INTERVENTIONS

IPN Process

When a nurse is reported to the Department of Health (DOH) or referred to the IPN (Intervention Project for Nurses), this triggers an intake process that includes consultation with the employer or person reporting the suspected impairment. Following this consultation, there is a planned evaluation or an intervention that removes the nurse from practice. A nurse may also self-report to the IPN.

The IPN is responsible for evaluating all referrals (including those from the Department of Health, employers, and self-referrals); determining the proper course of action; monitoring the nurse’s progress in treatment; and providing case management for all nurses who return to work. The IPN coordinates care and provides close monitoring to assure patient safety. The IPN also facilitates quick interventions and assures the safety of the public by requiring the impaired nurse to cease practice until a full evaluation has been completed and treatment recommendations have been satisfied.

If the licensee refuses to participate or fails to progress in the program, a report is made to the DOH, which begins a process involving an investigation that may lead to disciplinary action.

Treatment Programs

Florida law mandates that treatment programs for impaired health professionals be approved by the Intervention Project for Nurses as the state’s designated impaired practitioner program. The IPN does not directly provide treatment for addiction or other disorders but refers nurses to approved treatment programs and providers. These include addiction counselors, psychiatrists, addictionologists, and treatment centers that have a specific focus on healthcare professionals.

IPN is charged with assuring that treatment programs for nurses are state-licensed and may be residential, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, or other programs with a multidisciplinary team approach. Approved treatment programs are also accredited through the Joint Commission or CARF International (formerly Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). Treatment professionals, including addiction counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, and addictionologists, must also be state-licensed.

Treatment providers and treatment professionals must apply through IPN’s online application process to be approved by IPN. A list of programs and providers is available by contacting IPN; this information is not provided on the IPN website but is given to participants during intake (Whittacre, 2017).

RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS

These programs are provided in a specialized substance abuse facility or in a designated unit within a hospital system. They focus on helping individuals change behavior in a highly structured therapeutic setting. Short-term residential treatment is most common and focuses on detoxification as well as providing intensive treatment and preparation for the participant’s return to a community-based setting.

PARTIAL HOSPITALIZATION PROGRAMS (PHPs)

PHPs provide a structured treatment program as an alternative to inpatient residential treatment. This generally includes intensive and regular treatment sessions in a therapeutic environment five days per week. PHPs do not require the participant to stay overnight, but some PHPs offer a residential option that gives the participant an opportunity to live and work in such a therapeutic environment.

INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAMS (IOPs)

Treatment sessions are provided regularly but less frequently than with PHPs. IOPs aim to provide intense treatment with less disruption to work, school, or family schedules. (Nurses must stop practicing as a nurse until they complete treatment, but they may still have to work in another work environment in order to meet their financial obligations; cases are individualized.) IOPs generally consists of a range of services for a minimum of 9 hours per week (SAMHSA, 2021).