Recreational THC = now starting IPN!

Nurses Recovery

Published

Well...... hello new friends!

As a "new" Registered Nurse of 2 1/2 years @ 43 years old, a part of my "previous life" did not fall away as completely as it should have. A phone call was made ( and I strongly suspect this was by a co-worker who knew too much of my personal life, and who was increasingly aggressive and confrontational with me at work over the last several months.... regardless of that fact, however, I OWN this now and here I am.... )

This occured last Thursday. I was escorted to HR by mgmt., and then went to give blood & urine. Prior to this, when asked by HR if I "thought it could be positive" I simply, honestly stated, "Yes, it's possible." I did this because I truly feel I have nothing to hide, and I have already been fussed at for #1.) Admitting this - - but if my credibility is all I have, it MUST remain intact!!!! and #2.) For not resigning before submitting to testing. Hmmm...... never occured to me, and seems a wee bit shady anyway......

I know the test will come back (+) and have already made initial calls to IPN to self-report and to an attorney who advised me and told me to call her if things with IPN get bad.... (((( ?!?!?!?! :eek: )))) I am fully trusting this process and HOPE I am not naive in doing so....... All that is in my head is "BE HONEST! BE HONEST!! THIS HAS HAPPENED AND YOU HAVE TO OWN IT!!!! :cry:

I see alot of good & bad posts about IPN but what gives me hope is the people that say, "Do what they tell you & you will be OK" or "It's hard, but it becomes a way of life and you can do it" or "you will be stronger" or "the time will pass anyway"

The journey and success of becoming an RN changed my life in many profound ways and I will do everything in my power to protect & preserve my license!!!! NOTHING matters more.... I am NOT struggling with concerns of withdrawal or replacing my "buzz" in any way...... I am not sipping wine as I write this!!!

I am also pretty hopeful, as the attorney stated if I am diagnosed at a level that is a need for "Education" and is not addiction/dependancy, that this is taken into consideration.....

Is anyone else in a similar situation?!?!?! A first-time offender, recreational user, no polysubstance use...... I would love to connect with those in a similar situation........... I know this is going to take months to start and years to end...... I would appreciate any and all feedback.......!!!!!

Thank you for listening to my story and I wish you well!!!!!!!!:redbeathe

Now all you have to do is be patient. Easier said than done, I know it. Keep good records of your evaluations, dates,times,outcomes,etc.., as there are so many hoops to jump through getting shuffled in the crowd is easy. IPN are is generally a good group of people to work with and they do help you to maintain licensure so you may continue practicing, a good thing, right? You will have contacts through IPN and your nurse support groups that are priceless, they will help get you through this. I am currently monitored by IPN. My situation is a little unique but so is every contract. IPN will always be available to direct you and get answers to your questions. Your case workers assisstants are rather resourceful. I'll be thinking of you. Good Luck and Good Health:)

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HI honest&hopeful&hurt! Thanks so very much for your message! I still cannot PM :confused:... I want you to know how very much your replies have meant to me!! I think you are amazing, and I am trying to be more positive like you have remained through your whole ordeal. I usually am such a happy, energetic, positive person, but this had turned my life upside down. But I guess it's time to get up and dust myself off, and be a big girl! I realize this has to be happening for a reason ,and I am owning it.

I went online to the IPN website and got a hold of the sample contract info...of course this brought up even more questions! :uhoh3:

1. Am I not allowed to even drink alcohol now either? Will they be testing for that as well? Because I don't want to risk messing this up, I will stay away from drinks if I have to.

2. Did you have to have a fellow RN work with you and "watch over you" will you were in your contract?

3. I have a week long pre-planned vacation at the end of August, what do I do? Will they let me go? I still don't have a case worker assigned to me, do you think there's a chance that even by then I won't have a contract yet?

4. I am scared crapless that they will put a restriction on my license (even though I deep inside doubt it) it's still possible. At the end of the evaualtion, is it out of line to ask this MD what their reccomendations may be?

I know, I am a pest! :o But you are so helpful, and your story is one of true accomplishment and you are my new HERO honest&hopeful&hurt!!!:D

I feel like my situation is so similar, I am praying that I get through this with my dignity and pride intact.

My plan is not to work through all this I guess, you are right, it's a heck of alot to handle and I don't think I can concentrate on any work with all this going on anyway. I have some money saved, and thank the good LORD above, my husband is being supportive, poor thing, like he has a choice! I'm taking this time to spend with out baby at home and evaluate myself, and my next steps in life.....are you happier wherever you are working now compared to where you were before all this? I'm praying this will turn out for the best for me. I don't know?!?!?

THANKS for listening!!

:hug:

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SHE71....thanks a ton for the support! Yes, patience is one thing I need right about now! It seems like this whole process takes so long no matter how you try to be quick about it. I am anxious to have my eval at the end of the week...pleeeease pray for me!!! I love nursing, miss it so much already!! :(

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.

or baby...it's ok, calm down..this too shall pass.

sorry i am not honest hopeful and hurt...but i decided to answer some of the generic questions...because the ipn is universal to thc, opiates, benzos and alcohol in many many aspects.

hi!! thanks sooooooooo much for replying!!! wow! all this info is very helpful, i am such a mess, it's been a month now since i peed, and have lost my job. i have my evaluation scheduled for later this week...please help!!

who was your evaluator? what kinds of questions did he ask? do you feel he/she was fair? my evaluator was an addictionologist in boca raton. he is of course a psychiatrist and does many many ipn evaluations. my case was rather unique and i had to go for 2 appointments. again, the doctor will ask about your history, any former drug and or alcohol use. be very open and honest about all aspects of your life and your job.

i am a depressed, wreck. all i do is cry, i wake in the middle of the night with heart palpitations and sweating from the anxiety of all of this. ii totaly understand that!! i did the same thing and i am sure that most people in the ipn did in the beginning. and now i realize it's going to take even longer than i could of imagined! i am soooo scared that i am already labeled as a "loser pot head" in this person's eyes, no matter how far from the truth that is in reality. :'( :'( these doctors are professionals...they are non judgemental--at least i did not feel any sort of judgment from any of the doctors or the ipn for that matter.

i feel helpless, hopeless, i'm driving my husband crazy, my family is wondering why i'm not working, and i truly don't have an addiction, so i don't want to get into that with them. i feel so stupid, and i feel like no matter what, this is such a bad situation. any chance you can tell them you did a stupid thing?--you made a mistake...you are human....

i realize, that it could be worse, of course, but this is all relative and i am drowning in my thoughts and the unknown of my future!

did you work in another field while you were out of nursing? is it even possible to work with those random drug tests? i could not work for 9 weeks--i was in iop--during the time you are in treatment--if and only if you have to have some kind of treatment you can not work...you do not have urine drug screens then anyway...you do not begin them until you get your contract which would be after completion of a treatment program. you may not even have to go to any treatment...so don't jump the gun....

of course we can work with the random drug screens...we all do it...they usualy fall around one time a month..you either get up early and go before work or after...since there are currently over 1,200 nurses in the ipn right now---we all seem to manage....

i'm sorry that i have so many questions, if you can pleeeeeese email me, it would mean the world to me. you seem to be the only person that has gone thru this because of thc, everyone else is on a diversion case, and i am not sure if it is all handled the same way?!! yes, they pretty much are. and one last thing. the ipn contracts are all abstinance only contracts--which means during the contract time you may not drink alcohol either...that is crazy, i know, but that's the way it is, and they do test for etg not just blood alcohol.

i truly truly appreciate your time honest&hopeful&hurt (that's just how i am feeling!) right now

good luck--you will make it

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Let's just be honest and put it out there: For most of us, no matter what we do, no matter how sober we are, no matter what hoops we jump through to prove our dedication to nursing and sobriety, our careers will never be the same again.

My advice: You are intelligent enough to have become a nurse in the first place. You must have some sort of personal issues or you never would have succumbed to addiction. Find something where your intelligence and expertise will be appreciated and you won't be discriminated against for having been ill or pressured to the point of self-destruction.

Screw nursing. If the people and the boards want perfect nurses who will work under oppressive conditions, let them find some. I'm not sure they'll ever get me back. That's right. They aren't doing me a favor by letting me practice. I would be doing them a favor by continuing to practice after all that I have been through.

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.
let's just be honest and put it out there: for most of us, no matter what we do, no matter how sober we are, no matter what hoops we jump through to prove our dedication to nursing and sobriety, our careers will never be the same again. that's not entirely true, other than having to do the uds monthy, nothing is really different in my career.

my advice: you are intelligent enough to have become a nurse in the first place. you must have some sort of personal issues or you never would have succumbed to addiction. find something where your intelligence and expertise will be appreciated and you won't be discriminated against for having been ill or pressured to the point of self-destruction.

screw nursing. if the people and the boards want perfect nurses who will work under oppressive conditions, let them find some. i'm not sure they'll ever get me back. that's right. they aren't doing me a favor by letting me practice. i would be doing them a favor by continuing to practice after all that i have been through.

i am sort of with you on this one, but if i could make as much as i do at a non nursing job as i do with my current one, i would jump on it. but i can't and i am too old to go back and start again. i am not tied to nursing and if i could get out of it i would, just can't do it right now.

i can honestly say the conditions of my program are not oppressive...not a day at the beach but not oppressive.and i have to say, that yes, the florida bon is doing me a favor by letting me practice.

ya, know, somewhere, somehow we screwed up or we wouldn't be in these programs. now i am just trying to fly under the radar get through this gracefully until it's over.

just saying.

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Specializes in CRNA, Law, Peer Assistance, EMS.
Let's just be honest and put it out there: For most of us, no matter what we do, no matter how sober we are, no matter what hoops we jump through to prove our dedication to nursing and sobriety, our careers will never be the same again.

My advice: You are intelligent enough to have become a nurse in the first place. You must have some sort of personal issues or you never would have succumbed to addiction. Find something where your intelligence and expertise will be appreciated and you won't be discriminated against for having been ill or pressured to the point of self-destruction.

Screw nursing. If the people and the boards want perfect nurses who will work under oppressive conditions, let them find some. I'm not sure they'll ever get me back. That's right. They aren't doing me a favor by letting me practice. I would be doing them a favor by continuing to practice after all that I have been through.

While there certainly is some harsh truth to what you say, let's also be fair. First, if one completes IPN there is no public record of the events and your license remains clear during and after. You need never mention the events again if you wish....not to an employer, the board, anyone.

"You must have some sort of personal issues or you never would have succumbed to addiction." This statement is flawed for a number of reasons, but concentrating on its application to the current poster's situation, there is no indication he/she is addicted to anything.

My simple advice: be honest and follow directions. There is no need to 'prepare' for your evaluation or what happens next. I guarantee that you are going to find a silver lining in all of this...something of great benefit or importance which would never have happened had you not had that positive drug screen. And believe me, I know how absurd that sounds right now....just tuck it away in the back of your brain and remember this when it happens.

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Med/Surg.
First, if one completes IPN there is no public record of the events and your license remains clear during and after. You need never mention the events again if you wish....not to an employer, the board, anyone.

Oh, how I wish there were such an alternative to discipline program in my state! I will always have the "black mark" even if I have been C & S for 30 years.

I hope someday to get back on my feet and see more of the benefits of this path for myself. As it is, I am having a very hard time finding work after completing 4 of my 5 years of probation. And- my probation is being extended since I haven't worked enough hours every quarter since I have been out of work. :banghead:

Since the economy tanked, employers in my area are much more picky regarding whom they hire for the few available openings, in my experience.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Catmom :paw:

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This question will probably be censored along with all of my other ones. Does anyone know the price for IOP in Jax, FL? Thanks.

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Hi everyone, I am wondering how you made it into the IPN (with the evaluation and all) never having to do a UA or hair follicle test?? I am only curious bc it seems everyone else gets a hair follicle test (of course those are older posts I've read, so maybe the IPN changed the rules since then)... I am soon having an evaluation done and have been worried about the hair follicle test. I have not taken ANY of my medication (prescribed) in about 24 days, but had before then. Does anyone know if the hair follicle test is just for the past 30 days, or if they test for the longer periods of time like 60-90 days?? Again, it was all prescribed and I have not worked as a nurse in 2 years so its not like my job would be effected, lol. Just want to get the shortest contract possible with the IPN program. Any insight would really help!! Thanks!!!!

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Southern Point answered your question about hair follicle testing in another of your threads.

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Hi everyone, I am wondering how you made it into the IPN (with the evaluation and all) never having to do a UA or hair follicle test?? I am only curious bc it seems everyone else gets a hair follicle test (of course those are older posts I've read, so maybe the IPN changed the rules since then)... I am soon having an evaluation done and have been worried about the hair follicle test. I have not taken ANY of my medication (prescribed) in about 24 days, but had before then. Does anyone know if the hair follicle test is just for the past 30 days, or if they test for the longer periods of time like 60-90 days?? Again, it was all prescribed and I have not worked as a nurse in 2 years so its not like my job would be effected, lol. Just want to get the shortest contract possible with the IPN program. Any insight would really help!! Thanks!!!!

I have made a comment in one of the other threads you have asked in. But here it goes again.

IPN doesn't just go off of a Drug Screen (whether it's a UDS or Hair test). They go off of what the evaluator reports to them and then the IPN team will sit down to have a weekly meet and go over your information. If you have been sent IPN's direction for drugs, then you are more than likely to get a 5 year contract. If it's for a DUI or Pot, it might be as little as 2 years. I have not seen anything besides a 2 or 5 year contract, not that they dont exist. Now when it comes to the contract, each one is different. As in each person can and will have different things they will need to do.

Now you have already stated in a number of threads that you have not taken your prescribed medication for 24 days. Now if your medication is prescribed to be taken daily and you are not. IPN is going to see this as being non-compliant and that doesn't look good in their eyes.

As for the way you have been asking about the hair test. It seems that you might have done something in the past 3 months that you are not ready to tell anyone about. If I am wrong, then I am sorry I have implied this, but having seen situations and this same question many times before it just throws red flags everywhere.

You just need to be 100% honest with yourself, the evaluator and IPN. Don't lie to any of them or try to bend the truth as they will always find out in the end.

Hope this helps.

SP

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