Monitoring & Restrictions

I passed my nclex 11/25/2023 & Was told i need to due a fitness for duty eval , i did the eval & the evaluator diagnosed me with alcohol use disorder “moderate” and says i should do 10 aa meetings , 8 counseling sections & 180 days sobers . I’m waiting for my consent agreement

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Can someone give me some information about the monitoring program in Ohio. Also Not proud of this but I have consumed marijuana recently & was wondering will I have to drug test initially to get my license after I sign the consent agreement or will they gave me my license & a certain time frame to start my monitoring out? I'm freaking out any information helps. The reason for the consent agreement is for 2 DUI's/OVI's .. my first one being 07/2021 & second one being 06/2022.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept.

Hi 614nurse2024, 

I can tell you somewhat about the monitoring program in Ohio, however my experience is not substance related. I will summarize some events here:

-Non-work related misdemeanor in 2007. I did not report this to the Ohio Board of Nursing promptly. As a result, I was given a monitoring agreement that I did not consent to at that time because I was working in another state & had no plans of working anymore in Ohio. I inactivated my license & swore I would never work in Ohio. 

-2011: misdemeanor is expunged, I continue to work as an RN outside of Ohio without incident or issue

-2018: I move to Cincinnati but obtain a KY license & continue working there without issue. 

-2023: Ohio officially becomes compact state & living in Ohio, I would have to apply for an Ohio RN license or move when licensure renewal came. I took my recently earned MBA & left healthcare. 

-October 2023: I'm really missing working in healthcare & knowing that's where my heart really is. I apply to reinstate my Ohio RN license. 

-November 2023: I meet with OBN monitoring agent via Teams. Seemed genuinely kind & caring. I actually enjoyed my meeting with him. Terms from the original monitoring agreement will stand, so I begin the process of meeting them. When I met all preliminary requirements, my case was sent further to the board for a vote of yes/no for granting a license. 

-January 2024: Monitoring agent notifies me that the board has voted "yes" to grant my license. License application moves forward for review by the licensure department. 

-February 2024: I'm an RN in Ohio with a 3 year monitoring agreement that basically from this point, requires quarterly performance reports+ adhoc reporting with any changes in address/phone/employment, etc. 

I've had a very good experience with the Ohio Board of Nursing, and it has not what I thought and/or feared for all of those years. I believe they are a genuinely good organization with a job to do, which is protecting the public, & sometimes it seems harsh or over the top, but when it comes down to it, they're really just doing their due diligence to make sure people that truly have no business providing care aren't. After all, they didn't come and find us, we put ourselves here. I think if you're honest , own it, & show how you've learned and won't repeat whatever got you here,  you'll be fine. 

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