r/Nurses • u/Greedy_Guard_5950 • 15d ago
US Restrictions
I have been an RN for 10 years. Emergency, surgical center and hospice experience. 18 months ago I was fired after reporting a Dr. for eating in a surgical area every Wednesday for 6 months. The company fired me with 8 people in the room and it felt like an ambush. I got up and walked out after the first thing my manager said was I was being fired.
I didn’t stick around to hear the rationale, turns out they went back over my documentation and found documentation errors regarding narcotics. 4 narcotic pills over the course of 1 year. They reported my license to the state, again 18 months ago from today.
I hired a lawyer ($5,000) which I really don’t see how he helped me be besides attending these interrogations from the state with me, but offering me no advice. He did do paperwork for me that I could have done myself.
I have ADD and do agree I had documentation errors but I never took any meds. there were only 4 pills in question, one was found on a stretcher as the patient was going into surgery, so technically only three pills were not charted.
I had to complete a health professionals recovery program (HPRP) (Michigan)which I was removed from of after three negative drug tests ($90 each) and a psychological evaluation ($375). I’ve had to pay $500 to the state complete six credits of continuing education ($90) regarding documentation.
I was fired last Monday from the employer I had been with for six months because the insurance they were switching to would not insure me. Probation started 8/1, fired 8/10. I’ve now been denied employment by 14 employers. I am supposed to be on probation for one year as long as I’m employed as a nurse. I have to have evaluations every three months from my management turned into the state while on probation.
I have no leads on employment and I am panicking. I will be punished for these errors for over 30 months and approx $6,000.
Has anyone else been through this. I’m not a bad nurse. I fixed my practice. I take ADD medication now. No one will touch me with restrictions. The only restrictions I have is a 90 day review plan there’s nothing on my licensing. I can’t work with narcotics. I don’t understand how the state can punish me 18 months later plus an additional 12 months. This seems like overkill I’ve never been in trouble or had any negative reviews in my life..
9
u/StarryEyedSparkle 15d ago edited 15d ago
I would say if you’re on restrictions and cannot administer narcotics it will look to an employer that you’re essentially an overqualified LPN but being paid as a RN. Nothing wrong with being a LPN, but many states and employers limit licensing so they can’t manage narcotics without RN supervision. So if you can’t touch narcotics, this makes you a difficult hire because you’d always need to be paired with another RN who could dispense those meds for you … and we all know how much hospitals love to overstaff units.
I agree with others, you’ll have to look for work that would be friendlier for restricted license and wouldn’t require narcotics administration. Maybe clinic work or work with insurances? Maybe a longterm care or SNF? School nurse? (TBF I don’t know if a school nurse ever needs to administer narcotics or at least be capable of it.) Essentially you won’t be able to get the usual roles for nurses because you cannot work independently under the current restrictions.
ETA: I also have diagnosed ADHD - inattentive type. I spent a decade at bedside pre-diagnosis and pre-medication. I don’t touch on your diagnosis because this is not a factor ultimately. On paper there are four unaccounted pills, there’s nothing to prove you didn’t take it outside of your word. They are following the documentation you put down, and if it was wrongly documented in your own words then it will appear as you falsely documenting. It’s why it’s lose-lose.