Weed and work.

Nurses General Nursing

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A classmate of mine is a heavy cannabis user. To the point where he has not even applied for any positions yet because he is certain that his pre-screening drug test will come back positive. He says that he just has to stay clean long enough to pass the drug screening because "hospitals hardly ever drug tests to nurses."

How true is this? How often are nurses screened at YOUR facility? I was going to ask my preceptor, but I think me asking will look weird..

They test on a computer randomized schedule as well as any time there is an "incident" (i.e.: patient fall, etc) so you can never be sure. Better not to take a chance to lose that license he worked so hard for!

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I hurt my back during a shift and was immediately sent to employee health, where I was required to submit a sample for a drug screen.

You never know when you might be injured, have a patient fall on your watch, or be the unlucky nurse working on the day the narc count is off and cannot be reconciled.

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My company doesn't drug test nurses, but I mean they can one day just decide to drug test. You just never know.

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Wait, why in the world do they do drug tests on an employee when a patient falls? It seems to me that all that would accomplish is cause people who are using drugs not to report patient falls.

And OP, you can tell your friend that after I did my first drug screen, a week later I got a call saying the results were invalid and I needed to go pee in a cup again. Had I been a habitual weed smoker, I probably would have thought that I was in the clear and could start back up after my first test.

Maybe when your friend actually has something at stake (like losing his job), it'll be easier for him to lay off. Right now it seems like no big deal.

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Specializes in Critical care.

In 25 years I have never been screened, so maybe not all that random (I am a straight and narrow kinda guy). I know we screen anyone suspected of diversion, generally speaking agency nurses (sorry for the generalization). That being said when I moved to Hawaii, and went to the first company BBQ, my manager offered me a joint. My wife is an RT, and when she moved to a new hospital they said, do you need to wait a week to take the pee test? She didn't, but it says a lot about how many failed tests they get here. I suppose it depends on the culture of the area you are working.

Cheers

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Specializes in Critical care.
Wait, why in the world do they do drug tests on an employee when a patient falls? It seems to me that all that would accomplish is cause people who are using drugs not to report patient falls.

That seems messed up to me. Sort of like they are implying that staff must be impaired to let a patient fall. Or maybe they are trying to blame the staff for falls, like if they are stingy with sitters on confused patients, must be the RN slacking, not admin being cheap bastards.

Cheers

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That seems messed up to me. Sort of like they are implying that staff must be impaired to let a patient fall. Or maybe they are trying to blame the staff for falls, like if they are stingy with sitters on confused patients, must be the RN slacking, not admin being cheap bastards.

Cheers

Ha I know, they must love being able to put the blame on a nurse who smoked some weed on their off day last weekend...instead of admitting there wasn't enough staff to help a patient to the bathroom before he got so worried he'd have an accident that he just tried to go on his own!

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Yeah I know. That's why I was asking how often it's done at YOUR facility, or if they even do them at all.

Unless your friend plans to work where one of us is working, the answer doesn't really matter. If your friend is that dependent on weed, he needs help, not ways to beat the system.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.

We screen for employment, for injuries, for large narcotic count discrepancies or for "reasonable suspicion." No random tests and I can think of only once in 20 years when anybody was tested for a narc count being way off. Turns out the missing meds fell into a little gap behind the counter but they tested all the staff that had worked on the affected wing before it was found. Only one time that I know somebody was screened for suspicion, and that wasn't drugs but alcohol. They called the police to administer a breathalyzer and escorted the person out when it came back positive.

I do wonder about the policies of screening for other than pre-employment in the states where marijuana is legal. Even if the state says it's ok the federal government doesn't yet agree. If it becomes an issue does the state BON side with the state laws or the federal laws on legality of use?

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That seems messed up to me. Sort of like they are implying that staff must be impaired to let a patient fall. Or maybe they are trying to blame the staff for falls, like if they are stingy with sitters on confused patients, must be the RN slacking, not admin being cheap bastards.

Cheers

EXACTLY!

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The last place I worked did an initial screening only. Then once employed you would only be tested if drugs disappeared or diversion was suspected. I worked there for 5 years and was never drug tested past the original drug screen. However they will tell you upfront that they reserve the right to drug test you at any time. If your roommate wants to protect his license he needs to stop smoking. Smoking weed is not compatible with nursing, it just isn't.

Edited to add:

If there is a major incident at work or your friend gets so much as a needle stick chances are good they will test him. If a patient should punch him and he would need emergency treatment that will mean a drug screen and the results reported to the BON if positive. Hospitals will do EVERYTHING in their power to shift liability to the nurse.

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I tried to relay this message to him NUMEROUS times. But I think he is officially addicted. He has personality changes after a few days without smoking. He gets angrier easily, cant concentrate, is like a ticking time bomb. I hate it for him, but it's kinda one of those "none of my business" situations..

Speaking for myself only here I would marginalize that person in my life, and lose contact with him. There is guilt by association and this is just not something you need in your life. Lose him and concentrate on being your best self.

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