Alright, so this is the first time posting here, hope I do it correctly. Here’s the details:

I work as a Medical Laboratory Technician for a hospital in Oklahoma. Been here 5 years. I work night shift from 8pm-7am, Thursday through Wednesday. 7 days on, 7 off. I work solo, and only have 1 counterpart who works the other half of the month. Day shift has nothing to do with us, and won’t cover a shift, even when we’re sick or somesuch.

Anyway, I’ve been here for 5 years. This entire time, if we get a legal drug test request at night, we have to call someone in. Been that way forever (long before I was hired). We’re not able to do them since we work solo and have to be available to the rest of the hospital for STAT testing. Well, now that we have a new director she wants us to get the training so that we can always be on call during our days off. So we’d always be either working, or on call. That way day shift doesn’t have to come in. First off, it’s bullshit. That wasn’t part of the job when I hired in 5 years ago. My counterpart also lives 1.5 hours away...so it’d only be me pulling call.

Here’s the biggest problem though. I’m a disabled Vet. I take heavy medications to sleep due to PTSD and night terrors. If I’m on call, I wouldn’t be able to take them.

What are my options, and what are the possible ramifications? How do I protect myself, without possibly losing my job?