NOW what?? Terrified...

mississippiRN71 · Oct 3, 2019

First of all take a deep breath .. I know it’s hard, been there. It is probably in your best interest to call and self report to your state’s board of nursing. Definitely get a lawyer and he/she can contact the BON and any correspondences. What state are you in? I know Mississippi is slow! I self reported in feb 2016, met with an investigator march 2016 and I just got my board order this week! I’m happy to know all I have to do now is pay a 500.00 fine and take 2 addiction courses. I did go through rehab in 2016 and sent the board my certificate to let them know I’m being proactive about my recovery. I’ve been working this whole time but made sure I was clean before I started working again after my almost overdose incident. As long as nothing has been settled, you can work as a nurse I would stay away from narcs though. It will prob be a long process so don’t get worried.

What state are you in?

You have prescriptions for your meds right? If that’s all that’s on there you would most likely be ok. You will know more on what to do when you see if the THC is detected.

Most of all take care of yourself. Hope this helped!

Rosa09 · Oct 4, 2019

I’m sorry you are going through this, believe me I know it’s not easy. If you are in FL. The hospital you work for is mandated to report you to the board if you test positive for any illegal substance. You can wait until the board investigates your case, but I’m almost sure that you will also be asked to also self report to IPN. You may want to seek the assistance of an attorney that specializes in this type of Issues, because as soon as you self report to IPN they will ask you to stop working until you are evaluated by one of their approved doctors, usually in Gainsville or Tampa and most likely you will be ask to receive some sort of rehab treatment . Once all is said and done, IPN will make you sign a 5 year contract with stipulation, such as no overtime, narcotic key restrictions for 1 year, AA, NA meetings etc. If your job has allowed to stay, then you may return to practice or start looking for a new job.

Please know that you are not alone, many of us have experienced what you are going through, I only wish I had known about this site when I first began this long journey.

I wish you well .

Big Blondie, ASN, BSN, MSN, APRN · Oct 4, 2019

Wait for the results. By the grace of God THC won’t show up. Show work your scripts and it may save you. If you fail the drug screen due to THC You are SOL. I self reported without a drug screen because I was one sick person and couldn’t get off opiates on my own.

erocafeller · Oct 4, 2019

Thank You all for your comments. Spoke with a Lawyer today and will await the results from the drug test. Praying.... taking this day by day.

mississippiRN71 · Oct 4, 2019

Hang in there we are all together on the *** and it will be OK that’s what I have to keep telling myself . Look at the post that I just put up I’m feeling very overwhelmed myself but I am putting it in the Lords hands ?

PEBBLES1 · Oct 5, 2019

as long as you have a prescription for both you will be fine. All you have to do is produce a print out from your pharmacy. Your ok. But, good luck

allnurses Guide · Oct 6, 2019

5 hours ago, PEBBLES1 said:
as long as you have a prescription for both you will be fine. All you have to do is produce a print out from your pharmacy. Your ok. But, good luck

This may not be true because the OP appeared altered which prompted the test. THC is not allowed in any nursing job even in states where it is legal. The drowsiness might indicate the medications make it unsafe to practice nursing.

Hppy

Molly90210 · Oct 6, 2019

Thc is the active ingredient in marinol generic dronabinol. It is fda approved and you can get it at walgreens. It is sometimes used in Severe cases of intracranial hypertension with diamox and lasix if you are trying to avoid a shunt. A lot of people use cbd from companies like charlottes web or haleighs hope, these are over the counter hemp oils high in cbd that have traces of thc in them and the thc is enough to register on a drug screen but not enough to impair.

catsmeow1972, BSN, RN · Oct 6, 2019

1 hour ago, Molly90210 said:
Thc is the active ingredient in marinol generic dronabinol. It is fda approved and you can get it at walgreens. It is sometimes used in Severe cases of intracranial hypertension with diamox and lasix if you are trying to avoid a shunt. A lot of people use cbd from companies like charlottes web or haleighs hope, these are over the counter hemp oils high in cbd that have traces of thc in them and the thc is enough to register on a drug screen but not enough to impair.

All true, but BONs and by extension monitoring programs consider the presence of ANY level of THC to be verboten. It matters not wether it’s from a little CBD oil or from the person having gotten totally baked over their weekend.
Were the issue simply what the OP has scripts for, the only concern might be what Hppy has referred to. Like pilots, nurses cannot be reporting to work seeming to be under the influence of ANYTHING.
As a level of THC has yet to be established that renders a person ‘not impaired’ the only acceptable result for The BON is zero. The THC is what will grab the attention of IPN.

What the employer does varies. Some will gently suggest a self report to IPN, others will call up the board and nail a person to the wall. Some fire, some hold a persons position. Either way, getting from here to being cleared to go back to work is not a matter of a few days/weeks. I would easily expect 6 weeks or more and that is if they don’t require any kind of inpatient or outpatient treatment (which is highly unlikely. These people think treatment programs are the fix all solution to every problem, even non-substance problems). A concern I see is that the OP has scripts for controlled substances. IPNs ‘approved’ evaluators look askance at the use of any of these things while under contract. Sure you can take them, but don’t think you’ll be allowed to work. I strongly suspect you will be required to stop those too.
If the THC does not show, you MAY have dodged a bullet, but considering the climate out there nowadays, I would dig in and be prepared for the long haul.

Tron8622 · Oct 6, 2019

Yeah I wouldn’t worry if you have Rxs for the meds . THC is no biggy shouldnt show up if its occational . But yeah all seems kinda of shady situation . Tbh the facility wont report you most likely I seen higher than whitney houston not get reported along with a side of just dont waste any!!! meds with them lol .

But yeah only you know the truth . If there is a problem and dont get reported I had have a talk with your doctor and see pain management. Sometimes they over prescribe

Nitenurse03 · Oct 6, 2019

Thc is whats going to be your downfall. The Rxs are aloud. I tested for xanax and they couldn't do anything cause I have a valid script. You could easily say you were sleepy because you have occasional insomnia and didn't sleep well that day. Just wait for the results. Dont self report. Thats admitting you have a problem! Don't even do that. They will nail your coffin shut with that!