Getting into nursing school with a mental illness? Is it going to be possible?

[lntm2925]

Hi There!. I registered for this board a while ago but haven't really posted quite yet. I am now at the point where I have a very important question and nursing school is a very big reality now. Here's my question :)

Ever since I was little, I have wanted a career in nursing. I was diagnosed with leukemia when I was 4 and that is where it stems from. My long term goal is to eventually become an RN but for now and what I feel is best for me is to start out a little slower, so I applied at a school near where I live to become a CNA. My focus is to become a CNA, then become an LPN and then finally go for my RN. I couldn't be more excited because on Halloween, I received a letter in the mail letting me know I passed my TABE test and that I meet the necessary scores to get into the CNA program!. I just couldn't stop smiling all night!. I had to gather some more information, get a physical, get references, etc.... so going furthur right away wasn't an option because I had to wait for all those things, but yesterday I finally had my phsyical and that was the last thing I needed before I could go back in and officially apply to get into the classes. I'm just waiting for my TB test to be read tomorrow and my blood work to come back to check my immunity to chicken pox (which I had when I was 5 so that should come back fine) and then I will be able to go in and get my appointment for my "nursing school interview" (which is one thing they require on their part I guess). Although when I had my physical yesterday, something I didn't think of came up and now it has me a little worried and that is where my question comes in.

I am currently under the care of a psychiatrist. I have been diagnosed with anxiety and OCD and am on two medications. One of the medications is actually an anti-psychotic but it is the only medication that gives me such good results. My doctor has calmed my fears so many times because she will say that I'm not or am I even close to being psychotic, it's just the medication that works for me. I am also on an anti-depressant which works pretty good for me as well. My fear is that when I go in for my nursing interview, they will see this information and not accept me due to my mental illnesses. My primary doctor who I saw yesterday put my mind to ease saying that that should in no way be or cause any problem.....but I'm still so worried. I was so excited and so ready for this and now I'm worried that these things will be the reason I can't become a nurse.

If you can share you opinions or anything in regards to this post, it would be greatly appreciated!. Thank you so much!.

[lntm2925]

Oh no, I completely understand your statement and where your coming from. My pdoc HIGHLY advises that I take my medication every day but sometimes I just have trouble remembering. Sometimes my days are really busy or I sleep all day (I work overnights) and I just don't remember to take them. It's not because I don't want to or feel like I need to (not saying you were meaning that), I just literally forget to take them and then the minute I remember, I take it. My pdoc, my primary care physician and my therapist all know about this and have given me the biggest hope that I will be able to become a nurse. It's very hard to put into the right words at the moment. They all know I don't take my medication regularly, they recommend and highly advise that I do, but they feel (and have told me) that my symptoms are VERY under control. Like I mentioned, they even tried to wean me off my meds all together when I was trying for my second child but my symptoms ended up coming back and I had to go back on it. I don't forget to take my medication that long where I let my symptoms return. There has been once or twice in as long as I've been on my medication that I went so long that I started to get my symptoms again, but I knew right away to call my doctors and start my medication back up.....but that has been very rare. I have been on my meds for 6 years and like I said, it's only happened once or twice. I have not had any intrusive thoughts, other OCD symptoms, anxiety symptoms or panic attacks in years now. I know I need to be on these medications.....probably for the rest of my life, and I know I should take them every day. It's not that I'm not taking my meds on purpose (once again not saying you were saying that :) ), I just literally forget....

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

Yeah, they tend be on the cautious side because remember, it's their license if something happens to you or anyone else gets hurt.

[lntm2925]

Oh yea, I agree completely and understand.....but I'm not at a risk of hurting myself or anybody else. I know exactly when to get help and have always done it when I felt I needed to. Like I said, I was very close to having myself admitted to a hospital twice....not because I was told to go to the hospital, it was because I chose to go. I was never once admitted though. Even the first time when it got REALLY bad (after the birth of my first son). After talking with doctors there, I was told told that it was just my OCD and anxiety and I did the right thing by going in. They reassured me that if I was in a dangerous state, I wouldn't have known to go get help. That is why my docs are "tolerant" (which is the right word for this situation) of me not taking my meds every day. They aren't jumping for joy and praising me that I'm not taking them, they just understand that sometimes you will forget.

[TerpGal02, ASN]

Yep you can certainly be a nurse with a mental illness, but I'm going.to strongly caution you that if you wish to be successful and safely practice, you are going to HAVE to figure out a method to remember to take your meds everyday. Intrusive thoughts can def hinder your ability to think critically and be safe in your practice. Intrusive thoughts are very distracting and once they really get going and spark anxiety, it can almost be damn impossible to focus on anything else. Trust me, been there, done that. Providers have been disagreeing about my dx for oh 6 years and as a result I never got the right combo of meds. Finally during my last hospitalization, my new pdoc definitively diagnosed me bipolar 2 which def comes with intrusive thoughts. I am finally on a stable cocktail of Lamictal (and can I just say I LOVE Lamictal), Zoloft, Elavil and PRN klonopin that I NEVER take on the job (I also have panic disorder). I am feeling great now but my illness caused a lot of issues with my work performance when I was not properly medicated and the meds I was on were actually making me worse. So yeah, take your meds!

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

Nothing needs to be disclosed to the nursing school.

You can make it through nursing school and enjoy nursing while living with a mental illness.

Psychosis is a broad term to describe symptoms managed well with proper dosages of anti-psychotics, just like obsessive/compulsive behaviors; it does not warrant being singled out among symptoms associated with mental illness, IMO.

Good luck with everything.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Psychosis is a broad term to describe symptoms managed well with proper dosages of anti-psychotics, just like obsessive/compulsive behaviors; it does not warrant being singled out among symptoms associated with mental illness, IMO.

Yeah, but it sure looks bad when it's on your medical record. Even if it's there only because of a reaction to a drug (in my case, Wellbutrin).

[Sadala, ADN, RN]

I don't really see why people feel the need to disclose SO MUCH personal medical info to nursing schools/employers UNLESS they honestly feel that they are not stable enough to attend school/work as a nurse. And if such is the case, then perhaps that's something to think about before beginning.

If you feel you are unsafe, have been unsafe, or could be unsafe with patients, then this is cause for concern. If you just get depressed sometimes and you have a little OCD then - why mark your record like that? Do the tx that works for you and get on with it. Hell, half of America is on an AD. So what?

But I guarantee you, if YOU make it a big deal, then schools and employers will as well. Under the radaaaaaar...

[Sadala, ADN, RN]

I didn't see the part about not taking your meds every day. THAT part concerns me. If you have an ongoing medical condition then the best way to stay stable is to find a consistent way to manage it and then DO THAT.

Nursing school and nursing are both tremendously stressful - in their own different ways. You want to be stable going in and to maintain stability throughout.

It concerns me when someone says (of a mental health issue) that their physician desires them to stay on meds, but they don't think they need them. It's your right to do that, but a lot of times when I see that behavior, someone is really not taking the fact that they have an issue seriously.

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

Sadala, mine was the opposite. I was on Depakote for epilepsy (but some how someone started using it as a psych medication, even though it was given for epilepsy) and then, my former psychiatrist took me off of it. He said I didn't need it. So, I am on zero medication. I go to a therapist once a month.

[wayward_pitbulls]

So happy to see this thread. I've been terrified of the mental illness/getting into school issue. I don't feel any special need to disclose it, but it's there in my medical records. When those records go to university health services, they'll see i've been on psych meds since 2005. They might not see the whole crazy laundry list of dxs (or is it the laundry list of crazy dxs?), but they'll see the latest version (at the moment, bipolar II, OCPD, and schizotypal PD).

I'm not worried about being able to hack the schooling or life in a hospital. I'm used to doing hard physical labor at weird hours, i'm used to working and taking classes at the same time, i'm used to giving myself the self-care i require. I suspect things might even be a little easier once i get work which is both physically and intellectually demanding enough to keep me from jumping out of my own skin, AND which pays me enough that i don't need to choose between buying health insurance or health care for said skin.

What i'm worried about is being _allowed to try_. I feel a little more confident now. Thanks, all.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

So happy to see this thread. I've been terrified of the mental illness/getting into school issue. I don't feel any special need to disclose it, but it's there in my medical records. When those records go to university health services, they'll see i've been on psych meds since 2005. They might not see the whole crazy laundry list of dxs (or is it the laundry list of crazy dxs?), but they'll see the latest version (at the moment, bipolar II, OCPD, and schizotypal PD).

I'm not worried about being able to hack the schooling or life in a hospital. I'm used to doing hard physical labor at weird hours, i'm used to working and taking classes at the same time, i'm used to giving myself the self-care i require. I suspect things might even be a little easier once i get work which is both physically and intellectually demanding enough to keep me from jumping out of my own skin, AND which pays me enough that i don't need to choose between buying health insurance or health care for said skin.

What i'm worried about is being _allowed to try_. I feel a little more confident now. Thanks, all.

I'm glad you feel better about all this. There's no doubt that having a mental illness makes everything harder, but it CAN be done, and indeed is being done by countless nurses and students all around the globe......successfully, too!

Hang in there, take your meds as prescribed, see your mental health professional regularly, and know that you can do this.

[Sadala, ADN, RN]

Sadala, mine was the opposite. I was on Depakote for epilepsy (but some how someone started using it as a psych medication, even though it was given for epilepsy) and then, my former psychiatrist took me off of it. He said I didn't need it. So, I am on zero medication. I go to a therapist once a month.

I'm confused. Why didn't the doctor who was following your epilepsy keep you on the medication if that was the case? I wouldn't let one physician dc a med another physician was giving me just because he/she felt like doing so. I pay the doctor, not vice versa.