Honest question needs honest anwser..

[Kandigrl2001]

Ill be honest .. I've smoked pot on occation ...And I've heard that hospitals do hair strand testing....Do they ?

And if so .. will that affect my getting a job?

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

He has a valid point. If someone goes out on New years and has a few drinks/smoke does that make them impaired for next Fridays shift? For any kind of work? If the answer is yes then I will support it right after we start requiring the same standards from our politicians, our attorneys, our DA's and our police.

I personally wasn't talking about someone still being impaired and coming to work. Rather, I was wondering if someone decides to cross a legal line and smoke or use an illegal substance, what does that say about their ethics at work? Will they cross lines at work too? Do I want a nurse like that? There are thousands of med errors every year and people die. Are some of the errors caused by some people not following the rules?

steph

[Jarnaes]

We get plenty of drug tests in the Army. It's a urine test under direct observation- not fun at all. We do this random drug test every quarter.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

We get plenty of drug tests in the Army. It's a urine test under direct observation- not fun at all. We do this random drug test every quarter.

Yep, my husband drives a logging truck and he has random drug testing under direct observation too.

steph

[Josh L.Ac.]

My first thought is, not because of the drugs but because they are breaking rules in the first place.

However, you could wonder about the role using drugs has on your conscience. For instance, if I was really drunk I might go home with that guy in the bar and have unprotected sex. When the truth might be that if I was not drunk, I would never do that.

My dh tells me that all guys know that the way to get a girl into bed is to get her intoxicated. Once a girl starts living that kind of lifestyle, her life choices might be different had she not started getting drunk.

I dunno - what came first . . . the chicken or the egg?

Maybe both.

steph

First of all, I've never allowed anyone around me to use the "well I was drunk" excuse. The greeks used to say that "there is truth in wine" and boy is it true. Most of the people that use this excuse are giving themselves an out or an explanation for their behavior that takes the blame off of them, sort of a modification of "the devil made me do it" nonsense. But if you are really committed to a person, it doesn't matter how drunk you get - you won't cheat.

Now back to the topic. If breaking one rule means you are more likely to break another, then most of us are screwed:

How many of us speed when we drive?

I do at times, and it is usually a conscious decision. But at the same time, I consciously choose not to break other rules and the fact that I drove 70 in a 65 to get to the hospital doesn't mean I'm predisposed towards giving a patient a pill that fell on the floor.

That being said, some people do start breaking the rules and continue to break more...but I think the question is whether or not it is the actual initial rule-breaking is the problem is it merely a symptom?

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

First of all, I've never allowed anyone around me to use the "well I was drunk" excuse. The greeks used to say that "there is truth in wine" and boy is it true. Most of the people that use this excuse are giving themselves an out or an explanation for their behavior that takes the blame off of them, sort of a modification of "the devil made me do it" nonsense. But if you are really committed to a person, it doesn't matter how drunk you get - you won't cheat.

Now back to the topic. If breaking one rule means you are more likely to break another, then most of us are screwed:

How many of us speed when we drive?

I do at times, and it is usually a conscious decision. But at the same time, I consciously choose not to break other rules and the fact that I drove 70 in a 65 to get to the hospital doesn't mean I'm predisposed towards giving a patient a pill that fell on the floor.

That being said, some people do start breaking the rules and continue to break more...but I think the question is whether or not it is the actual initial rule-breaking is the problem is it merely a symptom?

Like I said, I dunno . . .maybe both.

As to the driving over the speed limit - yes, illegal. And yes, I do it sometimes.

I like that you don't buy the devil excuse . . .

steph

[Huscarl73]

I personally wasn't talking about someone still being impaired and coming to work. Rather, I was wondering if someone decides to cross a legal line and smoke or use an illegal substance, what does that say about their ethics at work? Will they cross lines at work too? Do I want a nurse like that? There are thousands of med errors every year and people die. Are some of the errors caused by some people not following the rules?

steph

I understand your position. I don't agree with it but I do understand it.

I was addressing a broader picture of the war on drugs. IMO that history has proven that it is unwinnable. By any logical interpretation blatently unconstitutional in so many ways. And most importantly to me, the cost of this war from the crime it creates to the human cost in most of the countries south of our border undefendable.

[CHATSDALE]

i was tested after a needle stick, they said that everyone who came to clinic was tested, if they were clean than followup visits were not subject to tests, they required you to to f/u for aids, hep a/b/c, and any other thing which might be transferrred per needle stick

friend of mine said that they were tested and was found to have a low unne test, was told that this was probably second-hand marijuana exposture

at another facility if you have a suspicous test you then that to have the hair test

btw i would prefer a nurse to clean when caring for me/family

[talaxandra]

Or maybe the nurse just likes to blaze up every once in awhile which has nothing to do with patient care.

I hate the slippery slope / drug argument. Just because some drug-addicted nurse starts stealing narcs from their patients doesn't mean that everyone that uses a drug will do the same thing. Reminds me of the silly anti-gay marriage slippery slope argument: if we let same sex couples marry, then eventually people will start marrying their pets.

Both are ludicrous.

BTW, I am drug-free so my post is not motivated by the need to justify my actions.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

[gisele38]

Well according to my addictionist if you hasve smoked pot on a semiregular basis you are impaired for 6 mths to a year and from what I have heard the hair strand test may detect drugs for use up to a year since marijuana is concentrated in fat cells and does not get filtered through the body like many othere drugs. So best if you quit completely but most facilities rely on urine drug screens rather than more expensive testing.