My career was completely destroyed when I "diverted" drugs at my first nursing job 20 years ago. Just within the last month, I had a company turn their nose up at me because of my "black mark." Do those fools have any idea what I went through to get an "unencumbered license?"
My probation took SIX YEARS to get through because, at the depths of the recent economic depression, I couldn't find any kind of nursing job so my probation just kept stretching out endlessly. I finally petitioned the BON to end the probation because I had worked so many hours prior to losing my full time job that I fulfilled their requirement of X numbers of hours worked per quarter to have it reduce my probation time.
Within the last two days, I heard an NPR report of a father suing one of the opiate manufacturers for his son's death. The son was an addict but had been drug free for many months at the time of his death. However, he was so ashamed of the stigma of being a "druggie" that he took his own life.
I understand how the son felt, I think.
Unfortunately I can't find a link to the piece but if I do, I will edit this post with the link.
Suffice to say, many, many nurses have been shamed into taking their own lives by these BON's. I'd like to see some real statistics of how many nurses are able to complete these nightmare terms of probation. I'll bet a lot of them just throw in the towel. Sometimes I wonder if I should have.
What's the point of breaking my back and eating dirt for the rest of my life when I can't even get a job with benefits any more?`
That's enough for now. Bitterness is no recipe for a decent life.
