to tell or not to tell

Silverdragon102, BSN · May 27, 2011

One thing I will say is do not lie to the BON, if caught it will come back and kick you

danny_RN · May 27, 2011

Tell the board of nursing the truth. I know a nurse who decided that she would not tell them that she had been to a 3 day inpatient detox for alcohol. She became licensed as an RN, worked for two years, and then lost her nursing license when they found out that she had been. Now, she is facing a lawsuit and awaiting trial. The BON informed her that if she would have been truthful on her application that she would still have been able to become an RN, but they would have simply been required to perform an investigation of her situation. And I assure you that she was an extremely competent nurse. Don't throw your life away and all of your education by trying to pull one over on the board of nursing. If you are truthful and really do not have a current addiction and are no longer using suboxone, you will be able to take your boards and work as a nurse. Honestly is ALWAYS the best advice.

lb289 · May 27, 2011

I'm just terrified of what will happen. Like will I have restrictions on my license? Drug testing won't be an issue but if I need to choose another line of work that would be pretty devastating all because no ne told me that was treatment

catmom1, BSN, RN · May 27, 2011

Chances are you will have to be in some kind of monitoring, depending on what state you live in. If you don't think you can handle this, go into another line of work. Sorry to be so stark about it, but those are the facts as I know them.

I do not recommend lying--generally.

Catmom :paw:

jackstem · May 27, 2011

Contact the nursing association in your state, they may have information regarding this situation. You can also consult with a license defense attorney experienced with dealing with the board of nursing. The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (http://www.taana.org) can assist you in finding an attorney, or contact the bar association in your area or state (need an administrative law attorney...EXPERIENCED dealing with the board of nursing).

Good luck!

Jack

diva rn, BSN, RN · May 28, 2011

please as hard as this may seem, under no circumstances lie to the bon. when they find out...and they will find out, someday, somehow, it will be so much worse for you. what is worse, is lying to the state on your license application. in just about every state there is a question that asks something to the effect "have you ever been treated for drug or chemical addiction?" (i just recently came across washington state-i am applying for another license)....but there are thousands of us out there...

if your state has an advocacy program i would advise you calling them and self reporting..(fl has the ipn-intervention project for nurses) and most states have them now. they look very kindly on you reporting. they would have you get an evaluation by an addictionologist who would recommend any treatment--or non at all...then you would get a contract-each is different but usually 5 years..meetings every week with other nurses in the program and a nurse facilitator/random urine drug screens/again...it can be tedious but your license is unencumbered as long as you are compliant and everything is done in confidentiality...no one has to know where you work except the person who hired you.

of course, jack always has great advice with consulting an attorney, but i would still find out about the peer group---

believe me, the board of nursing has heard this thousands of times...it isn't anything new to them...they just want the truth..that would make them mad.

i almost lost my florida license of 18 years which is in good standing and has never even had a hand slap on it over something that happened 11 years ago in indiana (2000)...my license there was temporarily suspended (long story) i was on a brief travel assignment--i had to return to fl in an emergency-my step father had died-- when i got back to florida i did not inform fl bon about the suspension in indiana (and appearently neither did the state of indiana), well, 10 years passed and i worked continuously in fl--doing lots of jobs very successfully--icu, don, teaching in college, etc, then in fall of 2010, being basically a "moral" person i wanted to clear everything up, so i flew to indiana, and went before the bon to see where i stood, everything went ok--except--they realized they never contacted florida back in 2000 and they acknowleged they should have!--so guess what--they did then!

i beat them to the punch and called the bon as soon as i got off the plane in fl, but the long story short is--i had to go before the fl bon last june to explain why i didn't tell them back in 2000..and to convince them that i wasn't trying to "state hop"...and hide anything...! (i wasn't--but -i wasn't really forthcoming either, i see that now)

it was only because i had about 20 letters of recommendation with me and i have been in the florida ipn for 2 years and totally compliant and had letters from them--that i was able to keep my license.

the board was talking suspension and even mentioned revokation....they were not at all bothered by the ipn or history of drug treatment...they were angry of what they percieved being kept from them

so, i learned almost the very hard way...please do not take the chance.

you can still get your license, you may have to jump through a few hoops, but that won't last forever, and maybe you need those hoops for awhile...

good luck

the diva

all_over_again · May 31, 2011

If the *ONLY* person who knows of your treatment is your physician, (you've never gotten in trouble with anyone else, no run-ins with the law, etc.) and you never sign a release of information, I would personally be reluctant to go TMI on myself. Lying can make your life miserable. However, know that, without a doubt, that the truth does not set you free. It results in years of nursing hell with no income and a crushed self-esteem.

If you feel the need to be completely honest, give up nursing and become an accountant for a government agency.

The nurse attorney route is most likely to relieve you of $4000 and still leave you unemployed.

lb289 · May 31, 2011

Well the pharmacy knows and in order to apply for a license they point blank ask if I have had treatment in 5 years and I have to sign a medical release form. What do you mean nurse attorney? Am I gonna have to get an attorney? What's gonna happen?

all_over_again · Jun 1, 2011

To whom are you required to release your protected health information in order to obtain your license? Maybe getting an attorney isn't a bad idea if your case is simple. Once it gets big, it becomes the firey snowball from hell and it rolls you over like you're some unfortunate character from Dante's Inferno.

That said, I still wish I were a government accountant. : )

lb289 · Jun 1, 2011

Lord have mercy what happened to you? They just ask for a signature and in the thing it says they may obtain acess of any court medical etc. Records. It says it on every license app in MS

catmom1, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2011

Read through some of the archives here to learn of what nurses who are monitored go through. I agree with the poster who suggested that some need the hoops to reinforce their sobriety. It is doable (completing monitoring) but it can also be hell, especially if the job market is tight, as is the case where I am.

Catmom :paw: