Aker-Fit

We're nurses we deal with bad ***! This may be the first time but most likely not the last. I have elderly parents I haven't gone in their home and I drop food off at the door. My neighbors are skyping the grand children it's the safer thing to do so on one level I don't blame him. But I would definitely use this as a test. If he's not making an effort on the phone or hanging with people that don't work in a hospital he may be using the opportunity! Be careful, guard your heart. On a lot of levels medical people and first responders have issues with relationships, not everybody is special enough to be in our lives! Hang in there and move on if he's not in this for the long haul, someone will be!!

Thank you for having the courage to tell your story. That's the first step to finding answers. It makes perfect sense that you're experiencing increased anxiety with a pre-existing anxiety issue. To answer your questions about getting help...GO! You are protected by the HIPPA law like every other citizen in the US. No one will tell your job anything UNLESS you are deemed a danger to society. I went to a psychiatrist and counselor and took medications (that were not addicting or endangering to my practice, just like diabetes or heart meds) for a bipolar disorder for the first 14 years of my 24 year and still running career. If you don't want to take meds find a counselor that doesn't prescribe meds. Hell if you want to sit in your own home and not go to anybody google search online coaching programs to help with anxiety. I'm an online coach myself and you'd be AMAZED at what's available these days. Do the free stuff first and you can start with my all time favorite anxiety specialist Mel Robbins, go to YouTube and search Mel Robbins Mindset Reset, 35 days of free quality stuff!! Fix it now early in your career like I did and you will have an amazing career or when you reset your brain you may actually decide you picked the wrong thing and move on with peace and freedom from anxiety, it's a win, win situation! Happy learning to be free my friend!! Oh and nursing was my second career change and I'm working on my 3rd chapter!

WOW thank you for sharing! My career has spanned 20+ years. I started out as an Air Force medic/first responder and all the nurses I worked with prodded me to go to nursing school. I'm soooo glad I listened. I'm still in love with being a nurse too! There were times when I wasn't in love with it and wanted to quit, I've been fired and escorted out as well! But as a friend of mine passed onto to me: if you don't have a job/career you want to quit once in awhile it's time to move on, ?

Awesome you’re on the right track!

Here’s another one to try Kaiser University in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Just keep at it they all interpret the law differently. I’m a veteran of board sanctioned recovery myself from way back with damn near 20 years recovery it’s possible keep your chin up and keep pushing. Someone will have compassion. It’s not personal it’s out of fear they feel they are protecting their programs.

By the HIPPA law the only information about hospitalizations and doctors you see has to come from you UNLESS you committed a crime then it’s an open door. As a case manager in the hospital we write notes for patients and families all the time for their employers. They are extremely generic with the names of the people and dates. I will include more only if the person wants it and always council them that the less info the better they can always ask you for more. Any communication about your hospitalization or doctors visits should follow that principle. If it’s in writing you can’t take it back or defend!! They can ask you for more information. About the incident itself. Even the most punitive states want to hear you are remorseful, you take responsibility and will accept the consequences. Drug screens are good. Everyone says it only happened once so don’t say that even if it’s the truth. Be honest and don’t give excuses for your behavior. We always encouraged nurses to take people with them to board/court hearings that could vouch for good behavior. It doesn’t sound like you’re in or feel like you need recovery but if the board has evidence you might, you may want to look into attending some open meetings and get a paper signed you went. Boards do this for mental health as well as recovery. Mental illness is treated much the same way as impairment and you are protected by the HIPPA law. Let me know if you any other questions.

@TravelingRN21 This is tough situation and you need compassion from yourself and others. Stop beating yourself up and start concentrating on what to do next. Losing your license or working on a restricted license is not the end of the world but it will change your world so start making contingency plans. All the legal stuff you’re worried about will depend on your state. Yes you got yourself into this mess but you also got yourself out of an abusive relationship, through your undergraduate degrees, passed the board exam and into graduate school, you can handle this, it's just a bump in the road. Back in the late 90's I was an alcoholic nurse that started diverting morphine from the ICU I worked in. Four miserable months later I decided I was gonna die, get caught, or kill myself, so I turned myself in. That was over 20 years ago and that still ranks as one of the hardest things I've ever done. However, I wouldn't change it if I had the chance. I have an amazing life today and I love the person I see in the mirror. Come January next year I'll be clean and sober 20 years. It changed my career DRAMATICALLY! I never lost my license but I worked on a restricted one for a while and had to pick and choose what was safe for me when I wasn't restricted any longer. I've helped countless nurses and regular people find their way to sobriety. Most importantly today I know for a fact that whatever I get myself into I can get myself out of, it is ALWAYS my choice. Incidentally I also struggled with mental health disease in addition to addiction. It can be done, it won't be comfortable at times but it can be done.

You can't work under the influence of anything whether you have a prescription for it or not. Alcohol is legal everywhere and if you come up positive for alcohol you are likely to face the same consequences you would for an illegal substance. Same with prescription drugs like Percocet or Norco, you can have a legit reason for taking it but if you are perceived as impaired you will face consequences.