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Board committee clarifies flexibility for "mental-health-only" participants in nursing intervention program
Summary
The California Board of Registered Nursing's IEC 3 received guidance allowing flexibility for nurses identified as "mental-health-only" participants: drug testing and full clinical diagnostic evaluations are not required, return-to-work timelines may be shortened with monitoring, and worksite-monitor supervision levels can be tailored to public-safety risk.
Loretta Melby, executive officer for the California Board of Registered Nursing's intervention program, told members of the Intervention Evaluation Committee (IEC 3) on Jan. 14 that staff reviewed statutes, regulations and the Department of Consumer Affairs'uniform standards and concluded those standards were written primarily for substance-use-disorder cases and need not automatically bind participants who are mental-health-only.
"If you have a participant that is mental health only, not dual diagnosis ... you can go outside of those uniform standard guidelines," Melby said during an education update. She said the IEC can tailor requirements, including whether to require drug testing, the length of program…
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