I had a lump removed from my breast on Tues the 12th. I intentionally pushed the surgeon to schedule this before school started so I could be healed and ready to roll on Monday when school starts. Well, I got home on Tuesday took a prescribed pain pill and went to bed. I woke up Wednesday morning and took another one and checked my email. Lo and behold, there is an email from the director of my nursing program that Drug/Alcohol screens need to be completed by the 20th. Now I'm panicing. So I emailed him and explained to him about the surgery, prescription etc. He stated that it didn't matter why I was on a narcotic and that the hospital will view it as impaired judgement and I will be denied clinicals.
I immediately stopped taking the Lortabs and have been enduring with tylenol (which has sucked, let me tell you). From any information I can gather Loratabs have a 1/2 life of 24 hours but I can't find any more specific information. My question is, am I going to be OK if I take my drug screen on the 20th? I've taken 2 pills (maybe 3, i cant remember if I got up in the middle of the night on the 12th) but my last one was the morning of the 13th.
I am in a total panic, this is the last thing in the world that I thought would stand between me and my education. I've never used drugs in my life. How long will this stay in my system? Please any info would be appreciated.
To Pineapple Devil: Yes, its legal. A school can deny entrance to their school if you come up + for illegal and/or unprescribed meds. Just as any employeer can have the same policy.
for sports and for health related degrees (due to hospitals and patients) i'm sure its the standard. i've never heard of a school having a drug test as part of the admission process, but thats not the situation here so its moot.
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
every drug screen that i took had a question on it that asked if i was using a prescribed controlled drug. i do believe that if you take the bottle with the prescription drug in it with you and your picture id, of course, that this is used to verify that the drug they do find in the test is that one. the instructions for these tests explain this.
i would still take the bottle of pills and go and have the test done. whatever happens, you need the documentation that you took the test and followed the directions and you need a copy of the test results. the prescription is documentation that it was a doctor's order to take the drug. get a copy of and read the nursing program rules and regulations as well as disciplinary policy and follow it to the letter.
I hope your test comes back benign. I think your pain meds will be out of your system. I would be worried about the breast lump. I went through cancer 3 years ago, and I am starting nursing school next week. Good luck
Thanks Brenda, I am worried but can't control what happens so i have to take what God has given me. I guess which is why I am more worried about the drug screen, I can do something about that LOL (if that makes sense)
Congrats on starting school as well, I am happy to hear you are a cancer survivor and kudos to you for following your dream!!!!!!!
Thanks all for the support. I plan on following all of your advices. I will take the bottle of meds with me, I am also going to get documentation from my dr. to bring with me. They should also have record of my surgery on file since its the same hospital. Hopefully all will be ok. Guess I can't panic until I get the results
Hmmmm did I read somewhere that alcohol suppresses ADH...maybe I should just drink all weekend and be pain AND narcotic free....j/k, really I'm JK
I just had a drug test done on Monday, and the representative from the company doing it said that it is against the law for your employer/educator to ask you what meds you're on (I know they didn't *ask* you and it's water under the bridge now, but for future reference). It's your private health information and they have no right to it. What his drug testing company does is have a doctor on staff who will call you directly if you come up positive, and you can explain the situation and provide proof to him, and the doc will in turn say you're 'negative' if it checks out.
examinations under the ADA and are thus permitted at any stage of the
application process (pre or post offer). However, an employer cannot
use the results of a drug test to discriminate against individuals on
the basis of disability. The EEOC's regulation emphasizes that if the
results of a drug test 'reveal information about an individual's
medical condition beyond whether the individual is currently engaging
in the illegal use of drugs, the additional information is to be
treated as a confidential medical record.'"I think you'd be covered as someone with a disability, as the EEOC's site defines: An individual with a disability is a person who:
Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities;
Has a record of such an impairment; or
Is regarded as having such an impairment.
Anyway, if they do try to keep you from going to clinicals with a prescribed pain medicine, you might start throwing around the words "Americans with Disabilities Act" and "Discrimination". And if you really want to fight it, I would consult a lawyer about what exactly your rights are in your particular state.
Seems very odd to me that they would even say that - I know we have a drug screening (and yes, I understand why as well), but we have to state every medication we take. There should be something on the form that allows you to explain, but I would definitely get a not from your doctor explaining the situation and attach it to the drug screening (or at least a copy of it...keep something for yourself). Wow...good luck. Keep us posted!
I'm going to pray that its out of my system by next wednesday and I'm going to stay at the hospital until the results are in my hand. If they come back positive I'm going to walk over to the HR department and speak with them directly and go from there.
I wouldn't wait, I would go now. Maybe something's gotten lost in translation, and you could get a more clarified answer. Maybe some peace of mind, too, for that matter. You had surgery, you need the pain relief, they shouldn't be able to deny you an education because of it. At the very least they may be able to work something out so that you can test a little later, right before clinicals begin and after you are recovered and no longer need the prescription.
Good luck, and I'm so sorry that you have to go through this.
is that even legal? to have a drug screening being part of the stipulations that you can attend college?
what school is this?
Of course it's legal-you are caring for people's lives! It's usually the requirement of the clinical site.
I just had a drug test done on Monday, and the representative from the company doing it said that it is against the law for your employer/educator to ask you what meds you're on .
Every drug test I have taken (3 in nursing school, and 2 after as a nurse) has asked me what meds I'm on. I'm more than happy to include them.
To the OP. Good luck with your breast lump. I hope it turns out to be nothing serious.
As to the narcotic issue, I think you'll be fine. I'm sorry you had to stress and panic at a time like this, so close to the excitement of nursing school, and so close to your surgery.
Like others have posted, bring the bottle in and the letter from the Dr. You will be just fine, and I bet most of the meds are gone from your system anyway.
All of my drug tests have been +/-. They looked like pregnancy tests. It's usually the cheap test, and they save the expensive tests (the ones that look at specific meds/levels) for when they need it (like a postive test, or extremely diluted urine).
Ok so here is the latest. I called the HR dept at the hospital where my clinicals will be. She didnt have an answer for me and transferred me to the Laboratory Director. I explained the situation to her and she said that it is a pos/neg test, not a titre so it doesn't matter if I have low levels by the 20th or not. She also said that it is "hospital policy" to not accept any positive drug screen for clinical rotations. wonderful.
I then called my pharmacist to see if I could get a better idea as to when these daggum pills will be out of my system. I explained the situation to her and she so nicely said to me the same thing everyone else has "if you have a prescription, they cannot deny you". Told her I wish it was that simple. After pressing her for an answer about how long they will be in my system she said I "should" be ok by wednesday the 20th.
Dear lord, this is unreal.......my whole nursing education down to a freakin crap shoot because I tried so hard to be responsible and have this done BEFORE school started. sorry, now I'm just venting.
Thanks everyone for your advice and encouragement, and please say a prayer for me for wednesday.
According to this site, the 1/2 life is 3.8 hours (maybe I'm not looking at the right thing though). I would think it should be out of your system by then...I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - keep us posted!
JStyles1
353 Posts
for sports and for health related degrees (due to hospitals and patients) i'm sure its the standard. i've never heard of a school having a drug test as part of the admission process, but thats not the situation here so its moot.