Student's nurse fears.

ChadleyNC · Aug 2, 2005

I have a quesiton about being a recovering addict. Will this hender me from being licensed?

I think that the issue of hinderance with licensure is going to be state specific. I do no know for sure, but I am pretty certain that unless you did something illegal at some point and have a felonious record of some kind that you would be allowed to test for and receive your license to practice.

I work in for a substance abuse hospital and we see a good number of nurses come in to complete our program. Most of their licensure issues are not due to their addiction, they are due to something they did while under the influence.

I would view the fact thtat you are in recovery not only as a positive thing, but as any other medical condition. Not all medical conditions must be reported, only those that may hinder your ability to perform.

Best of luck to you...

Chadley

maronica · Aug 3, 2005

I think that the issue of hinderance with licensure is going to be state specific. I do no know for sure, but I am pretty certain that unless you did something illegal at some point and have a felonious record of some kind that you would be allowed to test for and receive your license to practice.
I work in for a substance abuse hospital and we see a good number of nurses come in to complete our program. Most of their licensure issues are not due to their addiction, they are due to something they did while under the influence.
I would view the fact thtat you are in recovery not only as a positive thing, but as any other medical condition. Not all medical conditions must be reported, only those that may hinder your ability to perform.
Best of luck to you...
Chadley

Thanks for your response... I talked to a women on at the nursing commission this am and she told me she does not think there should be a problem with explaining my situation she did say they go on a case by case basis though but I will stick to my program and live in today. Thanks again Chadley

MissJoRN, RN · Aug 3, 2005

Isn't this thread extemely old? How did it get here?

OMG that's funny...you're so observant! (good nursing trait, LOL)

Those original posters are long graduated and practicing!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Aug 3, 2005

omg that's funny...you're so observant! (good nursing trait, lol)
those original posters are long graduated and practicing!

lets, hope so......cause only a prenursing student still

MIA-RN1, RN · Aug 3, 2005

So I begin classes for my ADN in the fall. August 25th and my first clinical day is the 10th of September. Lots to learn in a short time. I know that I will not be expected to know everything there is to know.. however.. I worry about a few things. I'm not new in any way to the clinical floor, I have held numerous positions that required immense quantities of patient contact. However, none of it was clinical in nature. All of it was support personnel positioning and this scares me. What if I am assigned to a terribly difficult nurse to shadow? How can I keep from irritating the fire out of an already overworked and underpaid person? :uhoh21: or what if my first assigned patient refuses care from me for some reason? I know these are everyday trials and things that must be dealt with, but preparation for the concept of all of this is a bit overwhelming when I think about it. Sure it's early for me to worry, but that's how I work best.. lol help?

I had to remind myself that I am a student and that I am not expected to do things perfectly. I am expected to improve my skills weekly.

We didn't shadow nurses first semester. We each had one patient and our poor instructor ran around like crazy watching us lol. The CNA's were supposed to help us which they did for the first couple weeks before disappearing for the most part. The nurses were AWESOME. They loved having us there, loved answering questions. You will learn,too, that if a nurse looks really busy and involved with something...ask another nurse!

My instructor for second semester wanted us to be way more independent and kind of discouraged us asking questions. I solved it by asking the nurses if I had a problem or question that I couldn't figure out. We each had a co-assigned nurse who was really welcoming.

I did have a patient who seemed not to like me. The whole family was in there including the daughter who had been a nurse for 29 years (yes she announced it) Her first comment upon introducing myself was "Good, finally someone to change the sheets" :uhoh3: Patient needed b/p check every 15 min and it was pretty high. They were grumbling and not very nice and I told my instructor that I thought they saw me as the problem. I was in the pt bathroom dumping out urine and my instructor went to the pt and said that if he didn't want a student nurse she would pull me off his case and reassign me. I had my fingers crossed lol. They said I could stay! After dinner break I went back in, took b/p and it was up even higher! The wife said it was my fault because I'd been taking it so much. I couldn't believe she said that because I'd been gone to lunch for 45 minutes and hadn't taken it in at least an hour. Moral of the story is that ya gotta just let it go. Some patients are not happy. THey are cranky and tired and don't feel good. I figure this patient and his family were probably very pleasant in a different setting but they were worried and so I chalked it up to that and it didn't bother me anymore.

Use the skills that you have learned in your previous jobs to talk w/ the nurses. Therapeutic communication comes very early in the nursing program lol and it works on nurses as well as patients! :)

I do best with a good strong burst of adrenaline to get me going but try not to stress too much. Easier said than done I know--I just looked at the outline for my upcoming third semester---YIKES! LOL

MissJoRN, RN · Aug 4, 2005

lets, hope so......cause only a prenursing student still

we'll pull out this thread again in a few years just so we can laugh and say wow! remember when expert advice giving nurse jessica was a student!? :wink2: