Epilepsy and becoming a CRNA

[Gopmeister]

Posting on behalf of my SO. We wish to gain some insight from members of this forum in regards to the subject heading. My SO was recently diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. Her symptoms initially were myoclonic jerks of her upper extremities durinf awaking hours that lasted 5-7 seconds. No loss of consciousness or anything like that. Went to see a Neurologist and he started her on some medications. We were told it's the most manageable form of epilepsy granted she gets adequate sleep and takes her medications as scheduled. Apparently sleep deprivation is the main perpetrator of this form of epilepsy. My question is, if she remains seizure free for an "x" number of years, what obstacles would she face when applying to school and then possibly practicing as a CRNA if she made it that far? Is it a good fit for her? We would greatly appreciate any advice. Thank you for taking the time to read my somewhat long post.

Kind Regards,

Gopmeister

[KatLW]

Is your S/O already a nurse? I would think the requirements would be the same as nursing, but I'm not sure. Your best bet would be to contact CRNA programs and ask about this to see if they know of any restrictions. Your neurologist might also know the job restrictions for medical practitioners.

[Gopmeister]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. She's graduating nursing school this May. The Neurologist doesn't believe there's any need to get employers involved due to the nature of her epilepsy. This was a recent diagnosis anyhow but so far she's well controlled (no seizure activity). It wasn't bad before we found out. Only three episodes over a 2 year span. I know she's protected under the ADA. The only thing I found was schools and employers can only deny her if it causes hardship for them but otherwise the ADA states she doesn't need to disclose the fact unless she needs some accommodation, which she doesn't at this time. She's on 1/6th of the maximum dose so we're not too concerned that we can't control it entirely. I will try to reach out to schools on her behalf but I wanted to get a better understanding of what it might be like for her if she ever gets to the point of practicing.

[KatLW]

I think thats probably the right thing to do, before she starts applying to see if it would be something she would have to disclose or not. I wish I could help more! It may be relatively unprecedented in which case there may not be formal policies in place.