Hi anew
Fellow RN addict here. I am in a 3-5 year diversion program with my state licensing board. I have been a CTICU nurse for the bulk of my professional career. In May of this year I self-reported to the BON, got into treatment and lost that job due to gross misconduct (stealing opiates). Because I self-reported I never lost my license - it's currently in an inactive status - I am prohibited from working as an RN. I am due to be reevaluated on the 17th of this month and will probably have my license reactivated and be cleared to limited work (non patient care) with a monitor. I can't say for sure this is what will happen, but my case manager said she is going to recommend this.
Something I want to make clear is that while this does happen, I never deprived any of my patients their pain medication. What I did was blatantly steal from the pixis. I removed drugs from the pixis and put them in my pocket. It took my hospital 2 months to catch up to me. I honestly think I did this because I wanted to get caught. I KNEW I had a problem and didn't know how to get help. WTF? I was the helper, not the helpee.
There's a lot more to my personal story than just how it relates to my profession, but that would be a book (and a 4th step
)
We are no different than the general population and I have come to know dozens of health care professionals in recovery who include nurses, doctors, paramedics, social workers, CRNA's, respiratory therapists and I have even met a couple of cops and a firefighter.
Recovery = Good.