Could high BP/Pulse during physical keep me from getting job?

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Hey guys,

I just got offered and accepted my first RN position as a floor nurse on a surgical unit! I'm a healthy 24 year old male but whenever I go for a physical my pulse and BP get pretty high whenever I'm in an office setting. It's been this way since I was a kid, not sure why. Probably due to the fact that I worry about EVERYTHING.

Could this keep me from getting hired on the unit?

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It probably won't keep you from getting a job...you might have to get something from your doctor that says you are ok to work. I applied for a job and when I did the physical, my blood pressure was 140/90 or something like that...I had to get a note from my doctor promising that I wasn't going to die at work. Lucky for me, I just had a cardiac stress test which was 100% normal, so my doctor just wrote a note and I was good to go.

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Specializes in er, pediatric er.

My physical @ both jobs i have worked as a nurse did not consist of any vitals being taken. it was a questionaire @ both places!

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Really... No blood test or anything?

At the end of my application it says.. "I understand that any offer of employment is contingent upon satisfactory results of a medical examination, a criminal background check, an OIG exclusion check, and a drug test."

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Specializes in Oncology.

I was quite anxious during my physical when I was hired. My BP and HR were both through the roof. I told them I was anxious and the NP was just like, "I can tell!" They gave me a card with my vitals written on it and told me to follow up with my PMD.

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Specializes in Emergency Medicine.
Hey guys,

I just got offered and accepted my first RN position as a floor nurse on a surgical unit! I'm a healthy 24 year old male but whenever I go for a physical my pulse and BP get pretty high whenever I'm in an office setting. It's been this way since I was a kid, not sure why. Probably due to the fact that I worry about EVERYTHING.

You sir suffer from white-coat hypertension. You're not the only one.

Rarely fatal and I have never heard of anyone denied employment from it. (Well, except for a flight physical maybe.)

Your doctor should do a 5 or 10-day BP check where you take your blood pressure every day and at the same times for the required period. No hypertension... no need to treat. If you should find your BP is elevated it wouldn't be a bad idea to have your doctor follow and manage it... it is after all the silent killer.

I don't think you should worry about employment though.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

Are they requiring physical exams now for hiring a person? OMG! My fat butt and I would be out of a job!!!

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