Ruca25

Of course. [email protected]

Well, my UDS was positive but it wasn't for any of the meds my job accused me of diverting. My hair test was negative. I would suggest that you also go get a hair test to show that this incident they are referring to is not a long term issue. If your job accused you of diverting oxy, that might be an issue but if you also have a good report from a psychiatrist/addictionist, that will work in your favor. Yep, I went and got another job right away with no problem. My license was still good at that point and I hadn't received any notice from the board yet. When the formal open complaint was applied to my license in Dec, 9 months after I was fired, they let me go because I wasn't willing to be moved to another job where I wouldn't be handling narcotics (so so stupid of me.) Right now you're license is OK so yes, keep working! Once you get your paperwork from the board, you really should tell your current employer. Hopefully by then they will have had time to see that you're an asset and will be willing to work with you during this. The first thing that will happen is you'll get papers from the board detailing the complaint from your former job. You will have a meeting set up (mine was zoom) that's kind of like a fact finding thing. They will address each complaint and ask you about it. You do get time to say your piece. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY. Again, attorney if you can. Then after they've considered all the stuff they have, they decide what they're going to do, close it or move forward. In my case, they moved forward and opened a formal complaint. That will show up on your license when it is searched. Then you'll have one or maybe 2 more contacts with board people, mine was a pharmacist because the issue was meds. Then they decide what to do. This is what took over a year in my case. I still don't know why. I kept getting told "they're very backed up." They can give a reprimand which is just a slap on the wrist but has no punitive measures. They can fine you or require you to complete some education. Or they can offer probation, suspend a license or revoke a license. This is only what I know about my state, Michigan. It may be different in Nevada. Probation is pretty standard, 1 or 2 years. There are no restrictions on your license as to where you can work but you have to have a supervisor fill out that form every 3 months. You have to let them know immediately if you quit your nursing job and when/where you start working again. This is only for nursing jobs, if you're not using your license, you just send in a report every 3 months that says you're not working as a nurse. If you aren't working as a nurse, probation may be a bit longer. They're super intense about *** being done right and in on time!! In Michigan, all disciplinary actions stay on your license forever. So ten years from now when someone looks up my license, it will show that I was on probation from 2024 to 2026. They also have public DAE reports that detail what they gave you the discipline for. In my case, it was incompetence. The health professionals program contract I did was "voluntary." As in, the board of nursing referred me and if I didn't do all the things they said, my license would get suspended until I did. But it wasn't a condition of my probation at all. Yes I got a very good deal, it was just one year. Very expensive! Usually those contracts start at 3 years. I know people who have spent tens of thousands of dollars going through a 3 year program. That contract will limit where you can work, what shift, contact your employer and make you check every day for random urine, blood or hair drug testing for the entire 3 years. No alcohol or any kind of substances, even prescribed, for 3 years. If you do get referred to one of these programs, do not ignore it. That will look horrible to the BON, I promise. Just call them, go through their intake process and see what happens. If you get a contract that sucks but just suck it up and do it. Hope this helps. If you want to message me privately I can give you tips and things my attorney told or did for me that were helpful.

I just looked it up, looks like Nevada's program is called the Nevada Professionals Assistance Program.

So after your employer terms you, they send a complaint to your nursing board. IDK how long Nevada will take but I got termed in Feb 2022 and received papers from the BON I think in June. No, they didn't ask me to take a drug test when they met with me but I sure offered. I had contacted an attorney the day I was fired because they'd told me that they were going to report me to the board. He knew that I'd offered and they'd declined a drug test. He had me take one on my own right away, paid out of my pocket. I did hair and urine. If you can, find an attorney who has experience helping nurses with the BON. This whole process cost me around $8k but don't forget, it also took FOREVER so that increased the price tag. Do not be surprised if you also receive papers from a peer assistance/substance abuse agency. If you have one for health care professionals in your state, the board will refer you to them. They will want you to do a drug test and meet with a psychiatrist to try and find out if you have a substance abuse problem. You'll have to pay for it all out of pocket, fyi. My attorney helped me find a good psychiatrist and after he interviewed me, his report indicated that I did not have a substance abuse problem but that I needed to take care of my mental health. I hope some of this helps you. It's a bleak place to be in life but it WILL pass. And if you have any more questions, ask away.

I did finally hear back but only after I contacted the governor's office and complained. So it took 18 months but I did get papers to sign and my probation started in Feb. 2 years, a fine due in May and some CEUs also due in May. Yes, you can work while on probation but pickings are slim, I won't lie. For all of 2023, no one wanted to take a chance on me because I had an open formal complaint on my license. They wanted to know what the outcome would be and of course, they didn't take my word for it. I was accused of diverting but it wasn't proven so that isn't on my DAE report. I did admit to sloppy charting because of my mental health. Anyway, I recently found a nice job at a substance abuse treatment center, mon thru fri, no weekends or holidays, pays decent. You do have to let the disciplinary committee know if you have a job and you have to have your boss send a quarterly report to them. It's just a few boxes to check, do you show up for work and on time, do you seem impaired, do they have any concerns. I hope to keep this job for the next 2 years because yeah, it's embarrassing af to tell a prospective employer about all of this. My advice is to get an attorney to help you navigate the BON. You can also do it yourself, if you want. I felt like my life was over for a long time but it isn't. Definitely new stuff to deal with but it's doable. I've worked bedside for 22 years and didn't know what else to do. Now that I have a 8-430 job, I don't know if I'll ever go back to bedside. I have a lot less stress and I certainly have more energy after work. Best of luck to you. I know how you're feeling and just know that your life is not over, you can still work as a nurse and nothing lasts forever!

My attorney is useless. I had a great one in the beginning but he left to go to another firm, they reassigned me to someone else. Every time I reach out to her, she responds at least a week later and tells me that she's reached out and not received a response. This last time, about a month ago, she told me it was "weird" that the analyst still wasn't getting back to her and she'd try to find "someone else." Crickets since then. I'm in group therapy and 2 women have had issues with the BON after me and have both had their issues resolved. About a month ago I started emailing anyone whose email address I could find who works there. I emailed the general BPL account. I have even emailed my state rep and the governor. Thanks for the comment about school. IDK how I'd afford it, but it seems like a good idea to give me something to do.

No, that's the thing. I haven't received any paperweight at all. I've been reaching out since May to get that stuff to sign and no one will answer me.

Side note, does anyone know if it's possible to go back to school while your license is on probation?

I was fired in Feb 2022 for suspected diversion, reported to the Michigan BON. They referred me to HPRP for evaluation. I went through their intake and was given a one year mental health contract that I signed in Nov 2022. During that time, the BON went ahead and filed a formal complaint, on my license in Dec 2022. Since Summer of 2022, I've met with the BON investigators, analysts, etc 4 times via phone/zoom with my attorney. My final meeting with them was in March 2023. In May, I received word from my attorney that they were offering 2 years probation, CEUs and a $500 fine. I told my attorney to accept it and send me over the paperwork to sign. Since then I have been unable to get in touch with anyone involved with my case. My attorney always tells me that they reach out to the contact and do not receive a reply. I've emailed EVERYONE I could find whose name was on any of the paperwork associated with my case. I've even emailed the members of the BON directly (getting their names from public records.) I haven't been able to work as a nurse since Dec 2022. No one wants to hire me with an open complaint, they want to know how it will be resolved. Fair enough, and I don't expect them to simply take my word for it. Does anyone know how the hell I can move this forward? Who I should contact?

Ah that makes sense. Thanks!

Do you know what the different options are? So far I've done options 1 and 5 for urine screens but IDK what's the difference.

Hello, I recently signed a mental health contract with hprp in Michigan. The first day I had to call in to vault health, I got a hair test. It came back positive (which I told them it would.) They pulled me off work and revoked my safety to practice until I have a negative urine drug screen. I've done an option 10, option 11 and waiting for results. Now today I have to do an option 5 blood test. What are they looking for??