theRykster

Thank you. It has been quite the journey. I am somewhat frightened of the course I have to navigate over the next 6 months to a year. I would really like to quit my current job (as a software developer) and get back into the medical field in any capacity. I will not be able to do so however, until I can get matters resolved with the OIG. Time takes time...

I used to visit this forum quite some time ago. I was so bent on having my RN reinstated, it had been revoked in 2003 because of my untreated, out of control ETOHism. The thing is, that as long as that was my only goal, it remained unobtainable. Therefore, I immersed myself in my recovery. I found a sponsor and stayed away from any topic nursing. I have been continuously sober since October 17th, 2007. On August 19, 2009, the CT BON granted my petition for reinstatement as an RN. I have been told that I will receive the Memorandum of Decision by February 2010 and that after that I can take my refresher, and retake the Boards. I will also be able to ask the OIG to remove me from the exclusion list. I have so much gratitude for AA and the people who I have grown to love along the way. I have a ton to share, and will be happy to do so as I reacquaint myself in this forum. I look forward to being a part of the nursing community once again. Humbly, theRykster

There are so many opinions about the OIG exclusion that I have decided that even trying to discuss it here is worse than pointless. I will simply do as the BON has instructed me. And speaking of the BON, on Wednesday, 1 April, they voted unanimously and without hesitation to grant me a hearing regarding reinstatement of my RN license. They will send notification of a hearing date in the mail. Whee!

i actually came up in the va's monthly compliance routine. now the va's lawyer is all atwitter and sparring with the director of the program. she, (the director) is fighting the good fight on my behalf. so far, she is managing to make the argument that being the house manager is simply the terminal phase of my va treatment. the fact is, that oig exclusion is not merely a medicare restriction. it very literally states - http://www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/exclusions.asp -in part: federal health care programs include medicare, medicaid, and all other plans and programs that provide health benefits funded directly or indirectly by the united states... anyway, enough of that. the positive side is this: i (and my sponsor) will be be standing before the connecticut board of nursing examiners on wednesday, april 1st to make my case for reinstatement. wish me luck!

Denial kept me drunk for a long time. A very long time. "The opiate that I took was for a headache, my cousin gave it to me I didnt think twice I just took it. I was in pain and didn't think about it, untill it showed up on my screen." You want to practice nursing using this type of judgement? Get a sponsor and show him this thread. Please.

Well, FireStarter, you're aptly named! :-) Being an ETOHic myself, I seem to take keen notice of others' drinking habits. I find myself wanting to judge their drinking and then I call my sponsor because that is what I was taught to do when I start judging what other people are doing! Personally, I am jealous of those "normies" who can and do enjoy a moderate amount of ETOH and not wake up naked, jobless and homeless. As you said, she didn't appear to drink to the point of intoxication, nor did she seem impaired on the slopes. Sometimes a banana is just a banana. I am getting a chuckle over how naive you seem to be about the whole thing though. "Do non-alcoholics drink in the morning?" I dunno, do normal people buy lottery tickets in the morning?" :-) Have a great day!

I am also in the process of trying to have my RN license reinstated (in Connecticut-revoked 12/2003 r/t EOTH). I appreciate advice such as mmmphreak72's about retaining a lawyer and seeking peer assistance groups, however... Ever try paying a lawyer when you're nearly unemployable? The OIG exclusion is draconian. I was never even accused of any crime and I am excluded from more routes of employment than a convicted felon, with the state BON holding the only keys. Peer support groups... In Connecticut they are nearly non-existent and I have never gotten anything useful from attending any of them that I was able to locate. Anyone I approached for advice was so terrified of the BON that their responses were all variations on "Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here." I have since moved to Massachusetts. I am dealing with the CT BON from here. After several years of false recoveries and relapses, I came to the Veterans Administration in Mass. I live in and now manage sober housing here and have been continuously sober since 10-17-07. I have letters from my sponsor, employer, therapist, psychologist, chaplain, and the APRN in charge of substance abuse treatment at the VA. All of the letters address my abstinence and commitment to my recovery. I will also be mailing off the final letter, my own, tomorrow. As I mentioned, I now manage the sober house I have lived in since May of 2008. I am considered a volunteer, however, the VA waives my rent now that I am house manager. As I said, this is a VA operated sober house. Wait, here it comes... Yes, the VA is federally funded. I just may be in violation of the OIG exclusion and after all of this time, I face the very real possibility of fines, jail and at the least, becoming homeless and jobless, again. This time, in sobriety. Yeah, I'm ******.

Wow leatherneck, I saw your post as soon as I searched on reinstatement and I got a chill. I too am an RN, from Connecticut. My license was revoked five years ago because of my refusal to deal with my alcoholism. I have struggled for the past five years, however, I now have a very solid and multi-tiered plan of recovery and relapse prevention. I will be continuously sober for one year in just a couple of weeks and I also have that "list" from the BON. I'm very scared of it, but I do plan to give it a go in a very short while. It's been a long day, so I am not up to typing much more tonight, but I would very much like to compare notes with you as we both head to the BON. I hope to hear from you...