Drug test for scribing job

[Evisju7]

So, I'm going to have to take a drug test for the new job that I got.
I'm concerned because:

• I smoked weed for the first time 3 weeks ago.
• I took Ativan recently. I had a prescription for Ativan, but the bottle is at my dorm which I don't have access to. I know that my doctor will write me a note if I ask her though.

Will either of these make me fail the test?

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[Entadus]

If you only smoked once, there is no way it will be detected in a standard urine test. For it to be detectable after 3 weeks, you would have had to be smoking daily for a long period. (Source: college friends, also: http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/drugtestguide/drugtestdetection.html )

If you have a legitimate prescription for Ativan, you shouldn't worry. Just disclose it at the testing center and provide your doctor's contact info to verify the prescription.

 

[intangible]

Technically, traces of cannabis use stays in your system for up to 30 days...but I find it highly unlikely that it'll come up on a tox screen.

The Ativan poses an implicit problem. Even if the medication showed up, it's legitimate and can be proven by a call to your doctor's office. I would be more worried about the fact that Ativan is a psychoactive medication that may bring to light the underlying condition that caused you to have it prescribed...which is obviously a problem for some workplaces.

 

[Evisju7]

Technically, traces of cannabis use stays in your system for up to 30 days...but I find it highly unlikely that it'll come up on a tox screen.

The Ativan poses an implicit problem. Even if the medication showed up, it's legitimate and can be proven by a call to your doctor's office. I would be more worried about the fact that Ativan is a psychoactive medication that may bring to light the underlying condition that caused you to have it prescribed...which is obviously a problem for some workplaces.

Interesting point. I don't think it will be a problem, but I can always sweep it under the rug with some general, benign, statment.

I don't take it very often, but just happened to take it recently (being around family during the stressful holidays). I was prescribed it such a long time ago, nearly a year. It's lasted way longer than intended. I hope that won't be an issue.

But do you think this will even be on the analysis? For a scribing position, what's the usual panel? Does it include benzodiazepines?

 

[intangible]

Interesting point. I don't think it will be a problem, but I can always sweep it under the rug with some general, benign, statment.

I don't take it very often, but just happened to take it recently (being around family during the stressful holidays). I was prescribed it such a long time ago, nearly a year. It's lasted way longer than intended. I hope that won't be an issue.

But do you think this will even be on the analysis? For a scribing position, what's the usual panel? Does it include benzodiazepines?

Just make sure the prescription is legally valid and you're doing okay on and off of it. A word of (humble) warning from a fellow student who is also prescribed psychoactive medication.

 

[ski89]

Technically, traces of cannabis use stays in your system for up to 30 days...but I find it highly unlikely that it'll come up on a tox screen.

The Ativan poses an implicit problem. Even if the medication showed up, it's legitimate and can be proven by a call to your doctor's office. I would be more worried about the fact that Ativan is a psychoactive medication that may bring to light the underlying condition that caused you to have it prescribed...which is obviously a problem for some workplaces.

Meh. First off your medical record is confidential, so no employer can look at it even if they wanted to (at least for a scribe job). Second, Ativan is a pretty common drug that many people are prescribed PRN and does not necessarily indicate a significant mental health problem (as oppose to something like an anti psychotic). Lots of trial lawyers for example have Ativan available if they need it.


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[Conflagration]

Interesting point. I don't think it will be a problem, but I can always sweep it under the rug with some general, benign, statment.

I don't take it very often, but just happened to take it recently (being around family during the stressful holidays). I was prescribed it such a long time ago, nearly a year. It's lasted way longer than intended. I hope that won't be an issue.

But do you think this will even be on the analysis? For a scribing position, what's the usual panel? Does it include benzodiazepines?

I believe benzos are typically on drug panels; I take Zoloft and would have to disclose my prescription since it does the same thing to me.

If it's an active prescription, it shouldn't be an issue. If you're out of refills, then I'd think that would be a greater issue- but you could talk to your doctor and he might issue a new prescription.

Also, I don't think a company is allowed to lay you off for a diagnosis- that's personal information and such practices are discriminatory.

Good luck!

 

[intangible]

Meh. First off your medical record is confidential, so no employer can look at it even if they wanted to (at least for a scribe job). Second, Ativan is a pretty common drug that many people are prescribed PRN and does not necessarily indicate a significant mental health problem (as oppose to something like an anti psychotic). Lots of trial lawyers for example have Ativan available if they need it.

Your medical record is confidential, but the OP does not have the original prescription bottle to prove that it was prescribed...so at some point the OP will have no other alternative but to disclose his or her confidential information to some degree, depending on how far the hospital takes it.

Yeah, Ativan is common. So are psychiatric disorders. Whether or not it indicates a significant mental health problem lies squarely in the hands of the employer, who decides "this may be too stressful for you" or "you can handle it."

For someone who feels stressed in a reasonably civil environment to a degree in which anti-anxiety medication becomes a necessity, I don't know if the emergency room would be somewhere I would feel comfortable assigning someone to. It's nothing personal, it's just common sense.

Discriminatory? Perhaps. Things like this have a way of catching up with you on the job, though.

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

You smoked weed? You could have died!

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

You smoked weed? You could have died!

Not only that, but he's funding terrorists.

 

[FalconSlice]

I believe benzos are typically on drug panels; I take Zoloft and would have to disclose my prescription since it does the same thing to me.

If it's an active prescription, it shouldn't be an issue. If you're out of refills, then I'd think that would be a greater issue- but you could talk to your doctor and he might issue a new prescription.

Also, I don't think a company is allowed to lay you off for a diagnosis- that's personal information and such practices are discriminatory.

Good luck!

You do know that Zoloft is an SSRI---not a benzo? (and that SSRIs are rarely, if ever, on routine drug screening panels?)

 

[Germanicus89]

You do know that Zoloft is an SSRI---not a benzo? (and that SSRIs are rarely, if ever, on routine drug screening panels?)

Your critical thinking skills must be razor sharp because you definitely cut this issue down to size.

 

[Conflagration]

You do know that Zoloft is an SSRI---not a benzo? (and that SSRIs are rarely, if ever, on routine drug screening panels?)

I've been told that they will sometimes conjure a false positive for benzos- sort of like how poppy seeds eaten over time for an extended period of time can make someone test for having consumed opiates.

If it's not true, I'd be fine with deleting the contents of the post. ^^

 

[zzxxzz]

But do you think this will even be on the analysis? For a scribing position, what's the usual panel? Does it include benzodiazepines?

10-panel, hospital jobs are pretty thorough. Yes, it will include benzos.

Also, I don't think a company is allowed to lay you off for a diagnosis- that's personal information and such practices are discriminatory.

Next time you get a job, read all the paperwork they make you sign. They can absolutely fire you for a diagnosis if there's any reason to think it'll interfere with your performance. Being a scribe is can be a very high-stress job if you're working with a bad provider. If you have a panic attack and leave during a busy clinic, you've just cost the hospital hundreds of dollars and they'll just tell the scribe company to fire you.

That being said, I'd just disclose it. They'll probably still hire you. Scribe jobs aren't as competitive as you might think because of the high turnover.

 

[wholeheartedly]

As far as the Ativan goes, just disclose it to them.

I pos'd my pre employment drug test with a legitimate prescription medication. I was a little annoyed because I brought the bottle with me and the occ. med guy doing the pre- employment physical said he didn't need to see it. Then when the test came back positive, I got a phone call. They asked me if I had an Rx and I said yes, and that I'd told them that when I was there. He asked if I'd ever had a problem with the medication, I said no, my doc closely monitored it and I rarely took it. Then he asked for the number to the pharmacy where it was prescribed. After that I called the pharmacy to make sure they be able to release that info.

That was it, never heard anything else on the matter, started my job shortly after with no issues.

 

[Evisju7]

Not only that, but he's funding terrorists.

I will never be smoking it again. I thought I was dying... though apparently this does not happen. This is what happens when you have older brothers. They get you to try things that you think are bad ideas. Never before high, and never again.

(I'm a "she", not that it really matters.. I just think boy makes for a funny cyclist)

 

[Dr Van Helsing]

As far as the Ativan goes, just disclose it to them.

I pos'd my pre employment drug test with a legitimate prescription medication. I was a little annoyed because I brought the bottle with me and the occ. med guy doing the pre- employment physical said he didn't need to see it. Then when the test came back positive, I got a phone call. They asked me if I had an Rx and I said yes, and that I'd told them that when I was there. He asked if I'd ever had a problem with the medication, I said no, my doc closely monitored it and I rarely took it. Then he asked for the number to the pharmacy where it was prescribed. After that I called the pharmacy to make sure they be able to release that info.

That was it, never heard anything else on the matter, started my job shortly after with no issues.

Bureaucracy is a b****.

 

[Evisju7]

I called my pharmacist and found a copy of the original prescription. Nobody's mentioned it yet, I took the test several days after my last dose. Hopefully they won't ask.

I'm not crazy, just have a little stress (who doesn't?). The doctors I go to seem to prescribe anything and everything. I honestly don't understand.. I have so many prescription that I've never had filled.

 

[Beargryllz]

If this is America he's probably dealing with at-will employment

You can fire someone for any reason or no reason and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it

As for the drug panel itself, if you trip something positive someone from the laboratory calls you and then you tell them you have a prescription for X. They say "okay", and that is pretty much the end of it. I doubt the employer will ever know such a prescription exists, just that you passed the drug test.

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

I will never be smoking it again. I thought I was dying... though apparently this does not happen. This is what happens when you have older brothers. They get you to try things that you think are bad ideas. Never before high, and never again.

(I'm a "she", not that it really matters.. I just think boy makes for a funny cyclist)

👍

A hospital co-worker of mine got canned for refusing a drug test. One day, in the ER, he helped to hold down a struggling patient. He was accidentally stuck with a needle, and feared that they'd find out he was a pothead during the blood test. It was kinda sad because he'd been working in our department for over 2 years.

 

[Evisju7]

👍

A hospital co-worker of mine got canned for refusing a drug test. One day, in the ER, he helped to hold down a struggling patient. He was accidentally stuck with a needle, and feared that they'd find out he was a pothead during the blood test. It was kinda sad because he'd been working in our department for over 2 years.

I didn't think someone's blood could be tested for drugs without their consent?
But this reminds me: although I know I don't like marijuana, it should be legal. I'm tired of people having their lives ruined for something so petty.

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

I didn't think someone's blood could be tested for drugs without their consent?
But this reminds me: although I know I don't like marijuana, it should be legal. I'm tired of people having their lives ruined for something so petty.

He didn't consent to a test. Therefore, the hospital fired him. It's part of the employment agreement we all signed.

It does seem petty in light of all the other crimes that we need to use our limited federal and state resources to address!

 

[Evisju7]

He didn't consent to a test. Therefore, the hospital fired him. It's part of the employment agreement we all signed.

It does seem petty in light of all the other crimes that we need to use our limited federal and state resources to address!

Oh gotcha, I thought those were two different people