Random drug tests in nursing school?!

[Yolopilas]

Just out of pure curiosity how many of you have underwent a random drug test during your program? Do these happen a lot? Or only when a student is being suspicious? I'm aware of the annual drug screening but not the random ones. Any insight please!!

[Tinker88]

We will have them in my program. Just pee in the cup and move on with life

[Lizzyru]

Ours was also set up by the school and notified to us the day before. A rumor of a student using substance was reported to school and she was drug tested but that's the only occasion I heard of any random testing. That was it really. I'm with nmsxx6454 - just stay away from anything questionable and you are good as gold!

[RLtinker, LPN]

We had one as part of the entrance requirement. But as long as you don't have anything to hide it shouldn't be an issue.

[green34]

Only time people were drug tested in my school was if they went to a specific clinical site that was at the other campus anyway.

I've been drug tested for pre-employment at my job including testing to see if I smoked.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

I'm not a fan of drug testing without probable cause as I feel it's a violation of privacy and frankly, unconstitutional. However, it's a fact of life in nursing school, as well as any nursing job. Don't do anything questionable.. it's not worth losing your career before it starts.

I knew a guy who had a bad headache and took a leftover Vicodin his wife had from a surgery months before. The next day he had a fender bender in his company truck, which prompted an automatic drug screening which he failed. Lost his job.

Moral- don't tempt fate.

[jan286]

I completely support random drug testing in any healthcare field (student, educator, employee etc etc). We are in charge of other's well-being. We should be responsible adults.

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

We never had drug screening of any type while I was in school---scheduled OR random. Had we though, I can think of a couple of classmates who should have been worried!

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

I'm not a fan of drug testing without probable cause as I feel it's a violation of privacy and frankly, unconstitutional. However, it's a fact of life in nursing school, as well as any nursing job. Don't do anything questionable.. it's not worth losing your career before it starts.

I knew a guy who had a bad headache and took a leftover Vicodin his wife had from a surgery months before. The next day he had a fender bender in his company truck, which prompted an automatic drug screening which he failed. Lost his job.

Moral- don't tempt fate.

I'm guessing part of his problem was that the vicodin was not prescribed to him....

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

I completely support random drug testing in any healthcare field (student, educator, employee etc etc). We are in charge of other's well-being. We should be responsible adults.

I don't completely disagree-- but at the same time I think that there should be strict guidelines about what data they can collect, and it should be completely transparent. How do you know what they are testing for? Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but what if they start testing for regular medications that would indicate another health issue that the employer would rather not have to deal with- such as diabetic or HIV drugs? Antidepressants or other chronic diseases? THAT is the slope I'm concerned about.

[benegesserit]

I knew a guy who had a bad headache and took a leftover Vicodin his wife had from a surgery months before. The next day he had a fender bender in his company truck, which prompted an automatic drug screening which he failed. Lost his job.

Moral- don't tempt fate.

This is a good point. My job's policy is that ANY injury where workman's comp paperwork is filed requires a drug test, even if there's no possible way it's related.

Also, another local facility apparently drug tested all employees after a serious missing narc issue.

So it isn't safe to assume that you'll only be drug tested if you're showing signs of impairment. Just don't do it.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

My school required a drug screen once you were accepted into the program (if you failed, the offer was recinded). What was stupid was, if they truely want to know if someone is taking meds, they should have had a random date set up for the student. We were allowed to schedule or drug screen. So if someone was doing illegal or unprescribed meds, they could wait it out and schedule it for a time that any trace of the drug would be gone.

We were also put on notice and signed a form that random drug screens could be done without warning and for any/or no reason.

I don't take meds of any kind, don't smoke weed or do any other street drug, so I had no fears of a random screening.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

I never had a random UDS while in school. I knew we were aware that we could have to take one, but I guess they just never called my number.

Of course, if you're not using any drugs (whether illegal or abusing prescription ones), you shouldn't have to worry about a random UDS.