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[DrVan Nostrand]

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[Mad Jack]

I am set to do a 2nd year rotation at the VA. It is just a few times a month. I was required to consent to random drug tests.

What are the odds this actually happens? Have any of you been selected to be tested before?

This is gonna sound wild but maybe just don't do drugs while at the VA

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

If it did happen and you test positive, it would defintely be reported to your school and you would be suspended, or less likely separated.

You would also have to do physicians with substance abuse meetings for a while

 

[Mad Jack]

Yeah, I'm not. But it is possible to have done them before learning about the mandatory testing agreement... and some can stay in your system for a long time

Most things are out of your system in days, unless you've got a high BMI and are smoking marijuana like it's your job. Drug tests don't tend to be as random as they make them out to be and typically get asked for when someone seems off at most places. The random testing pool tends to not include non-employees in most environments so they need to go out of their way to test non-employees. I don't work at the VA and couldn't tell you how their process works for sure, but it is likely low risk so long as you're not currently using anything since the chances of a test lining up with the time period where you happen to also have a substance pop positive is low.

To anyone reading this thread, I would strongly recommend avoiding substances throughout training, as it can become an almost insurmountable barrier to practice on the small chance you get tested by your school or a rotation site and come up positive for something. You didn't make it this far just to lose it all for a quick high

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Most things are out of your system in days, unless you've got a high BMI and are smoking marijuana like it's your job. Drug tests don't tend to be as random as they make them out to be and typically get asked for when someone seems off at most places. The random testing pool tends to not include non-employees in most environments so they need to go out of their way to test non-employees. I don't work at the VA and couldn't tell you how their process works for sure, but it is likely low risk so long as you're not currently using anything since the chances of a test lining up with the time period where you happen to also have a substance pop positive is low.

To anyone reading this thread, I would strongly recommend avoiding substances throughout training, as it can become an almost insurmountable barrier to practice on the small chance you get tested by your school or a rotation site and come up positive for something. You didn't make it this far just to lose it all for a quick high

Would this apply to controlled substance prescriptions by a doctor? Wouldn’t these get flagged by the test?

 

[FlowRate]

IIRC I did get drug tested as part of standard onboarding for a couple of sites/jobs through my medical training. I don't use any drugs so it wasn't an issue but just pointing out it can absolutely come up and you may not be given enough time to clear things that do stick around (I think I had to do my UDS for my current job within a week.) I also disagree with the above, THC seems to stick around based on the number of pts testing positive for it who have significant incentive to... not.