veggieeater

Hi I was thinking those same thoughts almost a month ago. It gets better. I've been clean for a month My life has greatly improved. I got caught diverting . I'm in counseling and going to meetings. Reading lots of self improvement books and reading lots of info on addictions. Keepin myself busy! These sites are great sites they helped me TONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Especially peer advocacy for impaired nurses. I will be involved in my states peer assistance chemical dependency program. You should check to see what they offer in your state. Hoping things start looking better for you:nurse: http://www.AddictionsAndRecovery.org http://drugabuse.gov/PODAT/podatindex.html http://peeradvocacyforimpairednurses.com/articles.html http://www.i360life.com/science-of-addiction/

Thanks for the helpful comments. I expected a lot of bashing but I guess the internet isn't completely full of idiots! :) I will pass this information along to my son, he could really use any hope of continuing his career. Thanks again!

First time poster... wish it were for a different reason.. My son has just been caught taking a sedative from the med cabinet at a hospital in illinois. He was suspected of it by his peers, was investigated, found out, and was drug tested and fired on the spot for having it in his system. No patients were impacted by this directly...well, they were not deprived of medication that they were taking according to him... unfortunately he most likely was impaired while on the job. I think he has an addiction to prescription medications... there have been signs for awhile, and I truely do believe he wants help and feels hopeless at this point because his entire 12+ year career has been in nursing. He didn't show signs of having problems until around December of last year, so I suspect he has been involved in this kind of thing for awhile... Basically what I wanted to know is if anyone knows the laws on this in Illinois? Is he at risk of going to jail (he had nothing in his possession, no law enforcement was involved at the time of the firing)? Are there any options for him to go through a drug rehab program and keep his license even if it is on probationary terms? I know his passion is nursing, or at least it was before he became caught up in this mess... and I also know that a lot of people out there will immediately condemn him (rightfully so)... but I'm really just looking for any kind of answers that can give him some hope of being able to get back in the profession (If he is clean and stays clean that is....) or if there is no option in Illinois to go through rehab, that information would help him to start looking into other careers (he has a BSN). Any suggestions/comments are appreciated. Thanks