gr8fulnrs

I concur with liamsmom. Get started, plow through. I had to do all that she mentioned in her post. It took me approx 5 years. But i did it. Jump in with both feet planted in your recovery and your higher power and go baby go!!! You got this!!! You can DO IT!!! I am now working as as LPN with full privileges to practice, going back to school for the LPN to RN bridge program. I wake up every morning and have to pinch myself - living the dream, got everything back that was promised to me according to God's grace!

Yes indeed. there is quite a plethora of recovery type scholarships; Hazeldon - Betty Ford, Hope for addiction - The welcome back scholarship, and many more. I'm thinking about taking a class regarding how to write scholarship letters. I dont want to come across as desperate and needy but more like this is what I can bring to the table type of letter. There is a $250,000 Tylenol scholarship out there to be had. That would be a dream come true. I have had many dreams come true thus far in my recovery so I believe anything is possible!!!

Thankyou all very much! Off I go...research time! Will let you all know what I find!

Now that Ive made it through my addiction, made it through my consent agreement with the state board, earned my LPN license back and started working again...whew! now I'm ready to do the LPN to RN bridge program. Does anybody know of links or sites I can go to for nurses who are returning to school who are in recovery? Or should I not even mention my recovery when applying for scholarships? I think its a huge accomplishment that us nurses go through to get back what we lost and I think there may be communities out there that support us academically...but who are they and where?

I know, it bites...but what i did is got real humble and started thinking out of the box. I needed an RN to supervise me as well. I started looking at places where I wanted to end up working in Long term care, but nothing was coming available. Then I started getting real creative and looking at places where there was an RN but not really what i wanted in my career path...What i ended up with was working at a ADHD Boarding school for teens! Working under the direct supervision of the school nurse RN. I got through my narcotic restriction there, my direct supervision, indirect supervision and eventually started working there as the school nurse on weekends! I am now off my contract with the state board and now work in Long Term care, which i wanted in the first place. So sometimes you have to hit that wall to figure out the way around the wall. Dont give up, there are "second chance givers" out there, you just have to find them. I looked for a year and half to find the Rn I needed, so dont give up. it took me 5 years to get through my contract with the state board. Been in recovery for 7 years. Keep trudging that road....YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Thankyou fender and thankyou wyosam! I knew you all would set me straight! I researched with my BON in Az. and I DO have to take an LPN IV and medication skills course prior to doing any type of IV therapy. I did get this information in my core curriculum in school but never have used this skills in the workplace. Now i am working in LTC on medicare unit where everyone has a flippen PICC line! Since my first post and today I have talked to my supervisor and explained my situation and they will re-imburse for the course, so back to school I go. yippee.

I am an LPN who is working on a medicare unit in LTC. Resident on the unit is having Ancef administered via PICC line, using the SASH protocal (saline, antibiotic, saline, heparin). My question is do I check for blood return prior to the first saline flush, or after, or at all? Some nurses are saying I dont have check for blood return, some are saying that I do. input?

oh no no no, dont give up! i just my license off probation. It took me four years to do it. but I made it. Every state BON is different with what your work limitations will be but i found a job. it took me a while but I got hired at a school, at a place where there was no narcotics. I had a 6 month narcotic restriction. read my latest post. Now i work in a LTC facility and am going back to school to get my RN. Dont give up. I didnt.

had the most awesome experience at work. I work in LTC, had a patient that does not have the ability to put a sentence together. he stopped me and an aide in the hallway and announced he would like to pray. and he did. he prayed clear as a bell for over 5 minutes straight. praying for the holy spirit to come, praying for our safety as nurses, praying for the love and comfort of Jesus, the precious blood of Jesus, on and on he went. Then after that he went back to shuffling along not saying anything but a random word or two. His health declined over the last few weeks and he had his celestial departure couple days ago. I will never forget that patient. Its amazing what God reveals to us.

$22.50 /hr. Northern Az. LTC.

I signed a consent agreement in June of 2008 and got off probation last week, Jan of 2012. I did a vountary surrender in 2003 because I could not stop using meth. The Bon gave me 2 options; They were going to take my license from me and never get it back or I could do a voluntary surrender for 5 years, go get treatment then try for reinstatement. So thats what i did, jumped in head first to treatment, meetings, sponsorship. I applied for reinstatement after 5 years and they gave it to me but with hefty restrictions. The 6 month narcotic restriction was the worse because of employment limitations. The direct supervision from an RN was also a tough one too for employment. I ended up working at a school in the nurses office for minimum wage. Having to pay for the u/a's month after month was costly, not to mention the cost of the evaluation from an Addictionologist and a relapse-prevention specialist. I ***** and moan about all this but the truth of it all is you cannot put a price on freedom from active addiction. and thats what I got! not to mention all the wonderful people who have helped me along the way and the "second-chance givers" - nursing supervisors who had a little faith in me and hired me! So today when I checked my mail at the post office, Ii pulled out the letter that said from the State Board of Nursing, with my hands shaking I ripped it open...the first word i saw was CONGRATULATIONS...the breath left my lungs, my knees buckled and tears of joy poured down my face! Once again, another victory for an addict who had no hope and would have never dreamed this day come true. If you are out there and have just signed a consent agreement, dont give up! become humble, get into acceptance and get with you HP! doors WILL open for you

wow. first of all, let me give you a great big hug! I can relate to what your are saying in a lot of ways. the 6 month narc restriction is a doozey, i went through that too. and i get that this basically means is you have no more livelyhood to support yourself, because who wants to hire a nurse that cant pass meds. I ended up taking a job that didnt have controlled substances (school nurse) and took a huge cut in pay. I never had considered not being honest about my nursing license probation to many prospective employers, because by the time I started looking for work I had enough 12 step work in me to become entirley honest and just try to do the next right thing. I also know that Boards of Nursing are tough, i'm not sure if one is tougher that any other. I have Az. and I think they are tough! Just keep in mind they are there to protect the public, thats what helped me! I had huge resentment towards my Board of Nursing and actually did some step work around it, now I'm alot more clear and humble in this process. I'm getting ready to step down to "on-site" supervison from an RN, and I do have my key privilages back, so there is hope for you too. I've been on probation for 5 years now, and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep going to meetings, turn stuff over to your HP and try to do the next right thing-you will know! God Bless.

From my experience, the application packet that I recieved from them (OIG) was self-explanitory. It was relatively simple. None of my previous employers were contacted and as far as a "clean" license...my license was in probationary status when I applied to be removed from the list. Only send in infomation that is requested of you. When I contacted the person who I was in correspondance with at the OIG,on the telephone, she was very helpful and the process of being removed from this exclusion list was alot easier than I thought. I hope this helps.

You bet, it is a long tough road but well worth it if you do have that burning desire like I did to not give up. Sure, there will be plenty of hoops to jump through and your patience will be tested. I hit my bottom in 2003, did a voluntary surrender and did exactly what my BON told me to do...get recovery, treatment, ect... and re-apply in 5 years. I did exactly that. 28 day treatment, 12 step meetings, sponsorship, service work. changed my playmates and playgrounds. Started a little landscaping business (which grew immensely and became very profitable) - but i never lost sight of my desire to be a nurse. 5 years later, the day came to request reinstatement, 2008 - UG..talk about hoops..U/A's twice a month for two years, relapse prevention classes, addictionologist reviews, LPN refresher class and practicum, 6 month narcotics restriction, On-site RN supervision...I do have my LPN license back now, 2011, It still is on probation and I am in my last year of meeting all the requirments that my consent agreement requires. I am employed now as an LPN, not my dream job, but thats okay for now. I go to work everyday with a good attitude and do the best I can. I hope my scenario does not keep you from moving foward with your situation. It is a struggle at best! But I am proof that a nurse in the throes of addiction who had crashed and burned can rise up and get that hopeful second chance. Its there for you too! My best advice for you now is to focus on your recovery and consider the next 5 years an investment in becoming the best person that you are, and everything else that you truly desire in life will follow.

"You will never be bored. you will always be frustrated. You will be surrounded by challenges. so much to do in so little time.You will carry immense responsibility and very little authority. you will step into peoples lives and you will make a difference. Some will bless you, some will curse you. You will see people at their worst and at thier best. You will never cease to be amazed at people's capacity for love, courage, and endurance. You will see life begin and end. You will experience resoundeing triumphs and devastating failures. You will cry alot. You will laugh alot. You will know what it means to be human and to be humane." - melody chenevert. Does that help?