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Discussion

Where do I start?

Hi all...I need help figuring out how to get back doing what I always loved.  I don't know where to start.

So I'll just start at the beginning...

In the latter years of my nursing career (2009, 1010, 1011), I injured myself weight lifting (torn pec), and got hooked on pain meds...it grew into full blown addiction and before long, I was diverting medication up till the point I was caught in 2011...

I was angry and in denial so at the time I said to hell with it...I refused TPAPN saying "I don't have a problem" and ended up getting charged with Felony Fraud poss CS sch I/III...(I didn't know TPAPN would protect me from felony charges at the time).  I got deferred adjudication, put on probation for 2 years, paid restitution of $0.78 (the cost of 1 vial of demerol 50mg) and walked away pissed off at the world.  I voluntarily surrendered my license at this time as well.

On 10/18/2011, my daughter was born and I decided enough was enough.  I got clean and have been clean, aside from prescribed and properly taken Adderall for my ADHD, ever since. 

I went back to school to try something new...I got my BAAS degree in Behavioral Sciences...Right about this time I realized this wasnt going to hack it as far as bills go...I have a wife and 6 children and it was hard going from $45/hr to $10-$15/hr...between my wife and I, we barely scraped by....I began to miss nursing BADLY.

At this time, my thought was, "well what would be the best course of action to take to get my license back?"  Mind you, I only had the help of the loans I got when I was in school.  

My wife was having medical problems so we decided to move from Texas to Tennessee so her parents could help with the kids and at this time I did not know that I could not resolve my TX nursing problems from TN.  At the same time I my wife was diagnosed with STAGE 4 NEUROENDOCRINE CANCER (primary is in the mesenteric root with mets to the liver).  

NOW...im racing against time to get my RN license back so I can raise our children if she leaves us.

I decide to enroll in the online Masters for Addiction Counseling to A) do something I quasi know something about that will bode well for me when I petition the BON for re-instatement, and B) use the extra loan money to help with bills along the way.

I graduate in the middle of 2019 with a 3.98gpa...During this time, I worked for a MHMR company in East Tennessee called Helen Ross McNabb as a counselor working with adolescents and adults in transitional living.  I was there 2 years and built a good relationship with the director of the program.

I have stayed out of trouble, kept regular employment in Substance Abuse Counseling and Mental Health and finally managed to move back to Texas and currently work at Gist State Prison as a Substance Abuse Counselor.

My current status is:

My wife is maintaining...waiting to start Lutatherapy (once COVID #'s decline)

I get paid *** for a person with 90k in school debt

and 

in March 2021(tax time)...im paying for my 1)refresher course, 2)recovery trek monthly tests, 3)CEU's, and 4)beginning to log my year of AA/NA 2x/week (though I never used it to get sober).

My current options are stay in Addiction Counseling, complete the above requirements needed for petitioning the BON, and then Segway to a position at a facility from substance abuse counselor to RN...

OR

Try to find another job like ER Tech or PSYCH Tech, show I'm a new person and 9 years ago was another life and then transition into a RN position once my license is reinstated at a place I already have proven myself.

Trouble is OPTION A is *** pay and we are only getting 32 hours/wk with COVID...

OPTION B may be a tad less money but overtime is plentiful and would more than cover the difference...

I would prefer B, but I am having trouble getting calls...

Does anyone have any advice? Know places that appreciate a Cinderella comeback and would possibly give a changed husband/father a second chance to prove himself?

Im against the clock here...March 2022 is when I should have my license back but in the meantime...we are SUFFERING....

What do I do?

Regards,

tB
 

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    • Featured Replies

    Have you contacted the BON in either state to see what the requirements are?  

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    I would find a lawyer to that deals with licensing and see what you can do to get your license back. Also, from what I read on here Dialysis is monitor friend or with a past! Read up on this forum there’s lots of support here! 

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    • Guides

    Does your contract allow you wo work as an RN but with restrictions. If so I have found that Psych facilities and Dialysis clinics tend to be more forgiving than other types of employers.

    Good luck to you 

    Hppygr8ful

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    • Author
    5 hours ago, hppygr8ful said:

    Does your contract allow you wo work as an RN but with restrictions. If so I have found that Psych facilities and Dialysis clinics tend to be more forgiving than other types of employers.

    Good luck to you 

    Hppygr8ful

    I don't follow.  Did you read my post in its entirety?

     

    On 10/30/2020 at 1:06 PM, AbbeyR said:

    I would find a lawyer to that deals with licensing and see what you can do to get your license back. Also, from what I read on here Dialysis is monitor friend or with a past! Read up on this forum there’s lots of support here! 

    I have, but that is over a year away.

     

    On 10/30/2020 at 10:39 AM, Scared2020 said:

    Have you contacted the BON in either state to see what the requirements are?  

    Tx says I must be in Texas to resolve my problems...so we moved back to Texas.  

    I

    It doesn't look like anyone has even read the post in its entirety.  Ill figure it out on my own I suppose.

    Thanks all...I guess

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    • Guides

    "I don't follow.  did you read my post in its entirety?"

    Yes I did  my comment is a reply to the question you asked below>

    "Does anyone have any advice? Know places that appreciate a Cinderella comeback and would possibly give a changed husband/father a second chance to prove himself?"

    Having read your post it appeared to me that you were trying to get jobs and were having difficulty getting callback. The type of facilities I mentioned have a better rate of hiring nurses with marks on their license. Also as an addiction counselor you could start as a counselor and segway into a nuring position.  You might also cgheck NURSYS and the OIG list because if you are on these lists most employes will steer clear of you. 

    https://www.nursys.com/

    https://exclusions.oig.hhs.gov/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

    Your orinal post was quite long and difficult to get the full jist of your problem so I apologize if my answer did not address your problem.  Congrats on your sobriety and good luck.

    Hppy

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    You wouldn't be able to work as an ER RN anyway for a while. Usually getting your license back involves stipulations about passing narcotics etc that make ER nursing impossible. Also ER tech positions in my area usually go to EMS workers as you're starting IVs, doing EKGs etc. The psych places probably see you as overqualified for a tech position with your work and education background. Our techs only make like 13-15/hr anyway? But psych nursing can be recovery friendly. 

     

    Are you on the OIG list? That will be a huge issue with finding employment.

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    • Author

    I currently do NOT have my RN license.  I voluntary surrendered it in 2012.

    I have a couple things I need to do before I petition the BON for reinstatement including 1)pay for monthly drug screens to prove my sobriety, 2)pay for and take a refresher course, & 3)catch up on my ceu's, etc.

    Because I am the only working provider for my sick/disabled wife and our 6 children I am forced to begin this when my 2020 tax refund comes, begin and maintain for a year, and then pay for a nursing attorney to assist my petition a year later with my 2021 tax refund..

    I am simply looking to get my foot in the door somewhere where I would more easily be able to transition to an RN position as well as have more income in the meantime.

     

    I am NOT on the OIG exclusion list as of today.

     

    Hope this clears things up more.

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    On 11/2/2020 at 3:31 PM, tenacious_B said:

    I currently do NOT have my RN license.  I voluntary surrendered it in 2012.

    I have a couple things I need to do before I petition the BON for reinstatement including 1)pay for monthly drug screens to prove my sobriety, 2)pay for and take a refresher course, & 3)catch up on my ceu's, etc.

    Because I am the only working provider for my sick/disabled wife and our 6 children I am forced to begin this when my 2020 tax refund comes, begin and maintain for a year, and then pay for a nursing attorney to assist my petition a year later with my 2021 tax refund..

    I am simply looking to get my foot in the door somewhere where I would more easily be able to transition to an RN position as well as have more income in the meantime.

     

    I am NOT on the OIG exclusion list as of today.

     

    Hope this clears things up more.

    Yeah, I figured. ? Once you get your license back, it will come with stipulations like not being able to pass narcotics or benzos for X period of time, no overtime, can't be the only nurse on duty etc. ER nursing is not stipulation friendly. Psych nursing can be depending on the facility, same possibly with addictions nursing if they are willing to work with you. Unfortunately, nursing itself is not as open to folks with a past who have turned themselves around as addictions counseling is. It will be an uphill battle. Most nurses start back in dialysis or a *** SNF at least until they can pass narcs again.

    Good luck.

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