suspended rn having hope of being an rn again

[havinghope]

i was charged and convicted of cocaine possession in 2008. i turned my license into obn and have been jumping through hoops since. i have drug tested for them for 18 months without incident. i have ran into a snag, i live in marion ohio and one of obns requirements is to have a psych eval, i have used any money that i was paying the labs of obn's choice for drug tests. i have looked and called and wrote to many psychiatrist who might help, i can find no one. if anyone knows any answers to this obstacle please respond. i have been clean for 6 years. also if there are any success stories similar to the one i'm facing, i would love to hear it. as it strengthens me and gives me hope to continue the fight. thank you

[AssociateDegree]

You might do better posting this in the Nursing/Recovery forum under "General: Nurses." Click on the "nurses" tab at the top of the page. I really have difficulty believing that you can't find anyone to do a psych eval; have you tried teaching hospitals, public health clinics, and calling NAMI for referrals? Do you have insurance under the Affordable Care Act, including Ohio Medicaid? You need to follow the OBN guidelines to the letter and be in contact with them if you are having difficulty. They are sticklers for people following their requirements.

[CryssieD]

I had a similar problem when I started out--I had no job, no insurance, and no money at all, and I had to get a psychiatric eval. I checked with the local community health center, only to find that their psychiatric people were so overextended that they were only available for severe, acute issues, not mere consults or evaluations. I didn't qualify for Medicaid because I don't have kids! (guess I don't have medical needs, then, huh?) I got my family to pay for the evaluation (this was before the ACA ("Obamacare")--it was over $200, but I had to have it, so...The ACA subsidizes healthcare and mandates (to what exact extent I am not sure) psychiatric/mental health services coverage. Get with someone involved in explaining healthcare insurance (try a community health center) if you still haven't found anyone--they should be able to help you utilize whatever resources are available in your area. Best wishes--hang in there baby, it'll be OK!