backtowork

OH Dang..I am sorry wish me luck..it was learning lessons that posted he/she was done. I apologize and hope I did not hurt your feelings with that faux paw. I am always hesitant to call the board..I have just been compliant and silent to try not to anger the BEAST!!! I will sure post when I am done and how I was notified. I have read all your posts and you are a great inspiration for me and others. Keep up the good work and your day will be here soon.

Thanks for the info..though I do not have a case manager since I was never in TPAPN..Just dealt with the board. Wish me luck...you said when you tried to log in it would not let you. Was that with First Lab? TXRN2..thanks for the congrats friend..you helped me more than you will ever know to get though this.

Hello awesome recovery nurses!! Question..I have completed my one year of stips under my Board order in Texas..Handed in all the quarterly reports, all the certificates for mandatory classes, held a nursing job with the same company for a year..have had 12 negative drug screens through first lab..and now I am over a year with all the board's requests filled on time in place. So, how do I know when to stop calling in daily to First Lab..do they send a letter, an e mail, or does your account just stop working or what happens to let you know you are done?

I lost my Mom during the time I was being served with a Board order. I was very angry at life in general and questioned many things about my recovery and my profession. Staying sober was the only sane thing I could think of doing and it worked. Just don't use..just today. It really is the only way to get through a huge loss like yours. Prayers for peace for you and yours.

Thank JMO..So good to hear from you!!! We will keep the lanterns burning for those who are in that dark place. Hope things are going well for you. Would love to hear from you in a PM in you get a chance.

Hello Hope1967. I feel your pain and I know you are in the dark place of despair and shame. I know that place well. I also know there are better days to come. This journey is a rough one, but there is a reward in weathering this storm. The people who did not hire you did you a huge favor. They are not worthy of your gifts as a nurse. Keep thinking about finding those who are. They are out there..I promise. Do not be afraid to look more than 50 miles out. I know it is a crazy long way to drive with gas prices and all, but it expands your searching territory. Do a map search from your home in 10 mile increments out and apply for EVERYTHING as you expand..even jobs you know wont hire you. Remember, our diseased brains play tricks on us with our shame and embarrassment to keep us from finding opportunities. Keep searching and applying as you move through 10-20-30 etc mile radiuses and don't stop. We fear rejection, it is part of our illness. Embrace rejection as a learning opportunity, practice sessions, and character building. The more you get turned down, the better you become at knowing what not to say or what not to do the next time. Make finding a job your full time job for now and become an expert at it. At the end of the day, stop and breath..and realize it is not a job, or being a nurse that defines us. It is just part of what we do and who we are. Hug yourself often and remember to laugh every chance you get. TXRN and JMO above have been there too and lots of others who are here to support you.

I started this thread as a very frightened, very hopeless, and very angry nurse of 34 years tenure and many years of addiction. Thanks to a program, a higher power, and a lot of support from friends, family, and the fine people here, I am able to post this today. Good things happen when recovery is maintained. I am living proof of that today. Today, I begin my new job with the same company that hired me, 9 months ago, under my stipulations. I have been promoted to Patient Care Liaison for the marketing department. Yes, I am still under stipulations from the BON until January 2013 (with the continued grace of God, I will be done then.) I was originally hired to work the night shift with supervision and only PRN with no benefits, no guarantee of hours, and no confidence that they would want to deal with my restrictions for very long. After nine months, I have been promoted to work 9-5, no weekends, and no holidays, at a good salary. I do not post this to boast or brag. I post this to be a beacon to those who are beginning the process, or feel beat down by the process and have no idea who, if anyone, will ever hire them with a permanent BON public disclosure and practice restrictions. I read in this forum, over and over, the same struggle that I had finding work and being accepted back into the nursing field. I can hear the desperation in their hearts written between the lines. I am here to say it can be done..it will be done..but not in our time frame and certainly not how we think it should happen. So, Please! Stay strong, stay clean, and stay focused. I am nothing special..I am not a super nurse, I am a garden variety recovering nurse addict. If it can happen for me, it can happen for you..both in the dark terrifying past of full addiction..to the bright sunny future of continued recovery.

I say you use the "I don't like what I see" line next time he leaves the toilet seat up..LOL..Glad to see you post again TXRN2..you have been a great inspiration to me in my journey.

Sure,,I will be happy to e mail you.

JZ RN..I felt very much like you a many moons ago..Please remember.."there but for the Grace of God go I." I had to remember this the hard way.

The reason they test for creatinine, and a myriad of other things, is that folks who have not found the path to recovery have been known to catheterize themselves and irrigate their own bladders with everything from other's urine, to animal urine, to fake urine. Desperate times make for desperate people. The thing that I find ironic is that the nursing board will slap you down for practicing medicine as an RN, but they feel more than justified to practice medicine themselves by ordering us to various specialists for a ton of renal studies and such at our own expense. It is not like we have formed a physician-patient relationship with the board ...now is it.

I will PM you the name of the place in Tyler I went. You will really like the instuctor. I took the med admin class, the documentation class and the juris prudence class. The lady who teaches this is a nurse and a lawyer. She is very thorough with her paperwork to the BON and will put you at ease immediatlely. She is very non judgmental about our situations and really wants to help. Look for a PM from me soon with details. It is worth the drive..I live only about 60 miles south of you and I would make the drive again in a heart beat. I was able to get a hotel room near by for $50 a night. The med admin class is one day of theory and 3 days passing meds in a LTC near by. Very laid back, very non threatening. You do not need to brush up on anything..this stuff is really nursing 101..so no worries.

I took my classes in Tyler Texas. Are you a Texas nurse?

..and I totally agree with modgoth1..lots of nurses on this site who totally prefer wearing their negative knickers instead of their positive panties while they build their monuments of nothing for no one. Stay positive, stay strong, stay focused.

I say..go psych nurse go..too many good nurses have taken the "med surg first" advice only to burn right out and quit nursing. I love the NP idea. I have never worked in a setting yet where a psych nurses skills were not highly valued and sought after in 30 some odd years..this includes everything from corrections to managed care to hospice and ICU. Do what you love...you will always be a winner.

Very positive and uplifting story. Thank you for sharing "the good news" with us. One of the best things that came out of my recovery is my re realization of my love for nurturing and caring for people as a nurse. All the little mind games and power struggles at work are meaningless to me after almost losing my license. I am grateful for each and every day of my profession and job. Thank you for being a light at the end of a very dark tunnel for all those going through this process.

Can't really add anything to Jack's wisdom except dealing with board proceedings without a lawyer, for me, would be like rewiring my house while wearing wet socks. I would just be counting on the kindness and understanding of the electricity, which I totally do not understand, to not harm me. Follow all the advice that says to hire an electrician..er..I mean lawyer. :coollook:Wishing you smooth sailing ahead..better days are coming.

..another upbeat, supportive post from all_over_again. much like another of her many helpful posts... and i quote: "screw nursing. if the people and the boards want perfect nurses who will work under oppressive conditions, let them find some."

Thank you GitanoRN, 5 months of stips down, 7 to go. I always enjoy your positive upbeat posts. Thank you for your support on this forum.

No I never dealt with TPAPN. I was reported directly to the board. My situation is a little different in that I MUST give narcotics as part of my board order and also work under the supervision of another RN. I have to call in to First lab every day for drug testing and I had to take 4 classes as well. The true recovery part of program was not mandated by the state..it is something I did myself with the help of NA/AA and a private doctor, great friends, and family before I even met with the board. I work at an inpatient hospice that is fully aware of my board order and circumstances. They have been very supportive of this process for me.

Hi RenieRN and welcome to the fold. There are lots of posts on this forum regarding this subject and many of them specific to TPAPN. To summarize, these are the things I gleaned, when I was looking for work, that helped me be successful: 1. Avoid giving too much info to HR whenever possible..do not lie, but be vague with HR..if you have to answer a question that relates to TPAPN on the application, say you will discuss it with the nurse manager in person. Getting past HR is our biggest hurdle. 2. Big major hospitals are not TPAPN friendly in the DFW area, as I and others found out in this process. You may need to look at LTC or dialysis for employment. Call centers, insurance nurse..think outside the box. 3. If you land an interview, go with a statement, already typed up, that explains your circumstances to give to the nurse manager...Focus on the positive..how much you have learned and gained from your experience in recovery and all the safety nets that are in place. 4. Be prepared for a lot of "no,s" and stay positive and focused. You will find a job..maybe not a dream job..but a job that will get you through this and keep you in a paycheck. Hope this helps..feel free to PM me if I can help in anyway.

Being raised by depression era, rural farming, parents, I can also add that this is a cultural thing. For his entire life, my father associated taking a bath with only 2 things..he was visibly dirty from working the farm, or he was getting dressed up to go out. Since one or both of these things happened on a daily basis, no problems..until he became old..then, I would tell him it was time to bathe and he would answer.."but I have not worked today and I am not going out??" When I was growing up on the farm, my mother would have us bathe every night, but only washed our hair once a week. She would put Breck creme rinse in our wet hair, put it up in two pig tail wet braids and that is where it stayed all week. Being raised in the far north, the common thought was that if you washed your hair too often, you would take a cold. People who caught colds during the depression sometimes died of pneumonia. Also, a woman who had just given birth was not supposed to wash "down there" for a month. This all sounds crazy today in our super hygienic world, but in those days, in that culture, this was the norm. All these things come into play when dealing with our elderly patients. Culture may play as large of a role as dementia.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda...I am sure the monitoring body will take care of assigning the appropriate amount of blame and guilt for this nurse's actions without our help. Gee whiz!!! OP..please do not lose faith by listening to the naysayers. Many of us here, addicts and non addicts, have been through this, came out the other end, with good nursing jobs, and lived to tell about it. If you do not believe me, read my story..better yet..read TXRN's story. Keep the faith.

Hello..and welcome to our world. The state BONs do not distinguish between heroin and pot and alcohol..if you are caught with any of these substances in your system, you are an addict in their eyes..no ifs, ands, or butts..and trust me..they can be butts.. Fair?..nothing about this is fair..but true?..it most definitely is..the more you fight it, the more they see an addict's denial, the deeper they dig their heels in to punish you. I am sorry this happened to your girl friend. Her best and only avenue is a lawyer who specializes in defense dealing with the BON. Also, there are tons of threads in this forum that list where those on monitoring have been successful finding employment.

This is the same drug that killed Michael Jackson.