SPECIAL ADVISORY: Instructions for TPAPN & EEP participants during Disasters and Other Emergencies

Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses

Nurses are not immune to chemical dependency or mental illness. To encourage nurses to seek help, Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses (TPAPN) was created as a non-punitive, confidential and voluntary alternative to reporting RNs and LVNs to the Texas Board of Nursing.

TPAPN Goals

• Identify nurses experiencing mental health, alcohol/drug problems that have been or are likely to be job impairing.
• Assist these nurses in obtaining appropriate treatment.
• Monitor the nurse's return to the work force.
• Educate employers and nursing colleagues about the negative effects of addiction/mental illness in the work place and the potential for rehabilitation and return to productive work.

TPAPN Mission

The Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses offers nurses life-renewing opportunities for recovery from chemical dependency and mental illness, and integrates nurses back into the profession, thus protecting the public and promoting professional accountability.

Philosophy

TPAPN adheres to a philosophy of providing an opportunity for recovery combined with protecting the public from unsafe nursing practice.  Nurses who have substance use disorders or certain psychiatric disorders should be offered the opportunity for education, treatment and recovery.  This philosophy is based on the belief that recovery from substance use disorders and certain psychiatric disorders is possible, and that the return of nurses to safe nursing practice is in the best interest of the profession and society.