positive drug ua with perscription

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HI I have been worried sick. I came close to having an mI about two months ago due to stress of low staffing and High blood pressure. I was not sleeping during the day and working Night shift.THe doc put me on xanax and ambien. I left the job and found less stressfull dream job but when I went to do the urine drug screen they wouldnt write down my perscriptions. One week later the new job let me go and said it was because i had positive drug screen. I had even showed my new boss my perscritions before I started . I told Her that I only take them before bed each night. My question is should I get lawyer and fight this. I know I can find another job but I know I didnt do anything wrong. OR should I just let it go. Should I call the BON and tell them about my urine test? I know I have my perscripts but I dont want to do anything wrong. I would like any advice anyone has. I have been nurse 18 years with spotless record .Please PM me with any advice.

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If you have scripts for them then you have grounds for a fight. Were you asked about the meds at the time of the test? If yes and you didn't list them, that's not good. The CA BON would not worry about you if you have scripts and you weren't working under the influence.

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Yes, you can this. Like you said, you didn't do anything wrong. I do urine drug screens and all our applicants/employees are given opportunity to write their scripts and then our medical director calls the applicant/employee's physician and/or pharmacy to verify the med. What is your facility's written policy?

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

If you have the scripts in your name, then that should not be considered a positive screen, based on my experience in occupational nursing where we did hundreds of urine drug screens. Whether you really want to be employed by these people is another issue. If I were in your place, I'd probably get legal advice before proceeding. The best of luck to you!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Why would you want to continue working for this "dream" employer if they'd terminate your employment without asking questions or considering your point of view? I'd just chalk this one up and move on.

If you live and work in an at-will employment state, you can be terminated at any time for any reason under the sun. In addition, at-will employment states permit the worker to resign at any time for any reason conceivable. I don't know where you live, but keep in mind that it is typically harder to fight former employers in at-will states.

Also, lawsuits sometimes equate to career suicide in certain communities, and can get you quietly blacklisted. Many future employers like to refrain from hiring people who have taken legal action against previous workplaces. They'll never officially list this as the reason for not hiring you, but stuff like this happens every single day.

Good luck with whatever decision you ultimately make.

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Specializes in NICU, ER, OR.

I have a thread about this same thing.

I have an RX for prn pain med, and a benzo. I know I will be in the clear when I show my prescription, but i was afraid the employer would refuse to hire me based on the fact that I needed those meds....like what happened to you? To those of you that worked in occupational health, have you ever seen this?

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Specializes in LTC, Nursing Management, WCC.

Even if you work for an at-will state, there still is such a thing as wrongful termination.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

I can't add much to what has been posted before. I think the best advise you have gotten is - why would you want to work for this employer? Even if you sued and got your position back I wouldn't take bets on your chances of staying there till retirement. The next time they fire you, and they will, it may come with an attack on your license just for spite.

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