Should a nursing student be given a 2nd chance if they have a positive drug screen

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If a nursing student is caught with a positive drug screen do you think they should be given a second chance? should she be kicked out of school? Ok so here is the story, my classmate has got be the dumbest person ever? She went to a physical exam for a job and she was reeking of alcohol. She said they did a breath test on her and it came up positive. Now this is where the story is really interesting, they also did a drug screen on her and she is worried that it will come back positive for marijuana and if it does, the place of employement will notify the school and their is a possibly that she will be kicked out of the nursing program. She claimed that she doesn't smoke weed all the time, however, if you are a once and a blue-moon smoker I think it can take upto 6 months to get out of your system providing that you don't smoke again for awhile. I know, at my place of employement, we do have nurses who have been caught in the past for drugs or pills and they have to go through rehab program and then, they have to call a number every morning and they may have to report for a drug screen. It does vary, they could report everyday or once a month. So my question is should nursing students be given the same chance as a RN who was caught doing drugs?

i think she wanted out....and this is the way she took......making sure that she couldnt go back...

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I say no 2nd chance at this point. Rehabilitated...MAYBE....but only after a proven track record of staying clean.

We are all adults and we must suffer the consequences of our actions---otherwise, to me, it says that nursing school is not to be taken seriously.

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I am one of those nurses that had a positive drug screen and entered our state's program and completed it. During that time, I had to prove over and over that I was deserving of a second chance. In August of this year, I will celebrate my 10th year of being clean and sober and keep in mind every day how much work you put into something like that and not too just throw it away.

Anne, RNC

Congratulations to you.:yeah:

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
I, too, agree with the responses here.

NS spots are hard to come by. Competition is fierce. Waiting lists are long.

I say she should get kicked out and NOT have the opportunity to come back. The ppl who say after rehab give her the chance then etc. are nicer than me. Give her spot to a student who wants to be there and not take that opportunity for granted.

Well, I thought that when I was in nursing school, but I also never thought I would be one of those people losing their job, their health insurance, their work friends, and on and on.

It took a lot of hard work and I learned among other things, that I took my license and everything else I had for granted. As I said, this year will be 10 years of me getting up and doing what I need to every day to keep what I could have lost the first time.

Anne, RNC

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
I say no 2nd chance at this point. Rehabilitated...MAYBE....but only after a proven track record of staying clean.

We are all adults and we must suffer the consequences of our actions---otherwise, to me, it says that nursing school is not to be taken seriously.

I agree completely. If she can't even put down a substance, ETOH, others long enough to go to an MD appt, how is that person going to even think about staying sober for 12 or 13 hours at a time while at work? I wouldn't want my nurse coming into my room every am if she/he had been drinking every night.

And, in nursing school, it was hard enough for me studying and taking tests and writing papers, preparing for clinicals, ... if she couldn't take enough time to not drink or use. A student in that situation should have to go through rehab and follow up before she is given that chance to occupy a spot in school that so many other people would love to have.

Anne, RNC

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
i think she wanted out....and this is the way she took......making sure that she couldnt go back...

That is a very good point, morte. I had not thought of it that way, but I remember students in class with me that just did not want to be there. They went to nsg school because their parents or other relatives, or someone else expected them to do it, or at least wanted them to, a lot more than them.

Anne, RNC

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She deserves getting kicked out. She is an idiot for going to a physical exam for her JOB in that state.

If you want to smoke weed then move to the caribbean.

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To add another opinion to the mix...

She showed up drunk for an appointment...very very poor judgement. Maybe she forgot and went out the night before? Who knows? Maybe this was the first time she ever drank and wasn't prepared for the results?

My point being, one incident doesn't constitute a pattern. Telling her to go to rehab because she got drunk once is a little harsh in my opinion. We all make mistakes.

As for the pot...well...its pot, she should have known better....maybe this will be the scare she needs?

My opinion...probation, random testing, perhaps a counselling session or two to see if this is a habit that requires professional help. Obviously she won't get the job. But lose three years of school I don't think is necessary. We all deserve second chances.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.
To add another opinion to the mix...

She showed up drunk for an appointment...very very poor judgement. Maybe she forgot and went out the night before? Who knows? Maybe this was the first time she ever drank and wasn't prepared for the results?

My point being, one incident doesn't constitute a pattern. Telling her to go to rehab because she got drunk once is a little harsh in my opinion. We all make mistakes.

As for the pot...well...its pot, she should have known better....maybe this will be the scare she needs?

My opinion...probation, random testing, perhaps a counselling session or two to see if this is a habit that requires professional help. Obviously she won't get the job. But lose three years of school I don't think is necessary. We all deserve second chances.

Good point! At least that way she could get any help she needed - maybe even ongoing therapy if needed. Nursing school is heck. Throwing all those years out the window could even push her further to something worse if she did need some help. And, no, I'm not saying that it is the nursing schools, or anyone else's job to give her any help but we are in the business of helping people. Why not help our own so she can carry on the tradition?

Anne, RNC

After all, I was given the opportunity 10 years ago. I shudder to think where I would be now if had not been given that.

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Sorry but I don't believe your friend...she has a problem. For a once in a blue smoker the clearance rate is usually 1 week. It can take up to 4 weeks for MJ to clear out of the system if you are a regular smoker. 6 months? Never heard that one before. Also why would you go to a physical exam for a JOB reeking of alcohol. It really says something about a person when they can't stay sober long enough to make it through the docs appointment. Her ex-potential employer doesn't have the right to tell the school anything because of HIPPA but part of being a NS is that you have to attend clinical and the site can request a drug screen at anytime.

One of my classmates was kicked out after the clinical site sprang a surprise toxicology test on her group. We all had physicals with tox screens at our private doctors and submitted the paperwork so she thought she was in the clear to toke up. Well she was really surprised when she showed up for clinical and the site requested an immediate urinalysis. She came up positive for MJ and was immediately dropped from the program with no chance to come back. It was really sad because she was the top student in class...straight As.

Advise your friend that if she wants to become a nurse she is going to have to give up the bong. It's as simple as that because once she becomes a working nurse she can be drug tested at anytime. Why lose the license that you will work incredibly hard to get for some weed? Personally I think MJ should be legal and I think there is nothing wrong with smoking it as long as your aren't going to work impaired. Yeah I said it...however I knew going into this that I would rather give it up and have a great career than sit around broke and stoned.

She's gotta make a choice.

Agreed. Although there are many factors on how quickly the body metabolizes marijuana, once in a blue moon smoking would be far gone with in a week. You're friend is fibbing. If you're going to do stuff like that nursing isn't for you. There is a time and a place for everything... ns isn't it.

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We all deserve second chances.

Not quite... We all deserve a first chance. Second chances are reserved for luck, a nice judge, any available diety and anyone that happens to get judged by a nice person. No one deserves it.

That said, it's marijuana!

I used to smoke and I would love for it to be legal but hey, jobs don't like it and money > marijuana.

As for showing up at a physical drunk? That DOES indicate a problem right there. Either she has a 'drinking' problem or she has a 'stupid' problem.

Either should be a clear indicator that she is a poor nursing school candidate.

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A second chance, yes. People can get a wake-up call and turn their life around.

But not the same semester, and not without reasonable evidence that she has made changes.

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