Will history of addiction prevent licensure in FL?

[Waldonian]

A fellow pre-RN student and friend of mine is struggling with addiction to hydrocodone (prescribed for back pain). Her physical therapy sessions have gotten her to the point where she no longer needs the meds for pain, but when she goes a day without taking them she starts to withdraw. She feels she can't deal with the withdraw symptoms while going to school full time and working, so she's continued to ask the doctor for refills. She wants to discuss this with her doctor, and try suboxone or another form of gradual withdraw but is afraid to because of the questions about addiction treatment on the application for RN licensure in Florida. The two questions which worry her are:

6a "...have you been enrolled in, required to enter into, or participated in any drug or alcohol recovery program...within the past five years?

6f "During the last five years, have you been treated for or had a recurrence of a diagnosed substance-related (alcohol/drug) disorder that has impaired your ability to practice nursing"

She certainly doesn't want to start nursing school addicted to narcotics, but she is afraid of either falling behind in school while she suffers through the withdraw symptoms unaided or having her eligibility for licensure affected by a diagnosis of addiction. She has no criminal history with drugs, though she did get a DUI about ten years ago.

What I want to find out for her is:

1. Could answering yes to either of these questions potentially disqualify her, require her to be in some sort of monitoring program as a condition of licensure, or cause her any other problems?

2. Would using suboxone or some sort of doctor supervised tapering off of dosage be considered a "recovery program" in question 6a?

3. Does 6f even pertain to her, it hasn't "impaired her ability to practice nursing" in the sense that she is not yet a nurse, and her addiction hasn't yet impaired her ability to work in general?

[MB37]

Is it a true "addiction", or just dependence from needing to take the meds for pain? She needs to talk to her doc. Remind her that many clinical sites and almost all nursing jobs WILL drug test, and she'll have to explain the positive opiate result. If she can start a graduated withdrawal program now, approved by her physician, she may be able finish school. We aren't allowed to address the legal issues on allnurses, or tell you what the board may decide - everything is on a "case by case" basis, so saying yes doesn't automatically bar you from getting a license.

[missjennmb]

It doesn't sound like a druggy issue so much as a mismanaged meds issue. I would definitely urge your friend to go to her doctor and get this nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand. Right now it just looks like needing assistance to get off of a prescribed medication but a year from now, its going to look like a real problem (and very well may be).

[ASUME00]

Physical withdraw from opiates usually lasts from 1-3 days depending on daily use. A non-addict would be able to taper the drug for a few days and then cease them. It sounds like your friend already has a huge problem on her hands. I speak from experience and this mirrors my early days of addiction. Being prescribed a med for pain and finding it almost impossible to stop even after the pain did. The question is asked not to condemn someone but to identify a potential problem before it starts.

The field of nursing is an optimal place for a person with an addiction to fail. We are surrounded by drugs with easy access and hi stress. Your friend already has a history with abuse as evidenced with her past DUI. She needs help now so that she can thrive as a nurse, not fail.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to the "Nursing Licensure With A Criminal History" forum.

[guest310661]

Hi I just moved from FL. It's not as if she was getting these drugs off the street. But there are plenty of people who have become addicted to presciption narcotics. The board would investigate and when they found out that this person did have a legal need for the pain medication and that they did have a legal prescription then I don't think that they would punish for that. But it sounds as if your friend is heading down a dangerous road by not discussing it with their Doctor because now they are starting to "abuse" the medication. Do you see what I'm saying? I use to do some work in a Drud,Detox & Rehab Facility. Many people who ended up in our program started out on a legitamate prescription for narcotics ( at least that is their story ) and then they became addicted. Your friend is not that far into this though and there is still time to nip it in the butt before it becomes a life changing event. Ignoring the potential problem is not going to make it go away and could place their life in jeopardy, not just their schooling. It's worth looking into now. Hope all goes well.

There is my

[laurie01]

I am not sure about this particular sittuation but speaking for myself. I am in recovery adn have previous charges. I had to go through alot of stuff to get where I am at in my pre reqs. I had to seek the state of Florida Pardon and reinstaement of my civil rights in order to start my pre reqs. I also waited for 11 years before I EVER APPROACHED THIS ISSUE. I am now where I so desire to be I amin school working on Pre Reqs and have every intenetion to pursue nursing in the future. I cna say that it is hard but I would also consult with the BON and recognize that everything is doe an a case to case basis.T he more proof that you have abotu the sittuation adn how it was resolved the better the chance was my understanding when I spoke to the BON OF FLORIDA last year. I pray alot and I stay strong and keep the faith one day at a time. This is how I have made it this far.

Good Luck to you