I had to go into the program. My case manager and the program director sat me down in a small room to go over the kare program. They offer you some choices ,which aren’t really choices at all, and expect you to decide your fate. It was intimidating for me because they really made an emphasis on being randomly tested at anytime. The thought of being on a cruise or going out of the country festered in my mind in that moment and I was sure my family would never forgive me if I had to make them suffer too. It felt like my freedom was slowly being stripped away as they began explaining the AA/NA meeting requirements! They expect 3 meetings each week for 5 years! That’s about 2 years of your life right there spent sitting in meetings if they last a couple hours. I could barely see a couple feet ahead of me as my eyes began to water. I was so sure my wife would never forgive me for this. I thought about just quitting, it seemed easier than being at the mercy of the boards requirements. But I knew I’d truly be unhappy if I did, I love nursing too much. So I signed. Many nurses and non healthcare people think it’s great that the board offers a second chance but i wouldn’t take it THAT far. It felt more like a punishment. Nurses are the most respected professionals in the country so of course the KBN will not allow some singular nurse who used or drank scarring that ‘perfect’ image. I was extremely bitter towards the board and blamed them for a long time for the misery I was feeling however I turned out to be mistaken about many of my feelings, even from the beginning. KARE is more forgiving than I anticipated. I’ve made many mistakes in the 3.5 years so far but I never failed a drug test which is KEY. And when I say KEY I mean THAT is the only thing that could jeopardize your license. The government assembles the entire BON staff and it’s minimal! Each case manager has damn near 100 case loads at any time and are over worked and probably under paid. My CM, for example, has told me how behind she was on reviewing everyone’s monthly package we’re required to send in.. like months behind. They read your little note on the fourth page of the self inventory packet (I began to treat it like an entry to a diary), make sure it’s signed and make sure your meetings form is filled out and initialed and signed by a sponsor. Then it’s placed in your file and on to the next one. Don’t expect to hear from them unless it’s time to set up your annual meeting with them. They always send confirmations in those damn Kentucky Board of Nursing envelopes which gives me a heart attack every time I see one. But most of the time they are copies of non compliant actions (like not feeling out the form correctly, not doing something or anything correctly actually). They sent me one wit every thing I messed up on one time and it was two pages. And that was it, no corrective action taken, no license suspension, nothing. It just goes in your file. The only time you should be scared shitless is if you test positive for something your not supposed to have in your system. If you lie to them and say it was a mistake they make YOU pay for some specialized test that cost hundreds of dollars and you will fail again. Then they can make you stop working. I’ve never had that happen to me though but did test for alcohol one time. I just happened to be sick at that same time and had proof that I actually was sick. That was a very frustrating time for me and my anger and bitterness swelled but by the time I had my annual/positive test result meeting with them I composed myself, spoke with great remorse and instilled confidence in them that I was okay. That was 9 months ago. I’ve got 19 more months to go. The hardest pill to swallow after a while will be the whole KARE nurse label you have to carry around for five years. It’s definitely a scarlet letter. But in my time amongst my peers I’ve learned no one really doesn’t know wth KARE is. But when you interview they will know once you tell them you can pass narcs for two years. Otherwise, your no different from any other nurse. As long as you fill out the paperwork and stay clean it won’t be hard. You’ll have to sign in to see if you have to test each day which will be an adjustment and will have to pay $51 per test but don’t let that eat you up. In the beginning when I was bitter and angry I calculated one could spend up to $9000 over the duration of five wars of testing. I complained and complained, saying how stupid it was and how I could use that money for my kids or house or life in general. It ate me up inside and I almost let my anger get me into trouble when I expressed my resentment in my monthly notes to my CM. Stay positive, be positive. Any negativity will alert them to you and they will put you under a microscope. Be positive and they’ll file your paperwork without a second glance. If your clean and if your kids are old enough to stay home, then testing will be an in and out process. The labcorp I go to knows me and my children and are pleasant. It was humiliating at first but they’re people to with just as much or worse troubles than us. Always alwayssss make an appointment with labcorp after you find out you have to test. Immediately go their website and make one that works for you and upon signing in tell them your here for your appointment. Otherwise you could risk sitting and waiting up to an hour vs 5 minutes. After the narc restriction is lifted you’ll feel like your old self again, you will then be no different than any other nurse.

Thinking about KARE makes me rant and rave every time. I know I rambled a lot, and I personally had shifting emotions throughout it all that you may not be able to read through text. If you have any questions just let us know. Just know long *** KARE contract with the dozens of rules etc in it IS NOT as scary it’s made out to be. Like I said there are really only two things you have to do to graduate. Pass your drug tests and fill out and send in your paperwork each month. It’s THAT simple. Have confidence in yourself, don’t let them overwhelm you, they’re just doing their job. But their job actually boils down to reading those packets and looking for alerts to failed tests each day. Good luck

2 hours ago, Tracey Kuchowicz said:

I could definitely use some support

Welcome to the Recovery Forum. I am wishing you the best. First, if you are using your REAL name, please consider changing that. It has been mentioned that some nursing boards scan these forums.

I am sorry all this is happening to you. I know it must be frustrating and anxiety inducing. This forum has helped me and I hope you will find the support you need here.

I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, but I can only say I am sending good vibes your way!