Nurses help me

Nurses Recovery

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good day everyone.

i need your help.

the hospital where Im working let me go due to violation of policy. My husband has a sleeping disorder, he have 3 sleeping meds. 2 of which are prescribed and 1 is OTC. I meant to grab the OTC out his medication box and unfortunately took the wrong one. Both has the same color. It was certainly an error but not intentionally. when i went to work i was slower than usual and my colleagues noticed that i was off. I didn't think I was and my head was clear in fact, i didnt have mistakes. my supervisor asked me if i am ok and i was truthful and told her what happen. she reported me and drug test came back positive for a prescribed medication. the hospital is zero tolerance so they let me go though I worked the entire shift with no mistakes and I was not sent home even after my supervisor knew what happened.

so now i am ask to self report to the BON. HR told me that i need to do it before their complaints because it would not be good for me. I asked her if theres a time frame because I would like to utilize my membership and assistance of the state nursing association before i report to BON or to the IPN however, they just told me as soon as possible. they terminate me yesterday friday and now its weekend. The state nurses association is closed by monday and I am freaking out because I am scared that their complaints would get to the BON first.

I need your help everyone.

I have read online that before doing anything consult a legal counsel.

I am thinking of just running away and move to other countries as I am so sick that this happen in my life. its very painful.

thank you

This is a terrible idea. If you run away and don't show up to your BON hearing, they will revoke your license. (That's how my best friend's sister-in-law lost her license, diverted narcotics from work, reported to BON and then didn't show up to any of her hearings.) And then you'll be up the creek without a paddle should you ever want to return to the US. A revoked nursing license in one state is certainly going to give any other state pause about licensing you.

I agree. As horrible as this probably is, it's not the end of your career. You can get through this.

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Hey... you can always run away to another country if it doesn't work out with the IPN. That'll always be an option. Might as well see what happens with IPN first though.

Also, want to add that with IPN they make any employer you have fill out a quarterly eval about you so if you are recommended into the years long program, you would have to tell the person hiring you that you are in IPN. You also may have restrictions for part of this time like not being able to pass narcotics. You may not though it all depends on what they think. At least when you're done with the program this is all wiped clean and not on your record. If you refuse IPN and your old employer reports you (which they said they would do) you would face the board, have a permanent mark on your license, and have to do IPN anyway most likely.

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Specializes in Surgical, Home Infusions, HVU, PCU, Neuro.

Talk to a lawyer that deals with the BON yesterday. It is possible the OP finished her shift and then was tested, that's what happened to me. To clarify, I do not know anything about IPN in Florida, I do however know about TPAPN and EEP in Texas. If self reporting, are you prepared to admit you have a problem and are seeking help? Because I denied having a problem and denied the allegations and positive urine test I was not a candidate for TPAPN. I was not about to label myself as something I was not and I would do the same again, although my situation is different from yours

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I am not here to be scolded or to be questioned. I own my mistake. Healthcare professionals like us know that medication errors can happen any time and even at home. I hope you don't experience what I've been through right now. If you dont have pleasant or nice to say just dont say it please.

Healthcare "professionals" dont take sleep aids 6 hours before working a shift.

Just saying. Nor do they then go to work feeling woozy or stoned, and put patient safety at risk.

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Specializes in hospice, LTC, public health, occupational health.
I am not here to be scolded or to be questioned. I own my mistake. Healthcare professionals like us know that medication errors can happen any time and even at home. I hope you don't experience what I've been through right now. If you dont have pleasant or nice to say just dont say it please.

Illegally taking someone else's prescription is not an "error." Knowingly taking even an OTC sleep medication six hours before the start of your shift reflects not only a complete lack of judgement, but serious ignorance about how the medication works. It also reflects an awfully cavalier attitude toward being impaired while caring for patients.

You need a lawyer, STAT. Even then, s/he'll be mitigating damage only, not saving you from anything.

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Specializes in NICU.
thank you my friends. I really appreciate your help and response.

I truly am scared how much time frame the hospital give me to self report to the BON because HR told me it shouldn't be after their complaints.

Call the lawyer he will tell you what to do,forget what they are telling you,scare tactics,they already let you go,they are not your advisors,your lawyer is.Good luck to you.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

What med did you take, and what med did you think you were taking?

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
I can see a mistake like taking the wrong pill happen. The question is when did you realize it and still go to work? Unfortunately, the board may look at it as trying to cover it up. Hopefully a lawyer can help you sort through this. Best of luck!

I'm wondering, too: at what point did you realize you'd taken the wrong thing?

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Healthcare "professionals" dont take sleep aids 6 hours before working a shift.

Just saying. Nor do they then go to work feeling woozy or stoned, and put patient safety at risk.

She's not asking for opinions on her behavior or actions. She's asking what steps she can take to fix her situation.

Good grief.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Moved to recovery forum

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Specializes in OR.

Lapse of judgement or whatever, it sounds highly unlikely that you will escape a trip through the gauntlet of IPN. My suggestion is to get that attorney NOW, BEFORE making that call to IPN. As someone previous said, that attorney may not get you out of it, but may be able to mitigate the damage. Without any representation you are at thier mercy and you wind up with the evaluators that push you to The rehabs that they own and the five year contracts that will suck you dry financially.

With an attorney, in my opinion you can lobby for a fairer contract. The key is to get one that specializes in license defense and has a relationship with these people. There are two sizable firms in Florida. TOS prevents me from giving names but googling will easily bring them up. The retainers aren't cheap but they are well worth it.

Above all, remember these people are not your friend and do not care about your best interest no matter how nice they seem to be. IPN is a for-profit corporation and it is all about the money.

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Specializes in ED, PACU, CM.

If you post on allnurses.com about any mistake you've made expect a healthy dose of judgment from those who I have to assume must be perfect themselves, or else they'd know better than to kick a person while they're down. Since the people commenting here are neither lawyers, nor do they likely work for the board of nursing in your state, I would contact those sources first. I don't think you'll gain much more continuing here.

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