I am a student working on my CNA currently and then going to a fast paced LPN school but i do have concerns about currently and futuristicly......
ok i applied for a job as a UA(Unit Assistant) and a MA (Meal Assistant) at a local heritage manor its a nursing home and i did do a on the spot drug test and i will be honest like i was with them 2 weeks prior to the testing i did smoke pot at a party i guess enough to make me fail i want to be a nurse more than anything in my life i have been clean but this is the catch.....since i failed i have been put on the hot list for heritage manors all over the state... i have to do my CNA clinicals at a heritage manor and LPN clinicals at one to will this effect anything since i failed i have been clean and i do have to take drug tests for my CNA and LPN program can i still do my schooling or will the facilitys look me up and see im on there and kick me out im soo worried its not like im going to work for them......can someone one please give me some answers ive been loosing sleep over this you dont no how bad i want to do this with my life.....i wish i never did it.....but can i still get my CNA and LPN and someday RN with this happened please right back as soon as possible please and thank you.....
When I took my CNA class they only checked to see if I was on the abuse registry. When I came back for the LPN they did drug testing as well as a background check. The school did the background check, but they use a company that the hospital approved, the results went to the school and to the hospital both. This had to be done before we did clinicals. If we did not pass the background class, no clinicals, and that meant no nursing program. The background check was only for arrests and convictions however. So I think you would be fine there. I doubt that the LTC's "do not hire" list would cause you any problems. As many have said, clinical facilities never know your name. As long as you have passed the criminal background checks, you will just be another nameless student to them. Good luck and God bless. Oh, and if you haven't picked up on it, you got lucky. Stay away from the drugs, or next time you may not be as lucky.
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I have a very close friend who has been banned from ever working for Heritage Enterprises as well, and he did his nursing school clinicals at a Heritage Manor, without any problems.
I would tell an instructor about this. You will be worried about being found out the entire time you are in school. I believe most nurses are compassionate by nature and will try to help you in any way they can.
Nursing school is stressful enough without the added worry of being "found out". I agree with another poster that said you don't want to get halfway through your program and then get booted out.
Please don't be hard on yourself as we have all done things we are not proud of and we have all made mistakes.
All the best to you. Things ususally have a way of working themselves out.
When I was in nursing school, we had to submit a drug test each year. Some hospitals required a drug test prior to doing clinical rotations there, so I had to pretty much get one every semester because hospitals required it for their records. So even though the school requires one for their records, a hospital or facility may require one for theirs also. This is where you may get into some trouble because they probably have it on file somewhere that you failed a test before. But who knows? I'd say come clean about it. It looks worse if they find out later on. Being upfront about it shows more that you are owning your mistake and have made an effort to change. Just my humble opinion.
I'm sorry I have to agree with some of the other posters Pot didn't become illegal overnight. While nursing does test more, almost every job in the universe drug tests its employees at least once in the begining. Just because "more than half the universe" has tried an illegal substance does not make it more legal somehow. Regardless of how one feels about making marijuana legal/keeping it illegal, its effects etc... comitting any illegal act reflects poor judgement at best.
That being said it was of course a mistake and we are all human. I also agree with most of the posters that you need to come clean. More importantly I think you need to emphasize that you have learned from this experience. You need to show your school and heritage that you have grown and take your responsibility as a nurse (or student nurse) very seriously and you realize the impact any of your actions may have on your ability to practice. Good Luck!!
I was drug tested several times before being admitted to my nursing school, once after and once before clinicals. The one after I was admitted and the one before clinicals were unannounced. Our clinical assignments do make us take drug tests because of an incident that happened in our state.
OP - I'm glad you feel remorse for what you did and hope you don't make that mistake again. While we all do make mistakes, I agree that you need to take personal responsibility for your actions and fess up to your school and take your consequences like an adult. End of story. Good luck to you.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Just remember that your HR record is personal and CONFIDENTIAL! It cannot be shared or released without your permission. If you are still working at the facility then they have already forgiven you. If not they cannot prevent you from functiong within your program without breaching confidentiality which is protected by law if they do not have your permission. Valuable lesson learned....and not all places drug test. Take a deep breath your life isn't ruined. If that was the case then there would be alot of nurses from the 70's and 80's right up to now that would not be nurses. Marijuana, It should be legalized and taxed! That would help the financial situation in this country. My father once thought Rock and Roll, Led Zepplin, and Ozzie Ozbourne would cause the US to collapse. Have you heard the Caddilac commercial playing Led Zepplin? ouch!
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
The facility cannot SHARE confidential information which is a violation of privacy and can be litigated. HR departments can only give hire, fire, and up for rehire. Anything else is illegal. That being said a valuable lesson is learned....and yes some facilities and schools drug test some do not. Just don play with the loaded gun you will get shot! Don"t panic, calm down, no one will know...except everyone here..lol...just don't do it again
I am not completely sure about this, but I think the only way you cannot, will not, shouldn't even dream of being a nurse if you have a record (like felonies)
O n even if you are around people that do drugs, it will show up on a drug screen. so get out of that crowd QUICK!!!! I failed a school drug test because i hung out with pot smokers and just inhaling it in the air made me test positive, I almost got expelled but I, somehow, was able to convince them i didn't smoke weed and they put me on a test schedule and every 6 weeks i had to test until I completed taht school year.
Oh yea, my school did a check on me and didn't find anything (naturally). I checked my report out after like two months, maybe? I was already in clinicals. I remember seeing a section about, if I had any record of felonies,etc. from any medical facility. In your case, your nursing school will know. Your CNA facility issue would most likely show up in the background check. But, be sure to check your report yourself ahead of time.
So, it will be better for you to tell your advisor/instructor ahead of time. One of two things will happen: 1. They'll move you to another clinical facility, 2. They'll just drop you from the program.
Nursing schools don't really like to accomodate anyone, unless they have to. They'll just take in another student to replace you, I guess it's just easier that way. If you ask me, I think nursing schools in general have too much power and a little greedy at times.
I think the heart of this is, did you smoke pot knowing you were about to attempt entry into a profession that is known to randomly drug test it's employees more often than any other employer in the US including the military, or did the decision to join the profession come after? It was not banned/outlawed over night, you knew the second you sucked it in that it was illegal. Now it's what you make of it, be upfront and honest, if this is found out later then you could be dismissed from the program on ethics violation, if they know you screwed up once and learned from it they most likely will just target you more often for randoms. I'm not sure if the nursing home is "allowed" to directly share the nature of the red flag but we all know people talk. Take this and learn from it, move forward.
Agree with this.
A friend of mine, after accruing debt to graduate from a prestigious BSN program, was working at an excellent teaching facility - had acquired advanced training her specialty, and was well on her way. She was also trying to decide between NP or CRNA school. A couple of unusual patterns of pyxis use and the unit got drug tested, and she got popped.
Now, she is not employed, is facing the BON, not being able to pay off her student loans, and even if she goes through IPN, will probably never be able to work in chosen specialty, due to its exposure to controlled substances, and you might as well shelve the CRNA/NP dream.
This was real big price to pay for a brief "good time".
mikeicurn, ASN, RN
139 Posts
When I took my CNA class they only checked to see if I was on the abuse registry. When I came back for the LPN they did drug testing as well as a background check. The school did the background check, but they use a company that the hospital approved, the results went to the school and to the hospital both. This had to be done before we did clinicals. If we did not pass the background class, no clinicals, and that meant no nursing program. The background check was only for arrests and convictions however. So I think you would be fine there. I doubt that the LTC's "do not hire" list would cause you any problems. As many have said, clinical facilities never know your name. As long as you have passed the criminal background checks, you will just be another nameless student to them. Good luck and God bless. Oh, and if you haven't picked up on it, you got lucky. Stay away from the drugs, or next time you may not be as lucky.