Whats next

Btw, just to update everyone... I received a letter from the department of state saying that they have decided to close my file. It was only one sheet of paper which also described that they could reopen it at any time should further evidence come up. They essentially kindly said if I ever **** up again I'm toast... Beyond ecstatic, I had totally accepted the punishment that was going to be laid upon me and was already studying to learn computer programming to switch careers haha. Why did everyone have so little hope for me? I can't tell if I just got extremely lucky 🦄 or if people were assessing the situation incorrectly? Either way, it's hard to question something that's this amazing to hear, I just feel blessed or something.

Well, hppygr8ful, that's pretty much what i have been finding that i should expect as well... It just seems so ridiculous to me and I'm obviously quite upset by these options as (like you said) i think i have slim to no chance of getting out of this without some sort of extremely lengthy and expensive monitoring program... Right now I'm just waiting for the ax to drop, i know it's coming eventually but I'm glad to make the decent wage for a while and have some time to try to figure out which option i would be most interested in pursuing. I'm very stubbornly opposed to trying the monitoring program if you can't tell. But i also would love to continue my career as a nurse, especially after i worked so hard for it. Anyway, thank you for your opinions and recommendations. I will do whatever seems best when the time comes. Ill try to keep everyone updated, if for nothing else, then maybe to at least give others in my situation a clue as to what their options are and how it may pan out for them. I know i searched google countless times looking for answers such as these.

So to answer your questions... My attorney said that he delegates my hearing to one of his coworkers who then ended up not showing. When I called him after the hearing he was very apologetic and upset, he ended up refunding a quarter of his fee which wasn't inexpensive to begin with. He had already done all the leg work behind the scenes, I just needed him there to help make all the rules clear. It's a quick process where they usher about 150 first time DUI offenders through one judge, we all spent about 30 seconds in front of him before moving along. I have never made contact with my probation officer and I have no restrictions aside from drinking. No curfew or mandatory calls or drug tests. Idk, I guess I just thought the main issue with probation is that if you get in trouble during it you go to jail and forfeit your right to ARD through which you have a clean record after completion. After talking to my lawyer and reading many testimonies on this forum I think there is no chance that I will avoid 3+ years of PNAP. I am young, no kids, I have options... Seriously looking into other careers at this point. I know no one on this site will condone this decision but if anyone can recommend any other fields to look into it would be seriously appreciated. Thank you for all your input thus far

Allow me to try to clarify some things for you... They did send me a large packet about 8 weeks after the arrest saying that i am being referred to the PHMP, and within that packet they said i would be assessed for eligibility in the VRP. This packet gave no information on the length of the monitoring, nor did it restrict me from drinking. I have absolutely no sanctions against my license from the BON currently. At this point i am just still being investigated and I'm sure they are trying to determine what, if anything, they would like to do to me. However, i am under criminal probation from the state for my DUI as a condition of ARD. The 6 months of probation i have through the state is entirely unrelated to anything the BON... I had no diagnosis of impairment after the VRP with an addictionologist. A few months after this meeting with the addictionologist i received a letter from a prosecutor with the BON saying i am compelled to complete a psychiatric evaluation with a board designated MD because of the combination of the recent DUI and a history of the marijuana charge. Whether they found out about the marijuana charge through their own research or took that information from when i admitted it to the addictionologist I'm not certain, nor is it really very important. Point being, with the combination of those two instances they saw a pattern and figured i am worth investigating further than simply the assessment with the addictionologist. During said investigation with the psychiatrist i admitted to the small amount of drinking while i was still on a criminally related probation... I don't understand how this could be considered "relapse". I was never diagnosed as having an addiction. It is clearly a violation of the terms of my ARD which the psychiatrist made me aware of, which in it's own rite i can see as giving the BON a cause for concern. Though at this point it's only illegal for me to drink through the state of Pennsylvania as a condition of my ARD. I am in no program through the BON which would restrict me from drinking, though obviously it IS an entity of the state. Idk, this is all very confusing. I would refute my having had drinks while on probation a "relapse" though, as i have not been diagnosed, admitted to, nor do i believe that i have an addiction. Any other questions that can help you narrow in on some sort of accurate hypothesis about the end result of these infractions? I hope this helps

What contract??? I never signed any contract r/t this criminal violation or anything which it entailed. Contract of employment? All i have done is agreed to go to mandatory evaluations which have been designated by the BON. Please enlighten me though if you know of anything like that. From what i understand everything is totally individualized in everyone's case, which is why i tried to include as much pertinent information as possible.

Relatively new nurse here in PA. Please save me the rhetoric if your only response is going to be condescending, chastising, or otherwise abrasive. I simply want some understanding of exactly what to expect and i realize that i put myself into this position. I got a DUI of .12 very soon after getting my license. I have been employed at a hospital as an RN, as i was hired/background checks were all done right before this issue. After checking the policy manual i found there was no policy mandating me to report this to my employer, so they are still not aware, though i suspect the BON will change that soon enough... I hired a good attorney who has a lot of knowledge about protecting professional licenses and i got into the ARD program for the criminal side of things. I went for a board mandated alcohol/drug assessment for the "voluntary recovery program" after they found me through JNET and i was found to be ineligible for participation as no diagnosis of impairment could be made. As they looked deeper into my past, nearly 9 months after the DUI arrest, i had to complete an evaluation with a forensic psychiatrist for an arrest almost 6 years ago r/t possession of a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia. This arrest was long before i ever even considered being a nurse and it is a part of my past, not something that i have done since. This meeting with the psychiatrist was nearly 4 hours long including the drug test which I'm sure i passed for alcohol and all drugs. He asked me about everything from my childhood and the career choices of family members to my drinking habits. As i'm still on probation for the criminal aspect of my proceedings, i'm not supposed to be drinking whatsoever. However, my lawyer never showed up for my ARD hearing, so although i signed a document agreeing to these terms i was unaware of them at the time of this evaluation, and as such, i admitted to drinking very small amounts very few times during these past number of months of probation. Can anyone offer any insight on what to expect my punishment to be? Since the psychiatrist showed me the paper i signed saying i can't drink on probation i have been entirely sober and i just want to keep my license... Preferably without having to do 3+ aa's a week and a nurses support group and frequent/expensive random drug testing for years to come, etc, etc, yadda, yada...