mona1023

Congratulations to you for all your success! Thank you for posting such an inspiring story. I, too, have completed my contract and have over 3 1/2 years of sobriety. I am so thankful for the many blessings I have and pray for people still suffering in active addiction. Good luck with your new job.

What about in some type of Pharmaceutical company in research or sales?

Thank you for sharing your story. It gives everyone on this forum hope and encouragement. Congratulations!

Maybe what happened was that the prospective employer asked about that directly when the caseworker spoke with him/her. You certainly can't expect the caseworker to lie about it. I know it is very, very difficult to disclose that. I diverted also, and that was the FIRST question I was asked at one of my interviews. But, we really can't blame any employer from wanting to know can we? The purpose of disclosure and monitoring is to protect the patients from unsafe nursing practice. Whether we, as addicts, ever get to work again is irrelevant to Boards of Nursing, Monitoring Programs and the Attorney General. I do wish you the best of luck with your job search. I am not trying to sound harsh, but you will not achieve any serenity unless you accept the reality of what it really means to be a recovering addict and nurse.

I would think that surrenduring your licenses looks like you are not willing to be compliant with monitoring in those states. Can you just not renew those licenses when they are up for renewal? I don't have personal experience with this, but these are just my thoughts. Best of luck to you.

Beware that your BON may be reluctant to let you end the consent agreement early since you are an advanced practice nurse, presumably with prescriptive authority. Best of luck to you.

I agree with CatMom. Please think carefully before giving up a professional license. It may be very, very difficult to ever work in a professional capacity again or in any helping field if you have surrendered a license. I am not trying to discourage you, but it may create more barriers for you in the long run. Best of luck whatever you decide.

Only an attorney experienced with dealing with the BON in your state would be able to answer your questions regarding license reinstatement. Are you in a monitoring program? If so, the staff there should be able to provide some guidance. If not, I would suggest documenting your efforts in recovery like meeting attendance, etc. I hope your ex will honor his financial obligations with your children because it will undoubtedly be a long road ahead. Congratulations on your sobriety and take it one day at a time.

In my state, the Board Orders are very detailed, including all psychiatric diagnoses (all substance abuse/dependence diagnoses are psychiatric disorders) and a thorough listing of any problems that nurse has ever had while employed in nursing.I have seen things listed that are 15years old. There is no statue of limitations. So everything about a person's life, with name and full address is available for anyone to view forevor. To the OP, no one can truly understand how traumatic that is unless it is their life exposed on the internet. The good news is this experience can help you get stronger. My feelings of powerlessness were overwhelming when my Board order came out, but this greatly improved my relationship with God, as I looked to him to help me through my feelings. That pain has also reminded me why I never want to return to active addiction again. Best wishes to you.

I must admit I never understand why people post on here about our "protection" under the American Disabilities Act. This forum alone is FULL of posts from recovering nurses who are denied employment all the time or are terminated from their jobs because of active addiction/alcoholism. Legistlation and policy is only effective if it can be enforced and I have never heard of a case where someone sucessfully challenged a potential employer and "won".

Hire an attorney experienced in dealing with Boards of Nursing if you can. An attorney will work to see your rights are protected. Remember, the BON does not care about your disease, depression or your social situation. Their purpose is to protect the public and discipline nurses who violate the Nurse Practice Act. I hope you feel better soon. Keep us posted.

Does The Florida BON run background checks for license renewals? In my state they do, so anyone who hasn't reported a DUI or any other criminal charge gets found out anyway. I hope Southernpoint is correct about IPN involvement and compliance with monitoring not impacting your license. In my state, the BON puts anyone who is on criminal probation-like for a DUI on licensure probation as well. Many, many more nurses are being placed on probation in my state regardless of compliance with monitoring. Best Wishes to you.

Congratulations on your recovery! I admire your courage, persistence and willingness to share your story. You shared that you are working 2 jobs, have children at home and are actively working a recovery program. Not to mention trying to get your license back. It is no wonder you are feeling overwhelmed. My advice is to cultivate a strong support system and a relationship with a Higher Power on a daily basis. Try to take pride in knowing you are clean and sober, working to care for your family and meet your financial obligations. Your self worth is NOT based on holding a nursing license or making payments on time. You are doing the best you can. I wish you the best.

I know in Indiana nurses are asked very specific questions regarding criminal activity on license renewal applications. One of the questions is worded in such a way that it asks about whether you have been charged with any crime (not just convicted-even if the charges are dropped you have to report it). Dropping out of the Monitoring Program is labeled noncompliance-no matter what the reason unfortunately. If your license is supended, my suggestion is follow your Board agreement to the letter that will outline how long you will be suspended for and how long you will have to maintain full, complete compliance with monitoring before you can petition for reinstatement. Yes, that will mean re-enrolling in the monitoring program and your monitoring agreement may be longer this time. If you have a license on probation, same thing-follow the Board Orders and your RMA to the letter. Hopefully, as everyone has suggested, you could also retain an attorney to assist you with this. I am sorry you are going through this and I wish you the best.

I would follow your attorney's directions exactly if he/she has experience with administrative law and Nursing Boards. Begin gathering documentation to prove your efforts at recovery. If your license is reinstated, you will most likely have to participate in your state's monitoring program which can be costly with the expense of random drug testing, assessments, etc. Just something to consider. Congratulations on your recovery and best of luck to you!

Thanks everyone for your comments. I just don't understand the rationale for not requring alcoholics to see an addictionist if the pathophysiology for the disease is the same.

The monitoring program in my state has decided that alcoholics do not need to see an addictionist anymore. The program used to be that anyone who had a dependence diagnoses was required to see an addictionist. I am interested to hear what everyone thinks about this since. Both AA and NA have the same 12 steps, so I am unsure what their rationale is. Jack, if you read this, does the evidence indicate that the physiological changes in the brain are markedly different in an addict? If possible, please direct me research I can look at. In my recovery I attend much more AA than NA even though I am an addict.

I would suggest contacting an attorney who has experience with Nursing Boards who can advise you on the best course of action. Good Luck.

IPN is very similiar to all the other monitoring programs out there. I am not from Florida, but in my state there are nurses who are in our program who are not addicts or alcoholics, but find themselves in monitoring due to "lesser" offenses. One of the nurse's in my support group was set up by a co-worker. To the previous poster, I say that it is unfortunate that you have felt judged by other people and overwhelmed with the unfairness of the "one size fits all" approach to monitoring. It is definitely not fair. Being a second strike screw up myself, I am very grateful to be reading your post. It reminds me to be mindful of my speech when I communicate what I have learned because I certainly would never want anyone to feel judged or demoralized by anything I said or did. I am an addict so I certainly earned my place in monitoring and at my nurse's support group and am fortunate to learn from the addicts and non-addicts alike. I really hope your time passes quickly in IPN. To the original poster, I hope the same for you. And best of luck in your job search.

You must deal with the shame and guilt before you will be happy and successful no matter what path you choose. I hope you are working with a sponsor who can guide you through the steps, and have a solid support system. I don't say this lightly; I too diverted from my employer and know the overwhelming feelings of shame, guilt and hopelessness. I have been very fortunate that I still have my license, although it is on probation. Working with my sponsor and being part of a wonderful church has brought me a degree of happiness I never thought possible. Work through your feelings and forgive yourself, because you are worth it no matter what mistakes you have made. I wish you all the best. Please keep us posted!

Congratulations on your recovery and thank you for sharing your experience with us. It is wonderful that you acknowledge that you are a success-no matter if you are a nurse or not. So many times we nurses have all of our self worth and self respect wrapped up in our profession. I admire your perseverance and wonderful attitude. Best Wishes to you!

Chaddy12, you haven't worked in nursing in over 2years? You may want to consider doing some CUE's before you go before the BON in your state to have your probation lifted. The reason I say this is that some Boards might require in anyway if you haven't practiced in a while. Secondly, my suggestion is just try different fields-not necessarily hospital nursing. Ambulatory Clinics,Dialysis, LTC, etc. Congratulations on your recovery. No matter what happens, you have something to be proud of every day you are clean and sober.

Jackstem, do you think that someone should retain an attorney if asking to have probation lifted? Is it worth the expense of an attorney even if the licensee was completely compliant during the monitoring period?

What a wonderful story of courage, hope and perseverance.

I am sorry you are having a difficult time, but I do have some comments you may want to think about. First, you are absolutely correct that after reinstatement of your license (which isn't automatic by the way), you would have a long, difficult road. You would most definitely have to re-enroll in the KARE program, maintain compliance and still have have trouble securing employment. These are things you already know. But it is not impossible. What you may not know or haven't thought about is that NOT attempting to have your license reinstated can impact your future also. You may get put on the OIG list (Office of the Attorney General Exclsuion List), which means you would not be able to work IN ANY CAPACITY for any hospital/MD Office etc that received Medicaid/Medicare Funding. Example: You could not work as a unit secretary if your name is still on the list. (I have also heard that you can get put on the list for defaulting on Federal Student Loans, but you may want to research that). Secondly, having a suspended nursing license (and leaving it that way) would most likely impact your ability to obtain other professional licenses in the future, like teaching, Social Work, etc, if this is what you decide to do. Just something to think about. Please think of your future and all your options before deciding, and most of all maintain your sobriety no whatter what path you choose. Best of Luck to you and keep us posted!