STARTING FL IPN

Nurses Recovery

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hello all you fabulous nurses in recovery!

i am just beginning my journey to getting my rn license back to normal. i've reported to the board, been referred to IPN. IPN referred my to a list of physicians for my IPN facilitated evaluation which is sceduled for dec 5th. can anyone tell me what this eval consists of? and maybe what to expect as i start this journey? i know the financial part is going to be a struggle for me. i've been working a min wage job. haven't worked as a nurse since 2008.

Specializes in Main O.R. and CVOR.

hi sarah and welcome to the "nurses in recovery" group. you will find a lot of support here. you are not alone..... we have all experienced the shame, guilt, sadness, despondence, depression and hopelessness of being an impaired nurse faced with the struggles of coming to terms of this situation. just be honest and open and face your demons. I tried running and the more I ran the bigger the demons became. when I finally turned around a stared the demon in the face, it became a little bit easier. IPN can be your enemy or your friend. it all depends on your mindset and how willing you are to being honest with yourself. without IPN we would all lose our license and/or be arrested. take this opportunity to fight for your license. as you will see on here, you aren't alone and there is ALWAYS someone who is in a worse situation than you are and made it through. I thought when I finally had to self report to the FBON, I was the only ''bad'' nurse out there. Of course you will come across those who are narrow minded and judgemental, but don't let them get under your skin or make you feel less. EVERYONE in this world is imperfect. the problem with drug/alcohol abuse/addiction is it comes with a stigma. My advice to you is to look at past posts on this site of the nurses who have made it through the programs in their states and are in recovery and are now working again. every time I read one of these success stories, I feel hopeful! GOOD LUCK AND PRAYERS TO YOU! this a safe place to come and ask questions and vent!

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I'm awaiting my paperwork from IPN at this point(the intake paperwork)and was just terminated last week from my position as an ER nurse in Southern FL. So basically I'm at the panic point. I was reading SouthernPoints info and found it helpful and scary. I guess I cant private message her until I've posted 15 things? I'm afraid that I'll never be able to practice nursing again. I guess I'm on here cause I can't really talk to anyone. I can't bare to tell my parents at least not yet. I have a wonderful husband and two amazing step kids that we have 50% custody of. My husband is being as supportive as he can but he's rightfully angry that I've made dreadful decisions that will financially stress us at the least. We NEED my income and that's heart breaking to know I caused this. 100% my fault. Does it get easier and will there be a day I don't have to hate myself? Sorry if the post sounds "poor me" but it's still super fresh and unimaginable. Thanks for reading.

I won't lie to you- the first several months is difficult. You will experience lots of emotions-depression, anger, sadness, guilt and worry. Plus you have to learn to deal with these emotions without numbing them with drugs or alcohol. That was hard for me- for so long I didn't deal with emotions. I have been sober for 2 1/2 years after having a significant addiction to prescription drugs- I surrendered my liscense for a year and have been in my states monitoring program for 10 months. I still deal with guilt, but as I do what I'm supposed to and keep putting one foot in front of the other it does get better. I have come to understand the monitoring program isn't for me- but to protect the public from my addiction. I see it as another layer of accountability. I have four more years left, so I can't afford to resent it. Be honest with yourself and your family and put your sobriety above all else. Glad you have found our little spot in cyberspace- you are not alone ! Just read some of the struggles and successes others have had and I'm sure you will see that you fit right in! Best of luck to you!

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Hi everyone, I am new to the site and forum. I am starting IOP next week and was wondering when you get the contract from IPN? After completion of IOP?

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Sothernpoint, what part of southern Florida are you in? My husband has a job offer in west palm beach that we are considering! I am currently monitored in Alabama so I do not know much about IPN. How hard is it to find a job around the area?

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Which city was this doctor in?

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery and skilled nursing..

Whom did you see.

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I have the fitness for duty evaluation scheduled in 2 weeks. Any tips ??? I live in Florida and have heard nothing but nightmares. Ant positive comments ? Jobs ? Etc Had a positive drug test, non working, went to treatment and now my IPN will just start, any advice ??

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Specializes in OR.

Depends on where you are going for your evaluation as those 'recommendations' are what play a gigantic role in what your contract is. I put that in quotes because at least in my experience there appears to be a very cozy relationship between IPN and where they send you for the evaluation. The obvious conflict of interest is clearly irrelevant.

I've been dealing with this cesspool for a number of years and I am sorry to say that I have nothing positive to say. My advice would be to keep a file of every bit of correspondence. Take notes of every phone call, time and date and what was discussed. Any email exchange though Affinity (that is the method of checking in for P testing and correspondence with your case manager)- print copies and keep them. Keep all copies of COCs for toxicology tests. Don't depend on anyone, even LabCorp to file that for you. Finally, and saddest of all, these people are not to be trusted. No matter what they say or how nice they are, they are not your friend and don't give one whit about you or your recovery. If it isn't in writing, it isn't true.

I don't mean to be so negative but throughout this experience, if you find recovery, it will likely be in spite of this, not because of it.

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Hi there. I'm new to this forum. Question: Anyone out there that has had a bad experience with IPN of Florida with an initial evaluation done by BoardPrep in Tampa?

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Specifically, BoardPrep? No... In fact, I've never even heard of it. Is this your very first go round? My main reason for asking that question is because these treatment centers come and go. There are a few staple centers around the State of Florida that have been in business 30+ years. I've been to quite of few in my day, they had the same feel when I was not in the mood to be forced into treatment. I loved one place I was at for 5 months in 2000-2001 when it was my idea, and hated it when I went back in 2004 when it wasn't my idea. Do you feel comfortable being a little more specific about what you didn't like?

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Persephone I'm looking for your comment back to me about Health Care Connections' program but I can't find it. Tell me again about them will ya I need that info so I can look into it. I'm not too familiar with this site yet and how to get around. Thank ya. Sidenote, did you happen to go to college at UF?

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Specializes in OR.

As for PMing, you've got to have 15 quality posts before you can PM, so that feature may not work for y'all just yet.

As for the BoardPrep vs HealthcareConnection thing, my suspicion is that they are connected, not officially but in that the individuals that own/run them know each other, possibly have employees that have worked at both places and are likely cut from the same pile of rags. If they have become one of the "go-to" places for IPN then it's a good bet that that evaluation is certainly not impartial and those recommendations are based in part on how many beds they've got to fill and what kind of money or insurance is in the equation. I wouldn't trust either any further than I could kick them.

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