Nursing Student Unlawfully Removed from School

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hello,

i am or i was a nursing student until i was removed pending an appeal because i have a medical condition that requires i take a medication that is screened for in a random drug screen. i previously worked in the aircraft field. i am a usaf disabled vet who wants to work in the nursing field. by the way i was in the panama conflict (just cause) and the gulf war. i recieved several medals while on active duty and i am also listed in the national deans list. they removed me from my classes the day before veterans day. i was hoping i could find information about drug screening policies related to nursing jobs. i was told by the nursing staff at my college that all hospitals and clinics require that all nurses that have to take controlled substances at any dosage have to give up their jobs as nurses until they become free of any prescription that fall in the category of controlled substances that are in the classes that are screened for in a drug screen. i have been taking for close to 10 years a low dose of a medication for pain. i have been evaluated by my physicians and cleared to do all of the essential functions of a nurse. i have invested three years only to be told i should go into some other field of study. i know there are a number of nurses that feel pain medication is not the answer for chronic pain, but i have gone from being confined to a wheel chair to being able to keep up with my fellow nursing students because of a low dose of medication. i know pain can ruin lives and some people have lost their lives resulting from the use of medications, but each person is different. one reason i wanted to become a nurse was because of the encouragement of my pain clinic nurse to follow the treatment plan and never give up. if i loose my fight to become a nurse i can say the fact that i was spurred on to make something of my shattered life by this wonderful nurse i will still be a healthier and happier person because of the struggle. i know numerous pain patients who i have become friends with that have given up the fight to go on to be productive citizens because of the obstacles put up by some well meaning employers and educators. some of these people have lost their fight with pain and have to be continually dosed higher with pain medications just to be able to live. they also have to take numerous other medications because of the depression and the anxiety their condition causes.

thank you for listening,

rob

hello again,

it is wonderful so many of you have taken time from your busy lives to write so many encouraging replies to my post. after all i have gone through i really need some reassurance. i would like the person who thought i may like to be in psyche nursing to know i have thought about that a lot. before i went into the air force i worked as a nursing assistant on an adult psych ward in birmingham. i loved my job. at that time i was at a crossroad and because my friends knew of my great interest in electronics and computers and aviation they had a hand in persuading me to do the flying thing. talk about crazy psych doctors, i was a student pilot and actually talked a couple of them to go along for some of my flying lessons. i never was able to get any of the pretty nurses to go along. i guess that goes to show nurses may actually be smarter than doctors. i even tried the "are you scared of flying" on them but they just said i "i dont go flying with nurses aids". now i am older and a veteran who has suffered over 2 years of agoraphobia which had me tied to the inside of my house and also suffered the injury that left be unable to move about i want so desperately to be able to not only "wipe the butts" and administer the medication but be there to give the much needed encouragement to the sick patient. please don't think that wiping butts is something i am looking forward to but i will not complain. everything was embarrassing for me when i was a patient in a hospital who had to let others do the things for me that i always did for my self. some people may be like me who did not want to use a bed pan so bad i thought i was going to burst hoping i would get better soon enough so i could go on my own. i don't know what i will be really good at when i become a nurse. i know i can fill some slot as long as i have passion for my job. i also know that there are a lot of jobs in a hospital i may never be really good at so i would leave them for the nurses who are.

thanks again,

robert

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A Nursing Department, as part of a college can impose any testing, as well as actions it may take, under the college's bylaws. The one thing that most colleges ascribe to, is it must be document in the student handbook, as well as the steps allowed with a positive test. Also the facilities utilized may impose any testing that wish, when allowing a program's students into it facility. The reason for doing this is to protect the college, facilities and patients, as well as fellow students.

Grannynurse:balloons:

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Specializes in MICU, neuro, orthotrauma.
A Nursing Department, as part of a college can impose any testing, as well as actions it may take, under the college's bylaws. The one thing that most colleges ascribe to, is it must be document in the student handbook, as well as the steps allowed with a positive test. Also the facilities utilized may impose any testing that wish, when allowing a program's students into it facility. The reason for doing this is to protect the college, facilities and patients, as well as fellow students.

Grannynurse:balloons:

Unless they get federal funding and it goes against federal law. I am not sure that they can break federal law even if they do not accept federal funding. I don't know how private universities work.

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I am so sorry his has happened to you. I can identily though. What is it with the South? In the 70's, I was in Ga in a private 3 yr Diploma program. I have epilepsy and was pretty well controlled then. No seizures at work in school. They badgered me a lot but I guess I though schools did that to most students. Since I didn't quit, they wouldn't allow me to take the last quarter (one course- Med-Surg 3). They failed me my next to the last quarter. so I couldn't continue. They would not listen nor change their minds. I don't know if they even had an appeals process at that time. At that time, in a private school, in the south, Georgia, I probably had no rights. Be thankful you do have the ADA now. I was in this alone too. I had already bought my Senior pin, uniform to graduate in, and had pics made etc. I had great grades and all satisfactory clinicals the entire time. I had letters of thanks from patients and still have them too. I got a great education but nothing to show for it. The South and those old archaic ideas need to be revisited. I wish you good luck and keep putting one foot in front of the other. If I had to do it over again I would choose something else. TweetyRN

And these same people who foster these archaic ideas are the ones who wonder how the nursing shortage will be ever be resolved. Sigh. :o

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hello again,

one thing i failed to mention about the drug screen was that soon after being admitted into the program we all were given a drug test. i am taking the same dose of medication now that i did at the time of the initial drug screen, but the first screen i gave the "drug control officer" a list of my medications and he also took each prescription bottle in his hand and looked at it. he also told me not to worry about anything because i have a prescription for the drugs. i was not contacted about this drug screen so i assumed i could trust the "dco". they are telling me now that the first screen was negative and since it was negative they said they could not contact me and question anything. if the first screen was negative how many of the other 128 students were providing a pos screen and it did not show up as a pos. the school waits until my clinical's start and gives the random drug screen and tells all of us we are not allowed to attend any clinicals until the test comes back. one of the other students was given a pos+ result and after waiting two weeks have a retest through hair sample and told she is neg-. now that she has to make up for all her missed clinicals the school said to her that they know she was using but they just did not have enough to kick her out. i think this statement was to dissuade her from complaining if she fails to attend her clinicals in the prescribed time. she works full time along with nursing school and she also has a child under two years old.

thanks for listening,

robert

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Hello again,

I went to the college associate dean today and I started the grievience procedure. At this school one can start by informally announcing that a grievence will be filed. The associate dean said the nursing school has full control over policies and their own interpertation of these policies. I let the college associate dean know I will carry this out as far as the appeal process will allow. I told her that I was not out to try to cause harm to the school but I had to stick to this because I felt my right to get the education I paid for was violated.

Robert

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Specializes in home & public health, med-surg, hospice.
Hello again,

I went to the college associate dean today and I started the grievience procedure. At this school one can start by informally announcing that a grievence will be filed. The associate dean said the nursing school has full control over policies and their own interpertation of these policies. I let the college associate dean know I will carry this out as far as the appeal process will allow. I told her that I was not out to try to cause harm to the school but I had to stick to this because I felt my right to get the education I paid for was violated.

Robert

Good for you, Robert. Please keep us posted as things progress. I'll be rooting for you (maybe you'll be the champion for all those who are successfully overcoming the despair of chronic pain).

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Rob I hate that you're going thru this. And they wonder why we can't find GOOD nurses today!

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Hello again,

I went to the college associate dean today and I started the grievience procedure. At this school one can start by informally announcing that a grievence will be filed. The associate dean said the nursing school has full control over policies and their own interpertation of these policies. I let the college associate dean know I will carry this out as far as the appeal process will allow. I told her that I was not out to try to cause harm to the school but I had to stick to this because I felt my right to get the education I paid for was violated.

Robert

Good for you! I wish you the best of luck and please keep us posted!!

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Is it just me or does it anyone else find it aggravating that a school of nursing can be so ignorant about control of pain? :madface:

Excellent point!

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drug screens are in place to identify individuals who are taking drugs that have no rx. as far as i know when you test positive for a substance and there is a script in place you are covered. i do not remember being tested in school for any illegal substances because there is no reason to, you do not carry narcotic keys as a student and should be supervised in med prep and administration. so something is not right with the story or the action. what was the reason you all were tested?

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Rob,

Unfortunately, you are collateral damage from the war on drugs. The hysteria in this country over someone taking "gasp, narcotics" has gotten out of control. The Oxycontin propaganda put out by the media and the DEA has everyone thinking that anyone who takes a narcotic pain reliever is an addict. And if someone who takes narcotics daily to function becomes physically dependent on them, so what? It is a fact that people who take narcotics everyday can function perfectly fine. And it matters not if the dose needs increased. Please visit www.painreliefnetwork.org

It is between you and your Dr. what prescription medication that you need to take. It has nothing to do with your ability to work as a nurse. Unfortunately, the nursing profession itself promulgates the myth that anyone who needs narcotics everyday is a drug seeker and drug abuser. Just read some of the other threads about drug use.

Also visit http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/WOD/PRN _v_USA.pdf

The pain relief network is attempting to challenge the Constitutionality of the Substance Control Act. I hope they are successful.

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