Pre Employment drug screen decision

[mc554433]

Hey guys. I'll make it short.

I passed NCLEX 3/5. Stopped smoking marijuana for good 3/17 so I can have a long nursing career and be responsible.

It's been over a month since my last use and I received a job offer at local nursing home. I self tested myself and I'm still coming up + for THC metabolites. My drug test/physical is in a few days.

I don't want to try and cheat the drug test, I don't want to start my career that way.

Should I

1. Talk to the director of nursing at the facility and tell her my situation. See if she will let me come back in a few weeks and do the test then.

--Would she be able to report me to the board of nursing for this question?

2. Tell them I received a better job offer and start applying for other jobs (by the time I get one I should be clean.)

Thanks in advance for advice.

P.S. For all you people about to hate on me. I did not smoke during clinical, only during my summers off. And yes I guess it taking me a while to get clean because I smoked very heavily when I graduated because I knew I had to say goodbye to it because of my chosen career. Also, I'm a little overweight...which I guess is why I'm still not good after a month.

(IL resident)

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

And please, OP, if you are finding this difficult, don't hesitate to get some help.

Wishing you nothing but the best!

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

I agree with all the advice not to disclose. And you won't get any judgment from me. There is nothing wrong with using mj in your personal time, and I applaud you for making the decision to quit so it wouldn't jeopardize your career.

[joemomma35]

Funny, of course, how marijuana is the most harmless drug out of all the illegal drugs, yet it's what almost everyone who fails a drug test gets nailed for. One day the attitude will hopefully change towards recreational use off the job. Until then, take the advice of the above posters. Any time you get a new job you can expect a drug test. Usually it's during the physical, but I've had an employer ask me to pee in a cup the same day I interviewed because the recruiter had to travel far to the site and knew she would hire me. Employers can also randomly drug test you, but that is very rare. Usually they won't do it unless they suspect that you're impaired on the job or want to find a reason to fire you, especially if the place is unionized and needs documentation to fire employees.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

OP: almost all employers do not want to see a UDS positive for THC even if it's legal to use in your state. To be honest, almost all employers do not want to even hear that you used marijuana, even if it's legal in your state. And yes, you CAN be reported to your state BON...and BONs don't like hearing about practicing nurses using marijuana, even if it's legal in your state.

You have a hard choice...you could take a chance that you'd test negative, but if you didn't, you'd be really stuck. See if you can delay giving them an answer for a few more days. Otherwise, I'd strongly consider passing on this job and waiting until you know you will be clean.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Imagine yourself working as a manager 20-30 years from now. You decide to give a new grad a chance and she comes to you and says "BTW I do drugs so I need a few weeks before the drug test so I can be sure I won't test positive." Would YOU continue the hiring process with that nurse? Why would the manager have any reason to believe that you won't just try to cheat the test and continue using? I echo what everyone else said, telling the nurse manager this would be the worst idea ever.

[Julius Seizure]

Well this post is about the most unanimous bunch of comments that I've ever seen on this site.