Can I fail a NCLEX drug screening for a mental illness

[laurenh20]

I'm scared I won't pass the NCLEX Drug Screening Test because I'm BP.

I am on my first semester of ADN Classes at Blinn College and know I have to pass requirements for the exam

.

I have worked hard all of my life and my parents paid almost 25,000$ each year for my tuition for private college prep school. I absolutely love high school We wore uniforms every day and had advance private preparatory state approved classes. It was very hard at first but I got used to it. We were all issued MacBook laptops and the use of technology was highly encouraged. I took many science classes in high school including Anatomy and Physiology which was my absolute favorite subject. We each got our own cat to dissect with our kits that we had to pay out of pocket for. We used everyone's dissected cats for our practicals (which are basically tests in centers) it was my favorite test to take because I think that it is interesting the way people and animals are structured for survival. I actually remember having one of the worst but smartest teachers at the school. She got her law degree at some Ivy league and also had a minor in Spanish. She was still hired to teach all the science classes except for chemistry and biology. (Our school graduating class was 132 and I was in the top 25%) She never went by the book and we watched a lot of videos but the final was all written and clinical examples of patients. I ended up passing the class with a 98 on the test. I honestly think she got too lazy to read all of my long answers (I did this purposefully) and gave everyone an A based on a scale just to make sure. I love that class and after taking the exam I knew that I wanted to go into the medical field and take classes like this at Baylor (where I was recently accepted for early admission). After becoming a nanny as a side job and interning at an OB-GYN's office for two days I decided that being a doctor wasn't for me. I wanted to be a nurse and be a pediatric nurse because I just honestly love kids and would do anything to make sure parents can feel safe putting their child at the future hospital that I will (hopefully) for at.

I was wondering if being BP and ADD and taking meds affects this. I've never skipped a day since I was 13. My pediatric psychiatrist scared me into taking it. I see a psychiatrist every month and have only missed a few appointments when I couldn't take off for school. (My mom went in for me then because she lived with me then and could describe my attitude and behavior during the day.) I actually still see my pediatric psychiatrist...I don't want to leave someone like that. (But that's another story).

So basically since this is my first semester I know nothing about requirements for the test and how elaborate they are. I know when I was a medical scribe for a brief period of time in Temple (Near Waco and Baylor University) I had to take a test, list all the medications that I was taking (I didn't list any) and other basic questions.

I sat in the doctor's office for that for 30 minutes before completing my form and then had to wait for another 15 to see a nurse to get my blood drawn and stuff. I passed the drug test somehow but was unfortunately never hired due to my grades at Baylor University and my test taking skills.

One of the questions asks if you have ever been dx with bipolar within the last 5 years

I was diagnosed when I was 13 (I'm 20 now).

I was just wondering if any of these factors would prevent me from becoming a nurse

Thank you!

[Amoni]

As long as your medical conditions are under control (not a danger to yourself or others), I don't see why that should be an issue for you to become a nurse. In my state (NC), there is no drug test associated with the board exam. I did have to take one for my school and for my employer. Those tests are looking for illegal drugs/narcotics and my not even pick up on psych meds. However, it's fine if they are found in the sample as long as you 1. identify them as meds you are on up front and 2. have a valid prescription for them.