A Nursing Student with Epilepsy?

Nurses General Nursing

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There is a girl in my nurse aide class and she has epilepsy that is controlled through medication. I have two questions; can she actually become a nurse and work in a hospital or will companies turn her down for her condition? And can she be a danger to her classmates and future patients although she is on medication?

I'm trying to make this not rude, but I am genuinely concerned about her.

Totally.

I was born with epilepsy and i took care of people with epilepsy. :saint:

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Awesome! I'm glad you can help others with the same condition. :)

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I think it may vary with different specialties. I am aware of a nurse who worked in neonatal ICU who was let go after having a seizure because it was thought the risk of injury to an infant if she dropped it outweighed her "right" to work there.

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I can understand that with infants.

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Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.

I didn't have a seizure disorder when I was in nursing school. I did develop temporal lobe seizures following herpes simplex encephalitis 4 years after I graduated. I never had to stop working because of the seizures and, at every job, I only told my managers about it. No one else at work ever knew I had seizures.

Nursing school & a career as a nurse are compatible with epilepsy but, as others have said, you have to stay on top of it, take your meds, & know your triggers. My worst trigger is if I'm over tired. That, for me, is just asking for a seizure.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
Thank you! She has had a seizure recently and she hurt a few people during it.

OP, could you elaborate just a little? I'm still unsure how your classmate hurt "a few people" during her seizure?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
OP, could you elaborate just a little? I'm still unsure how your classmate hurt "a few people" during her seizure?

She did earlier in the thread apparently when the classmate in question had a seizure she was standing and fell back onto another student. The OP is a 15yo HS student and while it may not have come across well in the first post she did later clarify and in a way rather than make accusations and assumptions in person tried "anonymous " research to try and understand the situation better.

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Specializes in hospice.
OP, could you elaborate just a little? I'm still unsure how your classmate hurt "a few people" during her seizure?

She did.

She did fall back on a classmate, luckily that was at the beginning of the year and she's been fine in class as far as I know.
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