nurses in recovery continue to suffer at the hands of board

nowim clean · May 18, 2012

Hope you find peace

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 19, 2012

my heart goes out to you and to all those that are facing this dilemma, however, don't loose the faith...as i wish all of you the very best in all of your future endeavors...aloha~

gr8fulnrs · May 19, 2012

I know, it bites...but what i did is got real humble and started thinking out of the box. I needed an RN to supervise me as well. I started looking at places where I wanted to end up working in Long term care, but nothing was coming available. Then I started getting real creative and looking at places where there was an RN but not really what i wanted in my career path...What i ended up with was working at a ADHD Boarding school for teens! Working under the direct supervision of the school nurse RN. I got through my narcotic restriction there, my direct supervision, indirect supervision and eventually started working there as the school nurse on weekends! I am now off my contract with the state board and now work in Long Term care, which i wanted in the first place. So sometimes you have to hit that wall to figure out the way around the wall. Dont give up, there are "second chance givers" out there, you just have to find them. I looked for a year and half to find the Rn I needed, so dont give up. it took me 5 years to get through my contract with the state board. Been in recovery for 7 years. Keep trudging that road....YOU CAN DO IT!!!

lisaD_LPN · Jun 14, 2012

why isnt drug or alcohol addiction in the medical field protected under the americans with disabilities act which does cover it (disease, mental or otherwise) in any other profession

[color=#333333]? i can understand for the need to regulate impaired individuals but it just seems like a contradiction and discrimination to me and i am not an impaired nurse.

all_over_again · Jun 16, 2012

It is a covered disability if the nurse self reports before being caught being sick. Kind of ironic. You have to report that you have a disease before you've fallen so far down the rabbit hole of addiction that you don't know your orifice from a hole in the ground.

NYCRN82 · Jun 20, 2012

all of you are in my prayers. i relapsed the other day- at work. God was pulling me away from the drug and I didnt listen. I am begging the Lord to keep it from getting found out and am looking for caduceus meetings and state peer support groups in the San Fran area asap.

it a sin...we devote ourselves to the care of others. No matter what you believe, be it in God or nature or whatever, we put out good energy and love for others. When we get sick we dont get treated the same way.

docomo · Jun 26, 2012

To all who are in this position. Perhaps the best thing to do is to realize that you might have to wait out the job market. All things change, and eventually nurses will much more in demand. In the mean time, it's ok to keep looking, but for your own benefit you should accept that you are better off taking another path for the mean time. Pursue another degree or try your hand in another job field. Just because you can't do exactly what you want to do at this exact time does not mean that you will be unhappy. Embrace this as an opportunity to try something new. Change your attitude and your outlook. Consider that having the wrong perspective may be what caused you to get into trouble with drugs in the first place. Don't feel obligated or determined to hang on to a pessimistic point of view, instead, look for the unknown opportunity that all of this may lead to.

There's nothing wrong with looking to god for strength, but don't do so with one breath and in the next breath claim that you, not he, knows what is best for you. If you truly are able to admit that you are powerless to control you addiction, and you need god's help, then you must be willing to walk the path he puts you on. If I were addicted to drugs, my first priority would be to having a drug free and happy life. Neither of those is dependent upon working as a nurse or any other specific job. However, both are dependent on your perspective and your determination to remain happy and thankful for what you do have, rather than overwhelmingly dissatisfied about what you don't have.

When I have trouble remembering this, I often go online and read stories about people that have been dealt a worse hand in life than myself. How quickly it reminds me that I didn't have it nearly as bad as I thought I did, and that my best days are ahead of me.

For all of you addicted, who think they have it so bad, if you have family, you have more than me. If you have more than $100, you have more than me. If someone in your life is there for you, loves you, cares for you, you have more than me. My life has been like this for the past 5 years, but I don't give up. Sometimes I didn't eat, sometimes I walked in the rain, but I kept on believing and kept on walking. That is what you have to do also. I just passed my NCLEX last week. I got a job that starts in August. I live in what is essentially a wooden box just big enough for a bed, a chair, and a lamp. I wouldn't hesitate one minute to give up nursing if I felt like it was causing me more misery than happiness.

So give your best, do what you can, and leave the rest to god. If he wants you to work in a coffee shop, then do it. You'll be so much happier than if you are trying to move in any direction other than where he wants you to be.