random drug testing

backatit2 · Feb 20, 2011

you wouldn't be in a "world of trouble" if an accident happened and the drug screen came up positive for prescription medication if it's prescribed to you!

if that were the case, employees would be required to inform their manager every time they started taking a new medication.

and i'd love to see what would happen if an employer tried to fire an employee for being on a prescription medication that they started taking AFTER employment.

nightengalegoddess · Feb 20, 2011

Backatit!!! Yes. How about, "The work environment here was so hostile, my physician had to prescribe this or that just so I could tolerate managements' inhumane and incompetent behaviours!!!"...I am finally finding laughter within this thread. Thanks so much!!! : )

backatit2 · Feb 21, 2011

In regards to backatit2,
"the doctor came in and said it "wasn't safe to work with children while on that medication" at which point i started crying" Does this tell you nothing...
"i stopped taking it for about 5 days before my appointment - wrote down that i wasn't taking any medications on my paperwork - and passed my drug screen". What will you do if they come in for random drug testing?

well, i did my job just fine without anyone being suspicious - and went on to be a teacher - so, NO, that didn't tell me anything.

if they come in for random drug testing, i'll take my test - and IF my med shows up in the screen (if they test for it) then i'll show them my prescription. nowhere in the paperwork i filled out when being hired did i read anything which said you have to inform anyone if you start taking a prescribed medication.

btw, if you've stopped taking a medication then you're not really lying when you answer NO to the question, "are you currently taking any medications?"

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2011

From my understanding those that abuse prescription medications are the elderly as they are the ones who go from doctor to doctor getting many prescriptions and then have them filled at varying pharmacies, then end up taking medications that are very likely to interact with each other, or take OTC's or Herbals which may interact with their medications.

Ummm, nooooo, not true that it's mainly the elderly who abuse prescription drugs. Don't know how you got that idea:confused:. Lots of people, many of them young adults abuse prescription drugs. Drugs for ADD are a black market drug on college campuses. Kids who are prescribed those medications often sell them to other students who have no medical need for them. Many will go to doctors describing fake symptoms in an effort to get prescriptions. Pain medications are among the most abused drugs, and MANY of the abusers are not elderly. In fact, I would bet that the majority of people abusing prescription pain medications are NOT elderly.

CanuckLPN73 · Feb 22, 2011

Ummm, nooooo, not true that it's mainly the elderly who abuse prescription drugs. Don't know how you got that idea:confused:. Lots of people, many of them young adults abuse prescription drugs. Drugs for ADD are a black market drug on college campuses. Kids who are prescribed those medications often sell them to other students who have no medical need for them. Many will go to doctors describing fake symptoms in an effort to get prescriptions. Pain medications are among the most abused drugs, and MANY of the abusers are not elderly. In fact, I would bet that the majority of people abusing prescription pain medications are NOT elderly.

I understood that Polypharmacy was drug abuse.

Quote from Pharmacology A Nursing Process Approach (Kee, Hayes) pg 198

It says that Polypharmacy is more common in the Elderly because of the mulitple use of Health Care Providers, Herbal therapies, OTC's, and using discontinued drugs.

That is where I got the understanding that the elderly abused prescription drugs more so than us younger people.This is why patient education is so important!!

That said, yes many others do abuse drugs, I never said others never...

Same Source as above (pg 166) states that 10-20% of nurses have substance abuse problems with alcohol being the mose commonly abused drug. Stressors include chronic fatique, illness, clients illness, watching clients pass away, marital and child care problems, etc. Says that Chimical impairment is a serious concern in the nursing profession.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

I understood that Polypharmacy was drug abuse.
Quote from Pharmacology A Nursing Process Approach (Kee, Hayes) pg 198
It says that Polypharmacy is more common in the Elderly because of the mulitple use of Health Care Providers, Herbal therapies, OTC's, and using discontinued drugs.
That is where I got the understanding that the elderly abused prescription drugs more so than us younger people.This is why patient education is so important!!
That said, yes many others do abuse drugs, I never said others never...
Same Source as above (pg 166) states that 10-20% of nurses have substance abuse problems with alcohol being the mose commonly abused drug. Stressors include chronic fatique, illness, clients illness, watching clients pass away, marital and child care problems, etc. Says that Chimical impairment is a serious concern in the nursing profession.

Not discussing polypharmacy in this thread. What you are describing is elderly not understanding their meds and the interactions that can occur, using expired drugs, discontinuing important medications, forgetting to take medications, forgetting to mention all drugs taken when visiting new doctors, etc., often not a purposeful attempt to abuse drugs. This thread refers to random drug screens which are looking to find illegal substances or drugs which cause impairment on the job, not to check whether or not a nurse is engaging in polypharmacy or whether or not she understands the implications of her meds. Many people abuse prescription drugs-using drugs that are not prescribed to them for reasons which do not apply or for conditions they simply do not have. It is purposeful, illegal use of medications (taking prescription drugs without a prescription-usually narcotics, benzos, or amphetamines like ADD drugs), use of illegal recreational drugs, or abuse of legal substances such as alcohol while on the job which these screens are intended to expose. And these kinds of behaviors are absolutely not mainly seen in the elderly, thus my comment.

CanuckLPN73 · Feb 23, 2011

But then forgive my ignorance I also understood that there were elderly (at least in the discussion we had in class) that do get addicted (abuse prescription drugs) to painkillers or antidepressants and go from doctor to doctor to get a prescription for what ever they can.

Not all elderly.

Maybe Im wrong, maybe I misunderstood :uhoh3: . Ill ask our instructor on that again as well as those at work as now Im confused. :confused:

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

but then forgive my ignorance i also understood that there were elderly (at least in the discussion we had in class) that do get addicted (abuse prescription drugs) to painkillers or antidepressants and go from doctor to doctor to get a prescription for what ever they can.
not all elderly.
maybe im wrong, maybe i misunderstood . ill ask our instructor on that again as well as those at work as now im confused.

studentpn73, i am sure there are also elderly who abuse drugs. but in a discussion about health care workers being required to take random drug tests, you said the following:

originally posted by studentpn73

from my understanding those that abuse prescription medications are the elderly

as they are the ones who go from doctor to doctor getting many prescriptions and then have them filled at varying pharmacies, then end up taking medications that are very likely to interact with each other, or take otc's or herbals which may interact with their medications.

i inferred your post to mean that it is mainly the elderly who are the concern as it relates to prescription drug abuse, therefore you don't understand the need to test younger people in the health care setting. clearly that is not the case; hence the many, many health care facilities (and employers in many other industries) which do pre-employment and random drug testing. obviously, if prescription drug abuse was largely just a problem in the elderly population, so many employers would not be testing it so often in the younger population (their employees and potential employees).

CanuckLPN73 · Feb 23, 2011

Horseshoe,

Hi, See that is where I dont follow as I always thought most of the younger population (my age and younger) was more into the alcohol and illegal drugs (cocaine, meth, etc). Pot. Although I think Pot should be legalized and not tested for...sorry :smokin:

Anyways I am going to bow out of this as I will probably never be tested anyways (never have and likely hood of being tested is very unlikely from what I understand from reading http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/AddictionsSubstanceAbuse/if-wrk-its-our-bus-policy-dev-employee-drug-testing.pdf as here they need a reason to test and they arent looking at legit medication that one is taking so really I have no worries ).

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

Horseshoe,
Hi, See that is where I dont follow as I always thought most of the younger population (my age and younger) was more into the alcohol and illegal drugs (cocaine, meth, etc). Pot. Although I think Pot should be legalized and not tested for...sorry
Anyways I am going to bow out of this as I will probably never be tested anyways (never have and likely hood of being tested is very unlikely from what I understand from reading http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/AddictionsSubstanceAbuse/if-wrk-its-our-bus-policy-dev-employee-drug-testing.pdf as here they need a reason to test and they arent looking at legit medication that one is taking so really I have no worries ).

studentpn73, abuse of prescription pain killers is a huge problem right now for young people as well as middle aged and probably into the older population. Abuse of ADD drugs is rampant on college campuses. Alcohol probably does take first place amongst all age groups as far as it abuse goes. Not sure how much of a problem cocaine use remains and, certainly, meth use is probably more prevalent amongst the young rather than the old. But don't underestimate the abuse of prescription pain killers. It is this abuse that it is making it very hard for people who legitimately need these medications to get their prescriptions for the proper dosage and quantities and to be taken seriously by the health care profession when they ask for them. Doctors often hesitate to prescribe them to the patients who need them because of the amount of abuse of these drugs and the flack doctors are taking from the public for prescribing them.

pedicurn, LPN, RN · Feb 24, 2011

Several states bar use of ANY mood modifying drug - which would include SSRIs - by nurses while working. I personally took a dose of Paxil once that affected me much more profoundly than any benzos that were used previously to treat the same disorder.

Cripes ...which states would those be?

Most of my coworkers take sleeping pills PRN and lots are on SSRI's ... doctors and nurses.

Most of them would be impaired without them LOL

Stephenbsn · Mar 5, 2011

tamtam as a fellow nurse I have to warn you by asking such a question you are subjecting yourself to a harsh reality. The reality in which a person who works everyday to make peoples lives better, will turn their back on what they are dedicated to because you have a drug habit/addiction. I truly believe, being 24 and from a younger generation, that drug problems are now and will continue to grasp young smart people like yourself and drag you down. Most people don't understand drug habits. Think back to history... (you know i hear it repeats itself and all). How do people respond to something they don't understand? They cling to this old 1900's taboo epidemic that a drug habit is a drug addict and a drug addict is a drug addict and should be treated like a drug addict because they are a drug addict and forfeit all the responsibility and individuality they once had. Just like that you are shut out by the world. I overcame addiction, but it was this logic that drilled me further into hopeless and empowered my addiction, DON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!!!!! If you are wondering how or even worse why, well...the how's all on you, your an individual, your smart, and im sure you have people that love you so you need to figure that out, but why? However, I can tell you why. two reasons, if you can beat addiction then you truly are one of the most specially gifted people on this planet,and 2 because you want to be a nurse (wanting to be a nurse was my how and why btw), and if you are a nurse who beat addiction, well just imagine what kind of firepower that will give you to help humanity, good luck and god bless you i hoped this helped.