Raidernurse

Well I don't "no" what the F this has to "dew" with nursing "butt:" Hear, here!

Just a quick add on to this discussion. Six years ago I was spanked (and rightly so) for showing up to work "impaired." I never diverted or stole medications from my employer. However, I spent three years in a Board operated program unaptly named the "Diversion program for impaired nurses" Go figure.

There are a few ways. Sometimes if work in a community clinic and work a lot with substance abusers, your supervisor can write a letter summarizing how many hours of your time you have spent treating that population. I am in recovery, and believe that a lot of nurses who have gone through programs for being impaired could do well to seek Addictions nursing as an alternative. Sometimes it helps to be "one of them." And as we have all heard it said, "It takes one to know one." Which isn't necessarily true mind you. I have met plenty of gread D&A counselors who were not addicts.

I have to admit it. I am a sucker for a drug seeking patient. It's not that I actually feel sorry for them, or that I am too stupid to see right through their ploys. It's just that I don't feel like it's my place to judge them. I also don't think that I am willing to take the risk that they may NOT merely be drug seeking, that maybe they are really having actual pain. Drug seekers often DO have pain. And just because they are annoying does not give me the right to deny them the medication their pain warrents. Any other thoughts?

One time I was working as a house supervisor, and there was a patient in the ED who needed to be admitted. Shift change had occurred between the ED docs, and the outgoing doc had dc'd her without really working her up. I insisted that the reluctant oncoming ED doc take a good look cause I could see that she was not a candidate for discharge. He actually went to a higher authority and complained about my impertinence, and when said higher-up doc took a good look, he came back and apologized to me. The lady almost died in CT that very night. I took a big risk challenging a doctor's authority on behalf of a patient who could not speak for herself. To me, this is an example of integrity.

Nursing documentation specialists can work from home and make money on a chart per chart basis. Maybe you could look into that. I am sorry for your troubles.

It seems that a lot of the posters are ignoring the heading of the OP's post: Bi-polar is the operative word. Have you been diagnosed by a psychiatrist? If so, are you Type I or II and are you taking medications. What you are describing is commonly known as a "mixed state." Neither too manic or extremely depressed...but in a state of extreme irritability. Don't blame your disease per se...blame the fact that it is not under control. It is up to you to advocate for yourself and get on the right meds. Bipolar disorder does not respond well to therapy. If you don't have a psychiatrist, get one. Otherwise you can expect the same treatment again and again.

Good luck to all of you. I went to SM for my BSN and loved it. It's a great school and very supportive of its students...once they get in that is.

I agree. And, having worked in an ED for 15 years, I will say that I would not want to work anywhere else. As much chaos and stress as there is, there is also the lower acuity populations...sutures, headaches, etc that are a nice break from the codes and MIs. I think that you would be a great asset as a SANE certified ED nurse. As they say on the cerial commercial: Try it, you might like it!

Here's my two cents for what they are worth. The BSN will not give you any role flexibility. It's just a nice thing to have on your resume. However, a Masters opens up a lot of doors. I had a BSN...no big deal, no difference in pay where I worked. Now that I have the MSN, I can teach, do more supervisory things, and even get into admin if I want. I chose not to become an NP, because I wasn't attracted to that role...but that is yet another thing that you could consider with an MS than is not available to a BSN... Good luck with your final decision.

Poor decisions in addiction is the RESULT of having a genetic and environmental illness. As the result of BEING one of these "heinous" members of society, I have actually become a researcher (PhD candidate) on the issue of addiction. There is nothing in your post that indicates a scholarly knowledge of exactly what addiction is, how it starts, or what defines it.

I happen to know a few people who have been penalized and even banned for voicing "strong opinions." I am new to posting here, but have observed from a distance for some time and I have seen many a post disappear due to "strong opinions." Three days ago someone did personally attack me on another issue and I attacked him right back. Both posts were removed. If you were blind and somebody said blind people **** them off...would that be a personal attack? What about if you were Mexican and someone said that Mexican's **** them off. Not personal? Think again. Addiction, active or not, is an illness...as much harm as the addict does to those around him or her, that person is also suffering. No one is asking for your pity...just some professional distance.

I was an impaired nurse 6 years ago. I never stole narcotics from my place of employment, however, had I not had the money and wherewithal to get narcs on my own, I can't honestly say that I wouldn't have done so. I am contributing to this thread to give everyone a REAL LIFE perspective of "being impaired." Once you are hooked on an opiate or benzo, you get very very sick when you do without. Once you have been hooked for a while, you take these drugs just to prevent getting ill, and not because they make you high anymore. I was detected to be impaired at work when I showed up acting strange and disoriented at work one day. I subsequently went through rehab and a three year board operated horrible nightmare. Recently, a person who is angry with me called the board and said that I relapsed. And even though I haven't worked in over a year, or when this supposed relapse is alleged to have occurred, there is a big possibility that I will have to repeat this program... even though the allegation is untrue. Just because of my history. It is stigmatizing, expensive, and a repeated blow to one's self esteem. I am a member of several forums for nurses all over the country who experience similar programs...and the discrimination and blame is the same everywhere. Addiction is a disease, it makes a person insane. In 12-Step speak, Insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. When someone says that this behavior ****** them off, it is telling me that they haven't been paying attention to basic medical science. And that ****** ME off. I thought that Allnurses does not permit personal attacks...yet what the OP (and a few others who responded) said, from my perspective, is virtually the same thing as saying that I am scum. I see that as a personal attack on all nurses who suffer from this illness and get to a bottom that may seem unfathomable to you, but nevertheless occurs with alarming frequency.