Ensuring a Good Fit

 Board of Nursing (BON) approved  Alternative, voluntary program for LVNs & RNs  Offers recovery  Returns nurses back to practice

To help employers and potential employers of TPAPN nurses understand how TPAPN fosters a positive and safe work environment for participating nurses and enhances patient safety.

 Approved under Texas Health and Safety Code  Available to eligible nurses who may benefit from Peer Assistance Services  Nurse can self-report or be referred by a third party  Voluntary; may withdraw at any time

 Provide information and support for referred nurses  Monitor nurse participants’ work performance, program compliance and progress in recovery  Liaison between nurse participants, treatment providers, employers and Advocates

 Educate nurse participants about TPAPN and recovery  Provide 1:1 peer support  Assist participants with enrollment and work processes, as needed  Provide education to nursing supervisors and coworkers

“With my new sense of self- worth and improved nursing practice, I am living proof that TPAPN works.” – Nurse Graduate “Becoming an Advocate was never a question for me; it was and continues to be a gift. It is one way I can give back what was so freely given to me.” – TPAPN Advocate

 Review employer slide show  Confirm nurse submitted employer consent  Contact TPAPN Case Manager for job approval  Hold Work Agreement meeting with nurse to complete forms  Fax completed forms to TPAPN ( ) and allow nurse to begin work

 Assign a nurse/coworker to give participants abusable medications and discuss exchange of duties  Develop plan to accommodate participants drug testing

During the first six months participants agree not to:  Take on call duty  Administer, count, witness wastage, receive abusable or controlled substances from pharmacy or authorize prescriptions for controlled substances

TPAPN participants agree NOT to:  Function in an autonomous or unsupervised role  Work shifts longer than 12 hours  Work for multiple employers or be self-employed  Work in short-term staffing or work as a traveler  Float outside of assigned area  Work over 96 hours in two week pay period  Work at various practice sites, unless approved by BON

 Learning  Accountability  Openness and fairness  Systems to enhance patient safety  Proactive incentives to decrease at-risk behaviors  Coach or counsel as appropriate

 A punitive system creates barriers to reporting and keeps impaired nurses from getting help.  Dismissing a nurse without charges of misconduct leaves the nurse at risk of harming patients and their self as well as free to seek work elsewhere.  A Board investigation can take months, and if licensed in another state, a nurse can simply move away to avoid disciplinary action.  TPAPN costs less than BON investigation.