Can a diagnosis of a mental illness potentially harm your chances of getting a job?

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Hi everyone,

I'm about to start nursing school, and I have been stalking allnurses.com for several years. I've always been interested in mental health, and I was curious as to how a mental illness diagnosis (especially one of the more highly stigmatized mental illnesses) could affect a nurse's prospects for employment. I didnt think that potential employers could access a person's medical records, but from some of the posts I've read on this site, it sounds as though a mental illness diagnosis could somehow harm a nurse's chances of gaining employment. Do you have to disclose mental illness with your employer if you work in the healthcare field? Or is there some way your employer could find out about a mental illness diagnosis? (I apologize if my post doesn't make sense or if it sounds as though I am rambling). Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

If your illness isn't causing you problems, it's NONE of an employer's business and I wouldn't disclose anything, not even to your co-workers when you get a job.

It's a shame that it has to be this way. I'm a strong advocate for mental health awareness, but I lost a high-paying executive-level nursing job in May because my bipolar disorder got out of control during an extended period of severe stress at work. I took three weeks of medical leave and promptly fell apart when I went back, because my company refused to make the accommodations for my illness that my psychiatrist recommended. Somehow the corporate honchos found a way around the Americans with Disabilities Act and terminated me, in essence, for being mentally ill.

Now, we all know that if I'd had a heart attack or gone into DKA and had to be hospitalized, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But because of the stigma---and BONs that take a punitive approach to nurses with mental health diagnoses---we have to conceal our condition as best we can and work twice as hard as anyone else to stay marketable in this profession.

Luckily for me, I've landed back at my old nursing home where I worked for a couple of years and loved it, and where everyone, including my bosses, know I'm crazy and they accept me anyway.

I wish you the best of luck. Please keep in touch and let us know how you're doing; there are a lot of nurses here with serious mental illnesses and we're very supportive. :yes:

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Know a large US LTC employer asks, on a post-hire form distributed at orientation, for a list of meds being taken.

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Specializes in I'm thinking ER or ICU someday.

I'm licensed in Massachusetts and I was never asked anything about my mental health when applying for a license. Before you panic,

I would say go to your state's board of nursing website and do some research. If you can't get any answers there, I would find a professor at your school (that you trust.. maybe your academic advisor? or the psych nursing professor?) and ask them if they know anything about this. If all else fails you could ask your doctor or therapist (if you have one) to help you, they would have your best interest in mind and I'm sure they would advocate for you if need be.

Best of Luck!

-Erin

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Specializes in Oncology/StemCell Transplant; Psychiatry.

Ok, so here's my deal. I believe that I have high functioning borderline personality disorder (if such a thing exists. I know many don't believe there can be "high-functioning" borderlines). Many of my symptoms match that of BPD, but I am not suicidal and I am capable of regulating my emotions when I need to, such as when I am at work or school. I am, for the most part, able to just internalize many of my negative feelings, except for when it comes to my close relationships. Do to the stigma associated with BPD, I am hesitant to discuss my problem with my instructors. I worked very hard to get into nursing school, and I do not want them to have any reason to think that I am too unstable to take care of my patients. I am also afraid to talk to a therapist because I am uncertain of how this diagnosis could affect me professionally (which is why I started this thread). Thank you all for your support. Maybe ya'll can give me more input now that ya'll have more information about my situation.

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Specializes in Pedi.
Ok, so here's my deal. I believe that I have high functioning borderline personality disorder (if such a thing exists. I know many don't believe there can be "high-functioning" borderlines). Many of my symptoms match that of BPD, but I am not suicidal and I am capable of regulating my emotions when I need to, such as when I am at work or school. I am, for the most part, able to just internalize many of my negative feelings, except for when it comes to my close relationships. Do to the stigma associated with BPD, I am hesitant to discuss my problem with my instructors. I worked very hard to get into nursing school, and I do not want them to have any reason to think that I am too unstable to take care of my patients. I am also afraid to talk to a therapist because I am uncertain of how this diagnosis could affect me professionally (which is why I started this thread). Thank you all for your support. Maybe ya'll can give me more input now that ya'll have more information about my situation.

So you don't actually have a diagnosis? In that case, I certainly wouldn't see a need to report anything to anyone. You can't self-diagnose. I don't believe (and I could be wrong) that a therapist can officially make a medical diagnosis so I don't think you have to worry there.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Ok, so here's my deal. I believe that I have high functioning borderline personality disorder (if such a thing exists. I know many don't believe there can be "high-functioning" borderlines). Many of my symptoms match that of BPD, but I am not suicidal and I am capable of regulating my emotions when I need to, such as when I am at work or school. I am, for the most part, able to just internalize many of my negative feelings, except for when it comes to my close relationships. Do to the stigma associated with BPD, I am hesitant to discuss my problem with my instructors. I worked very hard to get into nursing school, and I do not want them to have any reason to think that I am too unstable to take care of my patients. I am also afraid to talk to a therapist because I am uncertain of how this diagnosis could affect me professionally (which is why I started this thread). Thank you all for your support. Maybe ya'll can give me more input now that ya'll have more information about my situation.

What you have here are nothing but suspicions, therefore there is nothing to disclose. That's the good news.

The bad news is, you really shouldn't attempt to diagnose yourself. It's amazing how wrong a person can be; I have a cousin who thought for YEARS that she merely had depression and was recently diagnosed with cyclothymia, which is something like "bipolar lite". I myself suspected I was bipolar for about a decade, but not seriously enough that I felt I needed to see a psychiatrist about it; eventually I wound up with a diagnosis of rapid-cycling bipolar 1.

Obviously, it's best to take your ideas about what ails you to a mental health professional who can evaluate you and start you on any medications or treatments that are called for. DO NOT talk to your instructors, your classmates, or anyone else at school about this; there's no need to borrow trouble. Even if you do end up with a mental health diagnosis, I caution you to avoid discussing it with them, as stigma is indeed alive and well in 21st Century America, and healthcare practitioners are some of the worst offenders.

The only time it would be really necessary to bring it up is if you are symptomatic and having trouble in your program because of it. In the meantime, sit tight and get yourself to a psychiatrist or psychologist who can diagnose you. FWIW, a lot of the symptoms of BPD overlap with those of bipolar and it's often hard to distinguish between them, so don't make any assumptions!

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.

Agree with Viva,

For almost a year, my nursing school clinical partner believed she had MS. Turned out she was "normal."

Follow through with a mental health pro. Viva is dead-on re: BPD symptoms overlapping other conditions.

Good luck!

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Just an FYI there is an anti-discrimination law. You cannot be not hired due to a disability, which can include mental illness even when you do get a diagnosis. You also never have to disclose your disability or illness to your manager.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Just an FYI there is an anti-discrimination law. You cannot be not hired due to a disability, which can include mental illness even when you do get a diagnosis. You also never have to disclose your disability or illness to your manager.

No, but they'll figure out some other reason not to hire you, or to let you go if/when you become symptomatic and need to go out on medical leave or FMLA. I've BTDT, and became completely disillusioned with the Americans with Disabilities Act when I learned that employers can find a gazillion loopholes to get out of complying with it.

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... You cannot be not hired due to a disability...

Technically correct.

If it need not be disclosed, no need to tempt fate.

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Please don't diagnose yourself.A therapist is bound to confidentiality.

Earning your license is not the problem,

nurses can lose their licensure if declared mentally unfit.

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

Your employer wouldn't know unless you tell them, or your condition is not well managed and they would see it. I worked with a nurse who had some issues and it did occasionally affect her work. But she knew when to call out, she told the manager, and was open about the whole thing. I never saw her come to work when she shouldn't have, although she did have more absences than normal as a result. But she was a good nurse and an asset to the unit.

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