Has anyone had any issues with rudeness when giving urine?

[TraviesaRN]

My state requires all UDS to be observed, not just observed but a few years ago they put in place strict guidelines for it. You have to put your pants and panties down mid thigh, you have to raise your shirt to your navel and turn in a complete circle in front of the observer. When you urinate they have to be able to witness the actual urine come out. It all seems very degrading and humiliating to me. Anyway, I have an exemption to this and apparently it is rare if not unheard of that a nurse does.

Since I started having to give UDS at the end of November I have tried to go to the same little urgent care clinic so that I can establish a rapport with the staff and it's close to my house and also open until 2000. It the clinic has the proof that my UDS is to be unobserved. Documentation is there and the document itself is also scanned and in the system.

Well 3 times now I have had to go through all kinds of crap because the person doing my urine doesn't believe me, then eventually she stops arguing with me and will listen and will see the document but then she will be extremely rude. Like takes it as a personal offence that I don't have to have an observed urine. Most of the staff knows me now and they are always so nice to me and catch up and ask for the latest on stuff and today when I went in the gal checking me in was saying it was almost like a control thing. Because the last time after the lady had to accept my urine was unobserved she tried to instruct me that I needed to remove my long sleeve shirt since I had a camisole under. Uhhhhhhh no. I told her no and she was like "excuse me" I told her there is nothing in her instructions stating I am to remove my shirt. I told her I was not going to walk down the hall past patient rooms and the nursing station in a thin little camisole and leggings. I told her I emptied any pockets. Showed her as much and that was it.

The first time it was an issue the lady was so unprofessional and violated any privacy of mine I was shaking trying to hold back tears as I heard her loudly going to any person she could find stating that I was "claiming" I was exempt and why and how I was there for the BON mandatory drug testing program. and such. One of the co-workers turned her into the manager who came to talk to me next time I was there and was so nice and literally sat for an hour shooting the **** with me.

Anyway, long post I know. But I was just curious if anyone ran into similar problems or just rudeness and judgment from the collector/observer.

[Twoyearnurse]

There are those people. I am fortunate and all the folks I have worked with have been professional, if not absolutely lovely to me.

I am so sorry you've had these experiences. I'm glad you got to speak with the manager. I'm sure they have a "patient's rights" information sheet there and I'd ask for a copy next time you're in.

You may have the right to ask for assistance from someone else if you feel you are being mistreated.

Because of our histories we are at a higher risk of experiencing abuse from others. It's awful.

light and love your way.

[TraviesaRN]

There are those people. I am fortunate and all the folks I have worked with have been professional, if not absolutely lovely to me.

I am so sorry you've had these experiences. I'm glad you got to speak with the manager. I'm sure they have a "patient's rights" information sheet there and I'd ask for a copy next time you're in.

You may have the right to ask for assistance from someone else if you feel you are being mistreated.

Because of our histories we are at a higher risk of experiencing abuse from others. It's awful.

light and love your way.

Thankfully it's only been a few times and the little urgent care is small enough that I am hoping the exemption isn't an issue anymore. I had to go to a separate places when I had to give the blood and hair and they were great. It just seems to be with them accepting that I have an exemption that causes the issue. This entire process has been a nightmare but I am trying to make the best of it now. I had to pick which I could invest in an attorney for. Legal or BON and I felt it would be best to have one for the legal issues.

[catsmeow1972, BSN, RN]

Being stuck with this BS myself, other than the complete joke of an evaluation that i had to do (one at the beginning and another "just because" without legitimate reason, not going there) i have never had to be "observed." Yeah, empty my pockets, sure, no problem. I'll roll up my sleeves of a long sleeve shirt if need be, but there is no way in Hades that I am either walking half nekkid anywhere nor am i doing any kind of little jig with my knickers around my knees, while someone that seems to want to get their freak on watches. i would want to see documentation from the program as to why you must be observed as well as something in print and signed that you are exempt. That way you need not worry about some ***** running her pie hole. I'll betcha nobody makes a guy do any hokey-pokey-ing (is that a word?)

What ever your history/risk level in no way justifies you being humiliated anymore than is normal for anyone else in this situation.The lab person's job is to fill out the paperwork and collect pee. Nothing more, and that includes babbling to others about her opinions and being judgemental.

In my opinion, you made the better choice to go for the lawyer. The BON does not care and will just refer you back to the program. The lawyer will hopefully resolve this quicker than waiting on the BON.

[dagobah, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

As a newcomer, nothing was funny. I had to learn real quick not to get to sensitive and my ultimate goal was to just go in the cup for my shift starts in one hour. As far as the observed thing, I had to get over it. Not to make light of your experience it's just the first six months of a 4.5 year deal I had to find a way to get comfortable with it. Too much anger after I left the lab and I'd talk about them for weeks!!!!!!! It was going to be a long program if I continued to let them rent space in my head for free. You wanna see the genitalia go right ahead...I can't be late for work nor can I afford a failed to test that day. I feel you really I do, I don't want to sound preachy so I'll just say this traviesaRN: this too will pass!!!

[gnurse2089]

In California every single one of the screens is observed and they can take urine, blood, hair...whatever they want per the contract.

Being a man, the protocol is you walk in, drop your pants to your knees, lift up your shirt, and turn 360 degrees for the observer. Being that I go to the same 2-3 sites I don't always have to do this step but every time it's a new collector I have to do a little dance. It's humiliating and makes me feel like I'm on parole...but that's the requirement.

I've dealt with a fair share of rudeness and judgement, however I've also had a great deal of empathy from collectors as most of them know this program is complete BS. My advice is just ignore it and move on, there's a lot to get angry about when it comes to these programs, but that anger only hurts you, the BRN couldn't care less

[Twoyearnurse]

You can choose to feel humiliated or to have humility. Shoot...even I don't choose humility, but I have accepted it. At the end of the day it's not that big of a deal and is moments of an otherwise typical day.

I have to pee sometimes in front of a coworker. She works at the collection site as well as my place of employment. Some days I literally see her the day after she just stared down my lady parts while I peed.

These are professionals. And like any other human on the planet they have good and bad days. We can't choose how they will be but we do get to choose how we want to feel about it.

[TraviesaRN]

I just want to clarify because I think the long windedness (is that even a word?) of my post might have came off confusing, I have never had to do the observed. It's required by my state and is a very detailed observation. But I qualified for an exemption stemming from years of sexual trauma resulting in PTSD. I know it might not seem like a big deal or like I need to just suck it up and have humility.

But even thinking about what will be entailed while someone just watches and stares at me down there and I have to turn around like I'm on display, just thinking about that sets me into a very bad place and in panic and I almost gave up being a nurse if I had to do this.

I was willing to do saliva and blood and hair and nails and whatever else.

Thankfully though I have a wonderful monitor and she said if I could provide documentation from an established therapist of my PTSD, they would allow an exemption to the observed urines. I had the documentation and I also had court papers naming me the victim of the two year sexual assault while

I was a child and the court case for the molester.

The problem I have ran into is from a few of the people at the urgent care. They would be the ones that would normally be observing me but have taken it as like a personal offense that I am exempt. One girl made it a point to loudly say multiple times to various staff and where other patients could hear "yea apparently she was sexually abused so she claims she is exempt but I've never heard of this. She's here from the BON for their drug monitoring program" again I had documentation from the BON and Lab stating I was to be exempt and could be I observed.

Only a few have been this way, but I was just wondering if anyone else has dealt with it as well. The judgment and rudeness from some of the collectors.

My situation as whole was a little different but at the end of the day it doesn't seem to matter. I tried to end my life multiple times by overdosing on narcotics. It was the easiest way for me to do as other methods I tried did not work (drowning and insulin O/D) and what I wanted to do the most wasn't feasible.

I had 3 different people certified in personality disorders and addiction state I had a mental health issue not a substance abuse problem and the BON did not care. I could either play their game and do the program available for addicts or no longer be a nurse. The whole thing had been a nightmare. I didn't get the medication from patients or from the hospital. I was living with a man that was a doctor and he had written me a script to refill my ambien and then it clicked how easy it seemed and how I could just go out that way because I had already given up on life.