Ohio BON help

Nurses Recovery

Published

Hi everyone! I am currently an LPN in Ohio. I was working at an assisted living facility for about 6 months. All was good, things were great. I got my 90 day eval in Jan which should have been done in Nov. My boss had no complaints, told me I was doing an amazing job, please stay with us, we need you here, yatta yatta. All was great! So then a week later I get called into a conference room and asked if I was stealing po Haldol and then told that I was the only nurse giving Ultram (as prescribed) but not charting it. She then informed me that I was being accused of reasonable susspicion and that someone was there to do a drug screen. I walked in to do my drug screen and asked what would happen if I didnt take it. Employer said that I would ve resigning. And that is what I did. All I could think was that I wanted an attorney if this was turning into a real issue before I did anything. My foot was already out the door as I had been going on interviews. So I quit and within a day was on an interview and then another one. Both offered me a job and I chose the one with dayturn hours. I drug tested, was given a schedule, a PPD and a date to start orientation. I had no trouble passing a drug screen what so ever and have nothing to hide. I was contacted by Ohio BON and they are coming local to have a meeting with me. Does anyone have any advice about this? I have 2 friends who have dealt with the board and both are confused that they are coming locally to meet with me. They did not tell me over the phone what my former employer has said about me. She just said they want to sit down and go over what was said and want me to bring my resume of all the places Ive worked as a nurse. I am very worried and have never been in trouble. Anyone else deal with something like this? Any advice or experience would be great to share. Thanks in advance!

We get tired of defending ourselves. Yes, I am proud that I have been sober for 13 years now, but, there are still those who constantly question us.

Unfortunately, with a past history of substance abuse, the "bad" stigma and perception the society has of addicts (current and past addicts for that matter) and the access to many different forms of Narcotics... you may always have to "prove" yourself, being a nurse with a past history of substance abuse. Sadly, sometimes your past catches up with you and you cant run away from it.

The OP does need to seek legal advice/counsel. and make sure to make the right decisions to prevent this from happening again.

Congrads on being 13yrs sober!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yeah, I wouldn't swear to signing any particular release when I signed all my paperwork last October but there was a stack of them. I would be shocked if a medical release wasn't one of them. Basically here you either accept the whole package when you go into monitoring or they rip your license so its not like I had much choice. My concern in this case is that she denies a prior problem based upon her right to privacy of medical records and they find out later anyway. I think this stinks to high heaven by the way but I'm pretty sure that's the way it is

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

So what happened?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You didnt take that drug test bc you may not have been stealing the ultrams but you know they were going to show up and you know ultram has about 2-4 days of being detoxed out your system so the whole “i drug tested and was negative 2 days after” is bs just my opinion how did it turn out for you?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.
On 2/21/2018 at 8:10 AM, SpankedInPittsburgh said:

Oh boy!!! I think you are walking into a whirl-wind of poop. I'm not trying to be negative but simply honest. You are accused of diverting. You have a history and you refused a drug test. Ouch. I think its likely you are going to wind up in whatever the Ohio version of a monitoring program is. You really need qualified counsel on this issue to prepare for this meeting. Your history should be considered private medical information but I think you sign releases to your medical records when these programs are offered so it may be likely that even if you don't volunteer any information about prior treatment they are going to find out. I hope your lawyer can help you but honestly I think you need to prepare yourself for a bunch of BS that is simply going to suck. I wish you luck and I hope you are not the newest hostage to this nonsense but I don't have high hopes. Brace yourself emotionally and financially for a beating.

This.

Every single word that @SpankedInPittsburgh said... I agree 100%. Do NOT sit down with them before talking to an attorney that has experience dealing with the Ohio BON.

In Kentucky, refusal to test = Positive Test & is reportable, by law, to the KY BON.

Also- when I went for my chemical dependency eval (with an evaluator approved by the Ky BON, as mandated, or it would not be accepted), I was required to sign a release of info for my results to be “shared” with the KY BON. No, they didn’t ask for prior medical records... but if you lie to the evaluator about your history(or to the BON) and they find out... you’re gonna get in a bigger heap of trouble. If your employer knew your history, that will certainly be included in the formal complaint to the board & you will be grilled about it by both the evaluator & the BON.

A UDS 2 days later- this won’t really help your case. Ultram or any other narcotics (oxycodone, hydrocodone) could be out by then. Has your attorney recommended getting a 12 panel hair follicle drug test? It will be expensive, but would include Ultram & show any usage for the past 90 days. Not sure if the Ohio BON would accept, but if they look at refusal to test as Positive, it may help your attorney possibly reduce your time in Ohio’s monitoring program.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.

Ugh! That long post that I just left... I didn’t catch that the OP asked this question 20 months ago!!

Oh well... maybe it will help somebody else ?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.
On 10/5/2019 at 1:29 AM, Weirdo said:

So what happened?

Since the OP hasn’t been on the site since February 2018...I guess we’ll never know the outcome...?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment