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Monitored Discipline Instructions

Page Contents

Communication

Read your Decision and Order or Settlement Agreement very carefully.

  • You are wholly responsible for doing what the Board of Nursing has ordered or what you agreed to do in your Settlement You will NOT be notified by the Board staff to meet your obligations.
  • You are required to set up an account in the New Mexico Nurse Portal site; https://nmbn.boardsofnursing.org/nmbn. Follow the instructions and once your account is set up, all communication will be through the Nurse Portal Message You should check the Message Center on a regular basis. If new communication is sent to you, you will receive an Alert in your email account.
  • QUESTIONS: If, after reading this packet, you still have questions, contact the Board through the Message Center, and select Discipline as the Category.

 

Drug Screening

  • If you have drug screens ordered make sure that you have contacted the Drug Screening Coordinator to be set up for the Board to start receiving results within 30 days of receipt of your Decision and Order or Settlement Agreement:
  • Read the Policy for Drug Testing and follow all instructions (Policy can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.bon.nm.gov/documents/
  • Contact a Drug Screening Coordinator (Note: this is not a lab; the coordinator will help you find an appropriate lab in your area).
  • Call New Mexico Health Professional Wellness Program (NMHPWP) formerly known as Monitored Treatment Program (MTP) to set up your drug screening at 505-271-0800.
  • Submit a Discipline Monitoring Prescription Report form for any controlled substances that are prescribed to you within 10 days of prescription. Other forms or letters will not be
  • Forms can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.bon.nm.gov/documents/

 

Continuing Education

  • If you have Continuing Education ordered, the steps must be completed within 90 days of the receipt of your Decision and Order or Settlement Agreement:
  • While the BON does not maintain a list of courses, listed below are a few continuing education
    • National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) at http://learningext.com/.
    • Continuing Education Departments of Universities and
    • CE Broker
    • Nursing Associations such as the ANA or
  • Commercial sources of continuing education courses need to be PRE-APPROVED. Submit your request for approval through the New Mexico Nurse Portal/Message Center selecting Discipline
  • The courses must list nurses as part of the target
  • Nursing jurisprudence courses will not be approved if they focus on

 

  • The course should be focused on the Nursing Practice
  • Allow two weeks for the courses to be reviewed and/or denied or
  • If you are submitting a course from National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) at http://learningext.com/ you need to only submit the exact name of the course for approval & you may skip the next
  • Your request must include the following:
  • Title and date of the course(s).
  • Name of provider (institution, association/organization, university/college, etc.).
  • Continuing education approval agency, if any, and number of contact hours approved.
  • Type of course; g., “live” program, home study, audio/video program, on-line or web based.
  • Location of course, if
  • Course objectives and
  • Once the course(s) has been approved and completed you will be responsible for uploading the Completion Certificate(s) that includes the date completed, your name and license number, if applicable, and the name of the course and number of Contact Hours into CE If you do not already have a free basic account you must create one on the following website, https://cebroker.com/.

 

Discipline Monitoring Supervisor Reports

  • If you have supervisor reports ordered, use the Supervisor report form provided on the BON website: https://www.bon.nm.gov/documents/ Other forms or letters will not be
  • You are responsible for ensuring the form is submitted at the frequency Quarterly reports are due at the end of each quarter (March, June, September, and December). Monthly reports are due at the end of each month.
  • If Supervisor reports are required (monthly or quarterly) and you are not currently employed, you are still required to submit a report indicating your lack of

 

Psychological Evaluation/Reports

  • If you have a psychological evaluation/report to submit, do not delay in making this The wait times may be lengthy.
  • Ensure that you are getting the correct If you are unsure of the type of assessment, submit your questions through the Message Center.
  • Submitting the evaluation/report that was ordered is your

 

 

Policy for Drug Tests

 Acceptable Drug Test Coordinator(s)

  1. The Monitored Treatment Program (MTP), 11930 Menaul NE., Suite 113, Albuquerque, NM., 87112 (505-271-0800)

Laboratories: Any nationally certified laboratory or CAP-FUDT, including:

  1. Labcore
  2. Quest
  3. Norchem
  4. SED

Responsibility of Drug Test Coordinator

  1. The Drug Test Coordinator shall obtain a copy of the Policy & Protocol for testing from the board website and agree to follow the guidelines.
  2. The Drug Test Coordinator must ensure that the random drug testing schedules are not regular, prescheduled, and are not based on the nurse’s schedule, but are truly random.
  3. The Drug Test Coordinator shall keep the testing schedule confidential and not allow the nurse to obtain prior notice of any test dates. The Drug test coordinator shall furnish a copy of the monthly testing schedule to the Executive Director.
  4. The nurse must report to the approved drug test collection site within 12 hours of the notification.
  5. The Drug Test Coordinator is responsible for verifying that the specimen was provided within twelve hours of notification. The Drug Test Coordinator is responsible for reporting within 48 hours to the Board of Nursing refusals to test within the twelve (12) hour deadline, positive drug screens, or admissions of relapse and any missed or make up drug tests.
  6. When a drug test is dilute, the Drug Test Coordinator will instruct the nurse to restrict fluids for a minimum of 2 hours prior to testing.
  7. Drug test results must be mailed to the Board of Nursing within 48 hours of receipt of the results by the Drug Test Coordinator. When received by the lab, positive results will be called to the Board of Nursing.
  8. If a nurse is working and unable to leave for testing, a letter from the supervisor must be submitted to the Drug Screen Coordinator. The Drug Screen Coordinator will assign a random make-up test. If the missed test is not documented and scheduled for a make-up test, it is considered a missed/positive drug screen. New Mexico Board of Nursing Discipline Monitoring Program Policy for Drug Tests

 Specimen Collection

  1. The specimen to be collected is urine; however, in cases of testing for ethanol, blood or breath may be required by the Board.
  2. The collector must identify the nurse through photo id, such as a NM driver’s license.
  3. The collection of the drug screen specimen must be directly observed by collector, or a dry room technique (no sink water available, & dye added to the toilet) must be followed.
  4. The collector must perform only one collection at a time. Once verifying the temperature of the specimen, the collector must immediately seal the specimen bottle with tamper-evident tape in the presence of the nurse. The tamper-evident tape shall have an identification number that matches the number on the specimen custody and control form. The nurse initials and dates the seal after placement on the bottle.
  5. The sealed container must be prepared for transport to the laboratory.

Laboratory

  1. Specimens must be analyzed by a laboratory certified by the College of American Pathologists for Forensic Urine Drug Testing (CAP-FUDT) or other national certification agency.
  2. The laboratory must have a written chain of custody plan for handling and storage of urine samples. Positive drug test specimens must be preserved frozen for at least one year after testing.
  3. The laboratory must confirm all positive alcohol results by Gas Chromatography (GC).The laboratory must confirm all non-alcohol positive drug tests by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS).
  4. Each Test must be a “10 COUNT” screen and include the drug(s) in the compliant, alcohol, and any other drug specified by the board of nursing.
  5. The drug test results of any positive test, complete with internal batch chains of custody, aliquot chains of custody, instrument print outs and quality control records, must be preserved by the laboratory for at least five years.
  6. The initial and confirmation drug tests will follow the current College of American Pathologists for Forensic Urine Drug Testing (CAP-FUDT) guidelines. cap.org.
  7. The Drug Test Report will include:
    1. List of drugs tested validating all the required drugs have been included.
    2. confirmation method utilized for positive drug tests
    3. cutoff levels for all tests
    4. If a specimen is determined to be adulterated, substituted, dilute or invalid, this information is included on the report.
    5. Testing each specimen for nitrites, pH, creatinine and specific gravity (when warranted by creatinine results).

 

Responsibility of the Board of Nursing/ Diversion Program

  1. The Executive Director will approve the Drug Test Coordinator and laboratory within these guidelines.
  2. The Drug Test Coordinator will follow the Board of Nursing Policy and Protocol for drug test screening.
  3. The Board of Nursing will determine the frequency of random drug testing.
  4. The Board of Nursing may ask the Drug Test Coordinator to verify the method used to assure that calls for random drug testing are variable enough to be unpredictable.
  5. The Board of Nursing may ask the specimen collector to verify the method used to collect the specimen and chain of custody.
  6. The Board of Nursing may ask the laboratory to verify:
    1. National certification for workplace drug testing.
    2. the chain of custody plan for handling and storage of urine samples.
    3. information on the confirmation process used by the laboratory.
  7. The Executive Director will report refusal to respond within the twelve (12) hour deadline, refusal of any call, or not being available for calls to the Board of Nursing as noncompliance with the conditions of the Board’s Order.
  8. Drug tests confirmed positive for a drug and/or found to be adulterated, substituted, invalid/unsuitable or dilute may be reported to the Board of Nursing as being in non-compliance with the conditions of the Board’s Order:
    1. Adulterated specimens include but are not limited to the following:
      1. Nitrite = 500ug/ml ( Nitrite too high).
      2. pH = 3.0 (pH too low) or = 11.0 (pH too high).
  • glutaraldehyde.
  1. Chromate.
  2. Other agents or foreign objects.
  1. Substituted specimen is defined as:
    1. Creatinine = 5mg/dL and specific gravity = 1.001 or = 1.020 (substituted).
  2. Invalid/unsuitable specimens include but are not limited to pH < 4.5 and > 3.0 or >9.0 and <11.0.
  3. creatinine = 5.0 mg/dL and specific gravity < 1.020 and = 1.003.
  4. Dilute specimens are defined as:
    1. Creatinine < 20 mg/dL (but greater than 5.0 mg/dL) and specific gravity <1.003 (dilute).
    2. Creatinine of = 5.0 mg/dL and specific gravity of 1.002.

 

Responsibility of the Nurse being monitored:

  1. To read and follow the policy and protocol for drug testing.
  2. To call the Drug Screening Coordinator daily for notification of random testing days.
  3. To check the times available to submit specimens at the drug screening facility.
  4. To test with in the hours of operation at the drug screening facility, or to submit at an alternative location when the facility is not available to test.
  5. The nurse is responsible for all testing related costs. The nurse is to remain in good financial standing with the drug screening site. The nurse will be in noncompliance if unable to test due to not paying drug screening fees.
  6. To restrict fluids for 2 hours prior to testing to avoid dilute specimens. Nurses who repeatedly have diluted specimens shall submit a letter from their medical provider regarding medical condition resulting in dilute specimens.
  7. To avoid the consumption of poppy seeds and all over the counter medication and or ingesting any product containing alcohol.
  8. To get prior approval from the Board of Nursing for inability to test due to travel plans.
  9. To submit a letter (to the Board of Nursing and Drug Screen Coordinator) from the nurse supervisor for missing a test due to inability of leaving the workplace, within 7 days of the missed test.
  10. To ensure there is reliable transportation to the testing facility.
  11. To contact the Drug Screening Coordinator to reschedule an excused missed test.
  12. To submit a prescription and controlled medication provider report to the Board of Nursing within 10 days of any medications prescribed that may result in positive drug screens