can i become a nurse if i have a mental disability?

Nurses General Nursing

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hi i am interested in pursing a career in nursing. however, my question is can a person become a nurse even though they have a mental disability? anyone know? thank you

not to split hairs, but when i read the OP, i was thinking learning disability, not psych..

and it again is going to depend on what LD you may have.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.

A mild learning disability should not be an issue. As long as one can learn and retain the information and then later apply it to pt care.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

it will depend on the effect of your disability to do the job. Also, if you are on meds that might impair your judgment that could be an issue. Otherwise, go for it!

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Specializes in Army Medic.

I think a lot of people are making the assumption that it isn't a learning disability - because it would be pretty hard to pass the training side of things if that were so.

If you do have a mental disability of some sort, and can get through RN school - then you have every right that some one without a disability does to receive a job.

Keep in mind you are anonymous on this board - if you do not feel comfortable sharing what the disability is that is fine - but nobody on here is going to think differently of you if you do, and it might help with the advice we can give you.

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Specializes in education.

It is hard to understand what you mean by a mental impairment:

cognitive or learning impairment?

mental illness?

emotional impairment?

But the bottom line is as a nurse you will be required to maintain your own fitness to practice. You can be disciplined if you try to practice nursing when you are not fit to practice, and if you try to practice nursing when you are unable to make sound judgments and clinical decisions then you place your patients and maybe even your coworkers at risk.

If your mental disability affects your judgment and you cannot make rationale and sound decisions about whether or not you are fit to work you should think long and hard about becoming a nurse because you may not be able to meet this standard of practice.

If you have a mental impairment that gets worse with stress or time pressures again you may not be successful in nursing education let alone nursing work.

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I think a lot of people are making the assumption that it isn't a learning disability - because it would be pretty hard to pass the training side of things if that were so.

.

Not necessarily, I have multiple learning disabilities (and if you would have seen this post before my spellchecker got to it, you'd really believe me :eek:) and I'm at the top of my class at a very competitive BS program.

Learning disability doesn't mean they can't learn, it often means they just don't learn the way that everyone else does. If they can figure out how their head works, what kinds of things work, or what structures they need in place to compensate.....well, then nothing stops them but deciding how hard they want to work at it.....and that part is the same for everyone :D

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Specializes in Army Medic.
Not necessarily, I have multiple learning disabilities (and if you would have seen this post before my spellchecker got to it, you'd really believe me :eek:) and I'm at the top of my class at a very competitive BS program.

Learning disability doesn't mean they can't learn, it often means they just don't learn the way that everyone else does. If they can figure out how their head works, what kinds of things work, or what structures they need in place to compensate.....well, then nothing stops them but deciding how hard they want to work at it.....and that part is the same for everyone :D

you're right I meant more severe disabilities along the lines of mental retardation. Sorry if I offended anyone (I am disabled myself)

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you're right I meant more severe disabilities along the lines of mental retardation. Sorry if I offended anyone (I am disabled myself)

No worries :)

I don't think that's considered learning disabilities, I think that's more along the line of cognitive deficits. Learning disabilities have no correlation to intelligence, whereas cognitive deficits do, well as a matter of definition really.

Peace,

CuriousMe

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........only if you limit your practice to nursing management/administration.

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Specializes in CCU/CVU/ICU.
........only if you limit your practice to nursing management/administration.

Holy crap that is the funniest thing i've read here in a long time.

If i'd have posted that i would've been reprimanded by the allnurses post-police.

Watch it...cuz they've got their eye on you now.

:up:

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