ToriNico

In Maryland, they like to see nurses take accountability and self report immediately. Then the nurse will have to go before the board and explain their situation and answer all their questions. I've heard that it's always better if you've already started some kind of recovery program. in Maryland, the program is for five years and they monitor closely with drug tests and talk to your counselor at rehab. Slowly they allow the nurse to request their privileges getting their privileges back. Within a few months, my friend was back to work and allowed to return to nights. Then, by one year, she was able to access the PYXIS and give narcs again. She even went back to work at the same facility where she was caught diverting. Every so often she has to make her way out to Baltimore and sit down with the committee at the BON that monitors the recovery program. She said that she was told that unless there was extenuating circumstances, they rarely take a license away, especially with the first offense. In fact, she had two relapses during the five years they monitored her, and neither resulted in removal of her license, or even her medication privileges to dispense narcotics. Once the five years was over, she was discharged from the program with the BON and doesn't have to disclose anything about the incident or her addiction anymore. She had to tell potential employers during the interview that she was being monitored in the program during the 5 years. Her license is now clean and unencumbered since the five years had ended. She was never contacted by the DEA and she said they didn't even mention law enforcement. She reached out to the Board of Nursing to self-report pretty quickly and will talk openly about that time in a positive way but wish you were scared shitless when it first happened, as you are. Good luck and I hope that everything works out for you. Sometimes people forget that nurses are human, too. It's a shame, because addiction is disease and with any other disease, the patient's privacy is protected. However, with addiction, they are allowed to violate your HIPAA rights and expose your disease...not only within the facility, but to the BON, and the DEA. One day at a time and remember that the program was created to rehab you, not to punish you:)❤️

Read the nursing board's COMAR chapters for RNs in MD. You can find an online copy by going to Maryland.gov, or copy & paste this in your browser: Division of State Documents They very specifically list everything we (RNs) are allowed and not allowed to do. Additionally, you could read through the COMAR section for the MD board of Physcians. Both have separate chapters and sections on cosmetic procedures. Everything you want/need to know is there. It will take some time to figure out the COMAR. It's difficult to navigate but it's all there and it's quite enlightening. We can do almost everything, including injections and laser use. You just need to make sure you have pt specific orders (not standing or protocol) that are written after the MD sees the pt, and the MD must be on-site during your treatment of the pt. There is plenty more... too much to type but I spent hours pouring over this when I switched from L & D to aesthetics. Best advice... get malpractice insurance before you ever touch a pt and know your COMAR inside & out. Last thing you want is to sit in front of the MBON explaining why you were practicing outside your RN scope of practice.