ahcolwell

I appreciate the response, but I ended up having to just get a word of mouth lawyer to help me. I'm hoping to be able to retain her.

So I believe I have a case of which could be discrimination with the board. I have never done anything ever, including being impaired. I do have a mental illness, but it does not impair me in a way of which I would be "unfit" to practice. I have spoken with an attorney who believes I have a case, but he wants $2,500 as a retainer. I am trying to speak with multiple people to try and get this taken care of, but ACLU will take 4-8 weeks to respond. I do have an ATP (Alternative Program) contract of which I was sort of 'scammed' into with a deadline of a few hours after getting it changed from an official stipulation. Thing is they literally have no reason to have me on this ATP. None. I don't do substances, or abused them. I don't divert medications. I don't even work in an environment that would allow that. Nothing. What else can I do?

So I am deciding to change my career. I want to know what I could do with my BSN or if I should just go back to school for a new bachelors while I work as a RN until I can start the new career or just start at the bottom. The problem with a BSN is there isn't much I see I can do without a license (I have one), but my other problem is that I'm on the Peer Assistance Services contract because I have a mental illness (not because I diverted any medications or anything). I want to end this contract like now because it's eating away at my sanity just being on it and constantly having to send in reports or take a drug test almost twice a month (at 40$ a pop) or constantly having to go to my therapist and psychiatrist and then do reports for every time I see a doctor, etc. I just want to be normal. So I want to change my career for that reason and also the reasons regarding how I feel about nursing as a whole. I just want to find something that I could use my BSN for and just get out of the contract and maybe have a 9-5 job instead of long hours. I had worked a telephone triage job, but it didn't pay what I need since I'm in a lot of debt.

I made an error in judgment as a triage phone nurse and it made a child's blood sugar drop and he had to go to the ER. I just found out and it happened a week ago. My gut said to send him in, but I got scared and backtracked after looking at some resources. I know virtually knowing about pediatrics and I'm trying to learn... but I feel so stupid for it happening. It's not even for me feeling bad, it feels like I've done something so incompetent that I just don't deserve to work anymore. I held it in all shift and then I got home... I could not stop and cannot stop thinking about the child and how clear it was to send him in after looking at it. I'm scared for myself yes, but I told the baby is doing okay. I just hope I don't make another call like that... and hope I can continue working. My manager said to get malpractice insurance, I assume in case and because I need it for work anyways. I just feel stupid stupid stupid...

So to give my experience.... I never once revealed I had a mood disorder and/or panic disorder to any one. I tried to keep certain people aware, but so far, only a group of people (the people I work with now) have shown any respect for my illness. I don't intend to try and abuse any system, but when I'm in a full panic mode, I can't think of work or even doing real life stuff. Some people need mental days. Sure, I need monitoring, but now I'm stuck with the fact I admitted to my BON in this state. Since then, I feel like I've been discriminated against and treated like a criminal. I am treated just like a drug addict or an alcoholic nurse who need recovery through this program. The same structure and everything. Daily drug screen calls, monthly reports by everything and their grandmother about my health or my performance, I have to do these visits and stuff that aren't going to do anything but waste time. I just want to be on my merry way, going to my therapist and psychiatrist, without anybody sticking their nose in my business. It's my private life. What if I discuss being a transgender person to my therapist and that gets put into the report and then I have the board looking down at me. What if I refuse medications because they don't work. What if I don't want to do this ridiculous crap to keep my license because anything I do, no matter how small, may or may not get reported and I lose my license. I feel like I am treated like I did something wrong. Like I am wrong for having a mental illness.

It may not be good for me to post it here, but how did you deal with being new to pediatrics or having no pediatrics nursing experience? I have recently accepted a position for school nurse and I have no experience in pediatrics. I have only 2 years of experience under my belt.

Oh thank you ^_^ I'll read that section then.

So I applied for and got hired for a school nurse job. I have never worked with pediatrics and I'm increasingly nervous about starting to work for a school system or even pick up shifts here and there since I'm hired through a staffing agency. What kind of advice might help prepare me for this job? I've worked with adults, with one or two exceptions of an 18-19 year old who was considered an adult, for about almost 3 years in the local hospital. I've worked in Med/Surg for most of the time and switched to psych for a little while.