Back in 1997 I got a DUI.  I was young and very immature.  I blamed everybody else but me.  I got my life on track, got married, had a child, and a non-satisfying career.  I unfortunately made another irresponsible mistake in 2006 and got another DUI.  This time I blamed nobody but me.  From the moment the door went open at the police station and my wife was there to pick me up with our daughter sleeping on her lap, I knew I was never going to disappoint them again.  I decided to take matters into my own hands and challenge myself to a new field, I decided to pursue Respiratory Therapy.  School would be a good idea, especially not having the ability to drive for a year.  I will admit it took awhile for me to warm up to the idea of me performing the taks of the RT, but it did finally kick in after about a year.  I was committed.  I got through school, passed my CRT on the first attempt and was ready to go.  However, because of my past record of DUI, the Board of Medicine wanted to send me for an evaluation.  I consented and had the evaluation, that evaluator concluded that I had no issues, no need for further treatment and recommended my status to the Board.  However, the case manager for the VRP (Voluntary Recovery Program) decided that because I had an acknowledge use of alcohol that I had an impairment.  He indicated that I needed to be monitored for 3 YEARS as per program in order to get a recommendation for licensure.  Needless to say I am dumbfounded that past indiscepencies would be judged so harshly.  I have done so much to move forward and leave the past in the past, I have found new focus, new purpose and yet I am not able to get past it. 

Does anyone have any advice or just a helpful perspective on this topic, I would greatly appreciate some words from professionals in the field.  By the way, I also past the written portion of my RRT exam on the first attempt!  Thanks so much for this forum.

Go with the plan. You should be able to get a probationary license at the least and submit to random testing. Remember, even if it is legal, alcohol is considered a drug. Drug abuse is a serious problem in medicine. They want to make sure your nose stays clean. There is an old saying in business: "I don't care what you have done, but what you are going to do". It applies here as in 'we want to know to know if you have the stuff to maintain sobriety'. If you don't want to follow their rules (which were reviewed by your colleagues), just as well you find another line of business. You don't have to be licensed to do a lot of respiratory kind of things. You could be an inside or outside sales person for a gas company selling bulk oxygen or a staffer.

Hey Jason,

You are not being treated on fairly, not sure why you think so. Listen you made some mistakes. By your own admission you got a DUI in 1997, then you got one in 2006, 9 yrs later. No where in your post does it say you ever went to AA meetings, sought treatment or did you mention anything that you have done to correct your drinking problem. ( that is if you even think you have a problem) Getting married, having a kid, passing a test etc. does not all of a sudden cure you from your problem or make up for anything. I find it pretty funny that you said a evaluator said you have no issues with drinking.  Well lets see 2 DUI's in 9 yrs?? THATs and ISSUE. So what have you done lately to make sure it does not happen again?

If you where in the state of Washington, you would most likely have to be involved in a program for 5 yrs mandatory to keep or get your license. So I would not complain about 3 years. Listen, becoming a RT is a privledge and you take on alot of responsibilty. They should scrutinize people applying for licensure. What if you relaspe again? you work around drugs? they want to know this will not happen again. I am sorry, just saying it won;t happen is not good enough.

I am not trying to discount anything you have accomplished. You have done alot and changed your life.  But, our (your)decisions come with consequences. So if you want to be an RT. Then you need to take ownership to keep your license. If the state says do this, you do it. If they say jump this way, you do it.  It is a small price to pay to get a license and keep it. This is a great field and think of the people you could help if you choose to just from your mistakes.

 

Good luck and hang in there  Ty 

 

Persevere, the odds may be stacked against you now, but you'll appreciate the success more when you jump through all of the hoops and still obtain your license anyway.

I'll just respond in bold within the quotation.

Ty Sauve:

Hey Jason,

You are not being treated on fairly, not sure why you think so. Listen you made some mistakes. By your own admission you got a DUI in 1997, then you got one in 2006, 9 yrs later. No where in your post does it say you ever went to AA meetings, sought treatment or did you mention anything that you have done to correct your drinking problem. ( that is if you even think you have a problem) Getting married, having a kid, passing a test etc. does not all of a sudden cure you from your problem or make up for anything. I find it pretty funny that you said a evaluator said you have no issues with drinking.  Well lets see 2 DUI's in 9 yrs?? THATs and ISSUE. So what have you done lately to make sure it does not happen again?

A.)  People are not "treated on fairly" but they ARE treated unfairly sometimes.  People are not cured "from" a problem but they ARE cured "of" a problem.

B.)  How he deals with these issues is between him, the court system, and the state board.  Obviously, exactly what happens depends on the prosecuting jurisdiction.  Virtually all DUI offenders have to attend some sort of substance abuse counseling or victim impact panel.  Again, it varies widely but there is almost always SOMETHING.  The guy is just venting, live and let live.

C.) Honestly, a small history of misdemeanor alcohol offenses reflects better on the profession than does the brilliance with which you express yourself through the medium of the English language.  So look Dr. Phil, you are correct in that we SHOULD have high standards for our profession; however, you need to realize that by and large, we don't.  RT schools in Indiana are still struggling to stay open (although not as much as they were some years ago) while nursing schools have waiting lists with dozens of names.  Pretty much the only resume dressings one would need to get into an RT program here (and many other places) are the minimum passing grades and a pulse.  RT programs are expensive to operate and when class after class is only filled to 50% capacity then the department administration begins to apply pressure and the programs are phased out, hence the not-so-competitive admissions.  Face it, the guy who unclips the velvet rope at Club RT lets just about anybody in.

D.) Just do YOUR job the best you can and provide your patients the best possible treatment and stop worrying about what other people should do to get their license.  The OP was just venting his feelings and it of course elicited a "holier than thou" response from one of the Florence Nightengales of the RT profession. Let me guess, you're a department director and long-time AARC member. What is the partial pressure of O2 waaayyyyyyy up there in your ivory tower?

If you where in the state of Washington, you would most likely have to be involved in a program for 5 yrs mandatory to keep or get your license. So I would not complain about 3 years. Listen, becoming a RT is a privledge and you take on alot of responsibilty. They should scrutinize people applying for licensure. What if you relaspe again? you work around drugs? they want to know this will not happen again. I am sorry, just saying it won;t happen is not good enough.

A.) I feel privileged to count among members of my profession those who are incapable of spelling the word "privilege".

B.) Maybe you work at one of those facilities where RTs are actually respected and they intubate, insert A-lines, assist bedside perc trachs and atomize sputum plugs with merely a single slap of a cupped palm.  Those jobs are out there and kudos to you for having one and hopefully flourishing in it.  The problem that occurs so often with departments like that is they often end up eating their newest staff members before their true potential is realized.  You become so full of yourselves that you pounce on and attack any nurse, student, or orientee who dares question the efficiency of P&P or quality of your equipment and drive them out so that there can be peace in the ivory tower once again.  You even go so far as to sign onto internet message boards and give "tough love" to frustrated RT hopefuls with mildly checkered pasts.

C.) The drugs we work around have zero abuse potential.  Sure, RTs have been sent before state boards for stealing meds usually for self-medication for asthma or some sort of misguided Robin Hood enterprise in which they gave them to friends or relatives with little or no health coverage.  I don't think you have to worry about someone who likes the booze stealing a few albuterol bullets.  It's sort of a high risk-low reward proposition.

I am not trying to discount anything you have accomplished. You have done alot and changed your life.  I thought you said that his recent life changes and accomplishments didn't "make up for anything"? But, our (your)decisions come with consequences. So if you want to be an RT. Then you need to take ownership to keep your license. If the state says do this, you do it. If they say jump this way, you do it.  It is a small price to pay to get a license and keep it. This is a great field Why, because you say so?  What makes it so great? and think of the people you could help if you choose to just from your mistakes.  Yeah, most of the jobs he applies to will turn him into little more than a licensed waiter.  Your Duoneb tx, sir.  Tonight we have Pulmicort 0.25mg for dessert as always. 

Good luck and hang in there  Ty 

 

Look Ty, I am in no way a licensed psychologist or MHC; however I do know that 2 DUIs in 9 years does not necessarily mean that someone is an alcoholic.  Alcoholism implies dependency; two DUIs in 9 years implies poor decision making.  Now, there may have actually been 200 potential DUIs in that 9 years but he was only caught twice.  Only the OP knows the truth. 

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OTB
RRT, RPSGT
Indianapolis, IN

Wow! I CAN spell and I read ad hominem here. Remember, humorously, the difference between a drunk and an alcoholic is those darn meetings.