Jas10

I was able to delete the app at about 3 pm same day.

Thank you! I know it feels endless (even the last two weeks seemed to drag by LOL) but it will come to an end and and so strangely by the end of the day I could no longer log into the app or site! Felt amazing to delete it finally!!

Hey all...finished the program today in WA and in shock it really happened! What a LONG road and all the feels, challenges, and crap that goes with it. My advice is to just keep your head down, stay off the radar, and believe in yourself throughout this whole debacle. It does end and man, I am feeling the burden and weight it has put on me melt off my shoulders!! any questions please ask!

If you have short/long term disability you can go on FMLA/disability to receive the treatment that you need without any questions asked or them asking for medical records. You can take the time to sort out all you need to and receive treatment appropriately. You can then resign and maybe find something like another hospital system or home health, SNF, or other types of settings. One option is a technician for dialysis which is a great gig for CNA's and pays for the training you need. I wouldn't give up your medical records and be lead down unknown road (I don't know what it is like for CNA's vs nurses) that could be more disastrous. If you have the ability to take a medical leave than I would go that route, your healthcare and records at this point are still protected by you and no one's business until you do decide to share. If you were a nurse than it is a different story but protect yourself at all cost and what the future holds if you want to be a nurse. Take care of yourself first and sobriety, you can always find a job in a diff capacity as you address this important and key issue.

Dialysis is a good way to go as they can accommodate many of the restrictions. I was also a wound care nurse at a SNF for two years and enjoyed that as it allowed me to learn a lot about wounds and stay within my restrictions. There is also oncology and infusion centers, blood bank type facilities, drug/alcohol addiction facilities, and mental health facilities that are typically monitoring friendly places. I recently was able to get on at the hospital on the orthopedic floor (I have just a little over a year left on my contract) and never had any narc restrictions which has allowed a bit more options for jobs. Good luck and don't discount the experience you do have!

AZRN...feel free to DM me if you want to talk further. The key of advice I can give is to get a lawyer. I got a very good lawyer in CO that did wonders for me and knew all the ins and outs of the states BON and how it all worked.

I did a temporary surrender that allows me to reinstate in 2 years if I want to (I most likely never will). I originally got into trouble in CO and was given 2 years of monitoring but chose not to stay in CO and moved to WA. CO wouldn’t let me monitor remotely so hence the need to relinquish my license there but WA allowed me to attain my license and enter their monitoring program to fulfill my “sentencing” that CO gave me. I was very lucky and never was put in OIG list.

That is not true, necessarily. I voluntarily did a temporary surrender in CO but not before I got my license in WA state. I am in the monitoring program and working as an RN. I am not on the OIG list.

In my situation I was to monitor in CO for two years but during the lengthy time it took the BON to decide all of that I had moved back to WA state and there was no way I was going to move back to CO. CO does not do remote monitoring (nor is WA part of the compact states) but was given the opportunity to apply for WA licensure in which I did and temporarily surrender my license in CO. WA had no issues with this and entered their monitoring program with the same parameters as CO set. I went to great lengths to make sure I was able to keep my WA license when I did surrender in CO by speaking to their legal department and finding a lawyer just in case I needed one but it all went very smoothly. I know I will have the red X on my license but I am now working as an RN and happy to be back in my home state with family and friends. So, yes it can be done but I would speak to both BON’s, seek legal advice or have them on back up just in case, be humble and honest with everyone, and document everything! Every state is different so you just need to get all the info you can before making any rash decisions. Hope that helps

One of the girls in my peer group just had a baby and they gave her 3 weeks of “interruption” and then she started right back up. I don’t know if it counted against the length of the contract, though.

did you call TN BON? I had called the legal department for WA BON and spoke to them to make sure licensure would be possible if I pursued it and was told it was which helped me make the decision to go ahead and apply. I am now an active RN here and starting back to work as an RN on Monday for dialysis clinic. I spoke to the departments paralegal and she was really very nice and reassured me it is a common question she would get so I encourage you to start there if it helps.

I think the first step is to find out if your current state will allow you to monitor in another state. Your case manager should be able to tell you that or the director of your program. If they do then contact the TN monitoring program to see if they will allow you to monitor there based on if your current state allows it. If they can reciprocate monitoring then you shouldn’t have a big issue moving to another state. I can’t say if you will have to start over or any of that, that is up to the BON and every case is different. I was supposed to monitor in CO but due to personal reasons I moved back to WA and applied to monitor here. CO doesn’t reciprocate monitoring so I entered the monitoring program here in WA (did another evaluation and all of that but was given the same exact contract as CO offered) and was granted an active license. I have to do a temporary surrender license in CO bc they don’t do remote/reciprocate monitoring but the small price to pay to be safe and with my family here in WA. It hasn’t been easy and took 4 months but I entered the monitoring program in WA before I even applied for licensure to show my sincerity and seriousness about keeping my license and it sped up the process to obtain an active license. I hope that helps you a little bit.

Hey Austin, no treatment (I wasn't found to have a substance abuse disorder) and didn't have to do a neurocognitive test at all. I started my contract nearly 3 weeks ago and just got my license approved so ready to start looking for a job at this point. Are you having to do more testing and evaluations?

Thank you WAnurse80! I really appreciate all of your info. I just got the approval for my WA license so as soon as it is active on the website I'll start to job hunt. I've been working as a physician liaison and educator for a private practice which has been a good paying alternative e to nursing and has kept me somewhat in the arena so hope it can translate well on my resume as I've been out of bedside for over a year. My case manager has been Very supportive and easy to work with so will ask her if she has any recommendations as well. I will for sure be prepared as I don't want to waste anyone's time and continue to fly under the radar while in this program. Again, I really appreciate your info and help!!

I'm in WA and we don't check in on major holidays and since the office is closed on Friday after thanksgiving we don't check in on Friday either.