PA DUI, what to expect?

[Whats next]

Relatively new nurse here in PA. Please save me the rhetoric if your only response is going to be condescending, chastising, or otherwise abrasive. I simply want some understanding of exactly what to expect and i realize that i put myself into this position.

I got a DUI of .12 very soon after getting my license. I have been employed at a hospital as an RN, as i was hired/background checks were all done right before this issue. After checking the policy manual i found there was no policy mandating me to report this to my employer, so they are still not aware, though i suspect the BON will change that soon enough... I hired a good attorney who has a lot of knowledge about protecting professional licenses and i got into the ARD program for the criminal side of things. I went for a board mandated alcohol/drug assessment for the "voluntary recovery program" after they found me through JNET and i was found to be ineligible for participation as no diagnosis of impairment could be made. As they looked deeper into my past, nearly 9 months after the DUI arrest, i had to complete an evaluation with a forensic psychiatrist for an arrest almost 6 years ago r/t possession of a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia. This arrest was long before i ever even considered being a nurse and it is a part of my past, not something that i have done since.

This meeting with the psychiatrist was nearly 4 hours long including the drug test which I'm sure i passed for alcohol and all drugs. He asked me about everything from my childhood and the career choices of family members to my drinking habits. As i'm still on probation for the criminal aspect of my proceedings, i'm not supposed to be drinking whatsoever. However, my lawyer never showed up for my ARD hearing, so although i signed a document agreeing to these terms i was unaware of them at the time of this evaluation, and as such, i admitted to drinking very small amounts very few times during these past number of months of probation.

Can anyone offer any insight on what to expect my punishment to be? Since the psychiatrist showed me the paper i signed saying i can't drink on probation i have been entirely sober and i just want to keep my license... Preferably without having to do 3+ aa's a week and a nurses support group and frequent/expensive random drug testing for years to come, etc, etc, yadda, yada...

[Whats next]

Well, hppygr8ful, that's pretty much what i have been finding that i should expect as well... It just seems so ridiculous to me and I'm obviously quite upset by these options as (like you said) i think i have slim to no chance of getting out of this without some sort of extremely lengthy and expensive monitoring program... Right now I'm just waiting for the ax to drop, i know it's coming eventually but I'm glad to make the decent wage for a while and have some time to try to figure out which option i would be most interested in pursuing. I'm very stubbornly opposed to trying the monitoring program if you can't tell. But i also would love to continue my career as a nurse, especially after i worked so hard for it. Anyway, thank you for your opinions and recommendations. I will do whatever seems best when the time comes. Ill try to keep everyone updated, if for nothing else, then maybe to at least give others in my situation a clue as to what their options are and how it may pan out for them. I know i searched google countless times looking for answers such as these.

[CryssyD]

Unfortunately, most of these programs aren't individualized at all--you will be slotted into a cookie-cutter program with the same requirements and restrictions as everyone else, I'm afraid. BON's have not been typically been forgiving about past drug-related convictions or current DUI's. No matter how small you think your infractions are, the Board is likely to take them much, much more seriously. Sorry.

Still, you might be surprised at how much good this does you. Yes, the monitoring programs suck. Big time. But you may end up really learning a lot about yourself and gaining all kinds of insight and understanding, of yourself and others, you would never have gotten otherwise. If it does turn out unfavorably, take those lemons and make lemonade. They may have you all wrong--you may not be an addict at all--but to them it doesn't matter, and there won't be much you can do about it. So just be ready to jump through the hoops and keep your spirits up--it's hard, but it can be done. If I could get through it, anyone can.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

The only thing I can add is. .. start saving up your money.

[Whats next]

Btw, just to update everyone... I received a letter from the department of state saying that they have decided to close my file. It was only one sheet of paper which also described that they could reopen it at any time should further evidence come up. They essentially kindly said if I ever **** up again I'm toast... Beyond ecstatic, I had totally accepted the punishment that was going to be laid upon me and was already studying to learn computer programming to switch careers haha.

Why did everyone have so little hope for me? I can't tell if I just got extremely lucky 🦄 or if people were assessing the situation incorrectly? Either way, it's hard to question something that's this amazing to hear, I just feel blessed or something.

[SororAKS, ADN, RN]

Excellent :)

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

I would say you're EXTREMELY lucky

[reggaemuffin, MSN, NP, CNS]

Btw, just to update everyone... I received a letter from the department of state saying that they have decided to close my file. It was only one sheet of paper which also described that they could reopen it at any time should further evidence come up. They essentially kindly said if I ever **** up again I'm toast... Beyond ecstatic, I had totally accepted the punishment that was going to be laid upon me and was already studying to learn computer programming to switch careers haha.

Why did everyone have so little hope for me? I can't tell if I just got extremely lucky ������ or if people were assessing the situation incorrectly? Either way, it's hard to question something that's this amazing to hear, I just feel blessed or something.

I believe most people were referring to the repercussions from the BON side- the "little hope" philosophy likely stems from the fact that in general most BON programs have little to no tolerance for what they consider to be a "relapse"

[SororAKS, ADN, RN]

Indeed the BONs do have little tolerance for relapses/slips/backslides. One can see it all over the correspondence, the veiled threats and terse wording.

Yet we do recover, one day at a time.

My recent issue with a dilute urine showed me both the veiled threats but then days later I get a copy of successful completion of Q4 2015. I was thinking what an odd paradox to see both so close to each other.

I understand where they are coming from. They do see a lot and have a job to do. That doesn't excuse the cookie cutter approach and a nasty attitude that assumes we are all the same.

Instead, I just practice gratitude and realize I am the one that can recognize my humanness. I don't assume that they will.

[MetallicaRN]

Same -- looking into my other options for a career. Unfortunately I have kids , and trying to get a divorce and need a decent income. I'm also being FORCED into the VRP by the PNAP case manager ... In so much that she says if I want my license and job I will find a way to work it into my already overwhelming respinsibilities. It sucks bad! Do something else. I've been a nurse 24 years and it's no longer rewarding to me other than financially... And even that is debatable!

[MetallicaRN]

What do you mean about the dilute urine and their veiled threats ? And what is a Q4 2015? I'm just embarking on this road myself to VRP. Wondering why in the world I ever became a nurse.

[SororAKS, ADN, RN]

Q4 2015 means the last three months of 2015 and the tests I took in those months. I had a "dilute" urine which had a low Creatinine level. They don't like those because it can indicate the participant is diluting their sample. Equally, it can mean one is over hydrating on testing days either unintentionally (the reason in my case), or intentionally to alter the results; or it can mean a kidney issue that needs to be evaluated by a physician.

[Fkbon]

What kind of drug test did you have to take with the psychiatrist? Just urine? Blood or both?

I'm also in PA and in a very similar situation, I have to go to one of these mental and physical evaluations with the psychiatrist.