PNAP approved places to work

Published

Hello all,

So I have signed the agreement to go into the PNAP recovery program. I'm not happy about it, but I agreed based on the advice of my lawyer. I signed the paperwork weeks ago. I know it takes forever to get in, and I'm not admitted yet. I am just wondering in what types of settings will I be allowed to work? I applied for a job at a local hospital to work in their CCU. Their CCU is not a typical high stress environment and is only about as intense as a post op cardiac cath unit, and the director expressed to me that it is very low key. She is understanding about the program due to having an employee on it before, but she is concerned about me being allowed to pass narcotics. She says it is not very frequent, but I understand her need to know. Please let me know where I am allowed to work. I'm pretty certain she wants to hire me, but I understand her hesitation. Why hire someone if months later when the person gets into the program then have to start all over and look for someone else?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

What is the paperwork you signed for PNAP weeks ago? Is it your pnap contract? If so, it tells you exactly what you can and cannot do. If it is not the contract, you should be expecting to receive that soon.

I was first contacted by pnap at the end of july, was evaluated in august, and have a contract dated the first week of august. So it does not usually take forever to get in-- it is actually a pretty quick process. It does take a long time for the nursing board to sign their part of the contract, about 6 months. But as soon as a contract is signed with pnap, you need to follow all of the instructions. Normally this includes a period of not being allowed to work at all, a couple of months at the very least. Also you are not permitted to work in any kind of icu, including a coronary care unit, until approved by your case manager. My advice would be to contact your pnap case manager to discuss more in detail the entire timeline of what to expect, and what is expected of you.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
On 5/6/2019 at 11:49 AM, BigRed23 said:

What is the paperwork you signed for PNAP weeks ago? Is it your pnap contract? If so, it tells you exactly what you can and cannot do. If it is not the contract, you should be expecting to receive that soon.

I was first contacted by pnap at the end of july, was evaluated in august, and have a contract dated the first week of august. So it does not usually take forever to get in-- it is actually a pretty quick process. It does take a long time for the nursing board to sign their part of the contract, about 6 months. But as soon as a contract is signed with pnap, you need to follow all of the instructions. Normally this includes a period of not being allowed to work at all, a couple of months at the very least. Also you are not permitted to work in any kind of icu, including a coronary care unit, until approved by your case manager. My advice would be to contact your pnap case manager to discuss more in detail the entire timeline of what to expect, and what is expected of you.

So it has been little while since this post, and I'm still not in the program. I was not assigned a case manager yet or been contacted by PNAP at all. At this point it's been around 2 months since I signed a contract. I am not sure which one it was, and my lawyer has not given me a copy. I have tried to reach out to him several times, and he has not gotten back to me. I discovered on some other posts that dialysis and psychiatric environments are most welcoming of these programs. Next week I have an interview at a dialysis clinic and now I am wondering how to bring this up in my interview. I have a general idea, but I wonder what would be the best way to do this. This clinic seems very interested in me so far, and I hope my future enrollment in the program does not deter this. What are your thoughts? I desperately need income, and I cannot continue not to work at this time. As I'm not in the program yet, I don't see how this would be an issue, and I'm hoping my lawyer will be tough with them on the whole "not work for a few months thing." This whole thing gets me really fired up, and I hate it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in tele, ICU, CVICU.

Your lawyer needs to call you back ASAP & give you a copy of everything. What the hell are you paying him for if not to be on your side? (sorry, just frustrated about my own lawyer issues...) I assume you mean you have not been contacted by PNAP, EXCEPT for the contract in the mail that you've now signed & returned? I would call them (PNAP), find out who your case manager is & ensure you're being as pro-active as possible to expedite things.

I believe all the contracts always include a generic '90 in 90' meeting requirement and 3 clean urine screens to return to work, as a nurse. The meetings require documentation of attendance, of course. In my experience, UDS's typically average around 2 a month. As far as where to work, the ICU, CCU, OR, Home, agency are all big NO's. Even if that CCU manager wanted to, they don't even want you applying there.

Good news, is dialysis is typically very PNAP friendly and it seems more common than not, that most clinics are very familiar with said programs. You just have to have those clean UDS's.

I know it stinks... I've been there & still am most days...

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OR.

I’m not PNAP, but what I can say goes for all of these programs. YOU have to advocate for yourself. Do not sit back and wait for them to make a move. There is no incentive for them to do anything with any urgency (other than to collect your money.) You (or your lawyer, since you're paying one) needs to be on these people to get them to do their job.

As you have signed something, I would dare say that at the very least, You’ve agreed to do the program. If you don’t know your specific restrictions on your practice, than I suspect you’ve not actually signed a contract.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion