felony charge...what do i do?

[NurseRed]

Hi everyone..today is my first day here and have been reading all these posts for hours today. Here is my issue, I was arrested 2 days ago for diverting narcotics, i am an LPN, my charge is called " Falsifying Business Records". I have no criminal history at all, i have left my current job by my choice. I was addicted to narcotics 3 yrs ago and sucessfuly finished treatment with an addiction phyciatrist ( this addiction was brought on by having back surgery) after the surgery i worked for almost 2yrs clean. But i made the mistake and gave into an urge to divert. I feel that my whole life and career are over. The first thing i did after the arrest was see my addiction phyciatrist to tell him the situation. My question is will i ever be able to work as a nurse again without this on my record? any advice is so greatly appreciated...thank you

[cali510]

Sorry to hear this has happened to you. The first thing you need to do is to get an attorney. You should also notify your malpractice insurance company to find out if your license defense benefit will be available in this situation. Once you have talked to an attorney, you will have to notify your Board. Then it will be up to the Board as to what happens to your license. Good luck.

[nadeau]

I totally understand your position Nurse Red...I am in a jam myself and am seeking someone who has knowlege in obtaining a license again. I am from oklahoma and they require 500 dollars to begin reinstatement. Everyone on the posts talk about obtaining a lawyer...its hard enough for me to come up with 500 much less retainer fees...

[cali510]

Originally Posted by nadeau

I totally understand your position Nurse Red...I am in a jam myself and am seeking someone who has knowlege in obtaining a license again. I am from oklahoma and they require 500 dollars to begin reinstatement. Everyone on the posts talk about obtaining a lawyer...its hard enough for me to come up with 500 much less retainer fees...

It may be hard to come up with the money but no one will advise you to deal with your board without an attorney. You want to minimize your chances of being railroaded and having an attorney in your corner is the best way to do this. Good luck.

[hppygr8ful]

Originally Posted by cali510

It may be hard to come up with the money but no one will advise you to deal with your board without an attorney. You want to minimize your chances of being railroaded and having an attorney in your corner is the best way to do this. Good luck.

If you were working in a union hoaspital talk to your rep - if you were carrying malpractice insurance You might have coverage for a lawyar to defend your license. I personally found that if you are working a strong program of recovery the whole process of dealing with the boards is much easier.

hppy

[Lynda Maier]

Originally Posted by NurseRed

Hi everyone..today is my first day here and have been reading all these posts for hours today. Here is my issue, I was arrested 2 days ago for diverting narcotics, i am an LPN, my charge is called " Falsifying Business Records". I have no criminal history at all, i have left my current job by my choice. I was addicted to narcotics 3 yrs ago and sucessfuly finished treatment with an addiction phyciatrist ( this addiction was brought on by having back surgery) after the surgery i worked for almost 2yrs clean. But i made the mistake and gave into an urge to divert. I feel that my whole life and career are over. The first thing i did after the arrest was see my addiction phyciatrist to tell him the situation. My question is will i ever be able to work as a nurse again without this on my record? any advice is so greatly appreciated...thank you

Hey NurseRed my heart goes out to you. As you can see by my posting I have had a rough time too. If you can, hire an attorney but make sure you trust them cause sometimes they can make it worse. It's going to be really rough for awhile but just take one day at a time. Remember if your meant to be a nurse this will pass and you will continue in the field. If not it's because there's something better out there for you. Good luck and God bless. Lynda Maier