PrayerMighty

I copied and pasted your email address into an email to you and it was just returned undeliverable. You can work outside of nursing. Any job that doesn't require your nursing license. I've only ever met one person who had a two year contract in recent years. Everyone else, drugs, alcohol, psych, have all been five years. They used to be two years in FL but maybe ten or so years ago they decided that (supposedly) statistically people relapse less after five years in than two. I can't tell you how long you'd be out of work. Depends on what they decide for rehab. Many people do ninety days inpatient. I've known a few to do what's called "IOP" and it's an outpatient format but you still have to go daily for awhile. Completing IPN is doable but 100% not easy at all. If you decide you're staying in nursing, you'll have to be really committed to staying in because they do not make it easy. It's costly and time consuming. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer but it's just hard, especially the first year. At three years in you get a transitional contract that removes some restrictions and makes it a little bit easier to finish out. Best of luck with your journey.

JayFlowersPN, Unfortunately you have a long and expensive process going forward. In Florida, IPN will do intake with you over the phone. They'll get info related to what occurred and then give you information regarding what is next. They will send you paperwork to sign and one of these states that you agree not to work as a nurse until such time as IPN gives you permission to do so. You will be required to have an appt with an addictionologist. They will give you a list of people with whom you can schedule. This generally costs around $1000. They will usually perform hair, blood, and urine testing with this appointment and you will speak with the doctor. After this appointment, it may take a week or so for IPN to contact you with next steps as they wait for direction from that physician. You may be assigned to complete either outpatient or inpatient rehabilitation. This depends on what the addictionologist recommends. There is no option to appeal any decisions that have been made in IPN. You will be given a list of their accepted providers for this treatment. Once you have completed the rehab treatment, the people from that facility will send notice to IPN recommending your contract requirements. IPN will contact you with this information. Almost all contracts in the State of Florida are five years. During those five years you will be required to check in either in the app or by phone every weekday. Upon check in, it will tell you if you have been selected to test that day. If you are selected, You must go to a facility sometime during the day and provide whatever specimen is ordered. This is most often urine but could be blood, hair, or nail. This will occur a minimum of two times a month and you will be required to pay for each test. The cost depends on what had been ordered but that will be given within the app. If you miss a test, they will suspend you from working until follow up is completed. You will also be required to attend one meeting a week with an IPN support group and are usually assigned to attend a number of AA or NA support groups per week. You will have to log these meetings attended in the app. Every three months you will need to have a report filled out and returned by your employer in which they answer questions about how you appear at work. Prior to accepting any new job, you are required to tell the hiring agent about your IPN contract, that person must speak to your IPN caseworker, and they will be told the restrictions of your contract. Most participants are not allowed to work overtime. Some are not allowed to pass narcotics for a designated amount of time and another nurse would need to pass any of these meds for you but you would be able to pass any other meds yourself. Any other restrictions would be set in your specific contract. If you have further questions regarding something I haven't mentioned, please feel free to ask.

In FL you have to pay prior to the test. Either keep a balance in your account for testing or pay the day of on the app. They used to have a program where you could go into arrears up to two tests but that was stopped this year, I think in February or early March.

Email your case manager and just say “As I’m nearing completion of my contract, I just want to make sure I have any necessary paperwork or documentation prepared for that time. Can you tell me what I can do in advance of that date in order to facilitate ear of release” or something like that. That is what I did and my caseworker told me the actual day that the board would be reviewing my contract. HTH

Agreed! My review date was last Tuesday and I received a letter saying I met criteria for release from the program but to continue all program requirements (meetings, check ins, testing) until I received the official exit letter. It even had me go ahead and fill in the exit survey and send in other exit documentation, so I did. I was then hair tested last Wednesday and today (five days later) blood and urine again. $500 worth of testing in less than a week! Lord, help me! Ready to wake up from this five year long, money-draining nightmare!

Woke up this morning to 792070 (which I think is PEth and 764550 which is our usual urine screen. $167 today after $300 for hair test last Wed. and no idea how long I’ll have to wait for all three to come back. I’m going to tell you, this last month feels more stressful than my first year in was. I’m clean so it’s not even about the test results themselves, it’s the huge amounts of money and the roller coaster they make you ride to get that exit letter. (A letter one day that you’ve met all criteria but to keep doing everything for program until you receive exit letter and then three more expensive tests in less than a week). Every day is waiting with bated breath for an email to come in saying this whole five year nightmare is over and you are waking up.

Review date for release from FL IPN was last Tuesday. I received an email saying I met riteria first release but to continue checking in and completing all IPN requirements until I received the official exit letter. Woke up Wed to a hair test and did that (to the tune of $300). Today I got selected for something I’ve never seen or heard of from other participants in my five years. It’s a test that is $99.00 with a collection fee of $10 but the. An additional $57 “test fee”. Has anyone seen this before? What on earth is the additional $57 for?

In FL it is not banned. Many participants I know vape or smoke.

So, Tuesday was my review date for FL IPN completion. They sent me the secured email stating that I had met criteria for program completion. It said to continue checking in and doing any drug screens selected for until I received the official exit letter via secured email portal. The letter asked me to send in the required supporting documentation (which I had already obtained/prepared) and to complete the exit survey. I did all of that immediately and then was looking forward to getting the exit letter. Woke up Wednesday a.m. to check in and was “selected” for a HAIR STAT 14 test (to the tune of $300). My question: The test was done at LabCorp in FL. Anyone had this test and have any idea how long it takes to get resulted? Am I looking at days or weeks to get out now?

Any who has completed have a hair test at the end? I have had no missed check-ins ever and only one dilute in five years; others who have gotten out already said I probably got the hair test because the dilute was last May, less than a year ago. (I had started a weight loss program and had started drinking 64 oz a day…just didn’t think to stop drinking water for three hours beforehand.) SO, I got an email on the secure app on Tuesday saying I met criteria for completion but to send in some documentation (an exit survey and letters from support group facilitator and one from myself stating how I felt I was doing and my plan to maintain sobriety) but not to stop checking in or testing, if selected, until receiving the official exit letter. So, I sent it all in (already knew what to have ready from others who’ve gotten out) and was excited, thinking I’d get my exit letter Wed. Nope. Woke up to a hair test ($300 - thanks IPN) Wed morning. I just want to know how long it usually takes for it to come back if anyone has had one. It said “Hair stat 14”, if that makes any difference in timing. I feel a little crazy constantly checking to see if they’re back but I just want this whole nightmare to finally be officially over! Am I getting close or do you think I’m looking at weeks here??? Any info appreciated!

Has anyone already completed FL IPN*** Hello, all. I am nestling my review for completion date (50 days, but who’s counting, right***) and am trying to be prepared for what this entails. I’ve been told I’ll be asked for a letter from my PCP, my support group facilitator and one from myself about why I think I’m ready and what I’ll do to maintain sobriety off of monitoring, so I’ll try to have those done before the review date. I am trying to save in order to be financially prepared, though. One nurse recently told me that she had $785 worth of testing (blood, hair, and the high-dollar urine test) the week after her review date and a week before she was received her completion letter. She says she asked her CW why so many and she said it was “part of the completion process”. I don’t remember people who got out before me (from my support group) having all of these so is this a new thing*** Or was her CW just saying that because she didn’t really have another answer for why*** Anyone already have the joyful experience of finally completing who can shed some light on this with your own circumstances, please***

Everyone in my facilitates support group started getting the $138 urine in addition to the usual two urines a month intermittently beginning in October. So far it looks like another every three month add on, like PEths have tended to be but who knows? So far, those who go tit in October are getting it again now in January. I had that one in November and PEth in December besides the normal testing then. I’m already anticipating I’ll see the $138 urine again in February. I can’t wait to get out of this program. It’s not for the faint of heart. I’ve taught the two hour CE on Impairment in the Workplace for an FNA group and at a local college and I always tell them not to think nurses in monitoring don’t care about their license. They made a mistake at some point but they care more than you know about their nursing license or they would not be able to maintain the program they are forced to endure to keep that license.

I typically get two urine test per month and then every three months a blood test in addition to the two urines. This past month, however, people in my support group have been getting a urine screen that is $138 and I was selected for one today. The test requisition says it is for panel 764550 (which is our standard test in FL) plus 791975. No idea what the difference is. And it should be my blood test month so I don’t know if I’ll also get hit next week with a $110 blood test. Ugh. Money, money, money.

It did seem like forever. My attorney had me get letters from several of my coworkers and anyone else who was willing to regarding history of community service (not legal community service, as I also have no HCC of legal charges or trouble EVER, but good things I've done within my community), positive aspects of my nursing career and just basically positive letters stating why they hoped I would be able to return to my nursing career as a valuable asset (which a felony charge would not allow me to do). With diversion charges, they could go toward felony or misdemeanor. My lawyer took those to the DA and met with him before any charges were filed. I actually ended up with pre-file PTI, meaning I was never arrested and that as long as I completed my PTI without incident, I never would be but, if I screwed anything up, they would come back and filed the decided upon charges and follow through with the stronger version of trial options. My PTI was fees, 100 hours of community service and two years of being in PTI, but after one year I would be dropped from the program if I had completed all requirements and remained in good standing. This was the best option I could have hoped for; it was better than what I expected because I was waiting everyday for them to come pick me up to make me go in for a mug shot. In about two weeks my one year will be up so I am patiently waiting to see if I really do get a letter saying I have been dropped from the program. I am told that, because it was pre-file, none of this will ever even show up on my record (since I will have no arrest record.). If anyone wanted to dig far enough, they would see the PTI but it should not show up on any criminal background screens and that can make a difference in finding jobs, which can already be a challenge with my BON stains so that was paramount to me. I was intervened in and turned myself into IPN on Feb 15th and signed my PTI paperwork on March 27th last year, if that gives you any idea of how long it took. The wait is, indeed, interminable while you are going through it. Hang in there and I wish you the most abundant of blessings as you wait. I know I prayed every day, several times a day, for help in my situation.