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Discussion

GOSSIP/RUMORS

quick question...i recently quit my job...long story...anyway....can a mental health counselor be a former patient in a former hospital where i used to work and now be a MHW in another hospital? i was made aware by this by a MHC who worked in same facility as i do who voiced her concern to me and currently working in my unit. as an orientee and probation (newly hired full time RN)....i brought this to the attention of the nurse manager...if this is a rumor...i still need to let her know bec i as charge nurse on nights have to identify safety risks to patient care

and communicate to nurse manager what was going on....

1. i asked her i thought in other hospitals...if staff is diagnosed with dual diagnosis /psychiatric diagnosis...cant work on the floor? she did not do anything about it....

i cant just look on the floor ,smile sweetly , play innocent and not say anything and hope that i will get my incremental sign on bonus after my 90 day so i made her aware....i only get 1$/hr as charge nurse and be smoking gun for staff who are ganging on me in a heartbeat because i dont want to play their game at night...i quit yesterday exactly 2 and a half mos before my 90 day was up.....i have a clear conscience and rumors or not..i still need to voice any concern to her bec my license on fire...she turned around and suspended me for "spreading rumors":eek:...so i quit.....

any feedbacks appreciated....

Featured Replies

One cannot work in a psychiatric-unit if they have been diagnosed with a mental-illness themselves?

Not true. I don't understand what the OP is trying to say in the rest of the post, but a mental health diagnosis does not mean someone is not allowed to work on a psych unit.

  • Author

can a mental health counselor be a patient in another hospital and be a mental health worker in another hospital?

my post was about rumors...meaning these were rumors brought up to me as a rn fulltime nights charge nurse and when i presented this to the nurse manager....she suspended me for spreading rumors when i was just addressing the concerns of the other full time counselors there about the safety of the patient while a counselor was rumored to be undergoing treatment as an in patient in another hospital for pscyhiatric/dual diagnosis disorder....

sorry for the confusion.........:crying2: no sleep x 3 nights

Not true. I don't understand what the OP is trying to say in the rest of the post, but a mental health diagnosis does not mean someone is not allowed to work on a psych unit.

I too was slightly confused by the OP and her comments;Sorry.

  • Author

thanks for the replies...and listening to me vent

thanks for the replies...and listening to me vent

Oh no worries at all,how can one be an inpatient at a PCU and an MHW at the same time?I am sorry;my mind fails me as of late.

  • Expert

Lots of people who work in mental health have occasional or chronic mental health problems themselves, including perhaps needing to be hospitalized. I'm not saying that it would automatically, in all cases, be okay for someone in that circumstance to continue working on a psych unit -- just that it would not automatically be a problem, or exclude someone from employment in mental health.

I, too, am confused about how someone could simultaneously be an inpatient in one program and working as a tech in another program -- does the OP maybe mean that the person was (according to the rumors being spread) hospitalized and then returned to work as a tech in the other facility after discharge?

In any case, I would certainly not participate in gossiping and spreading rumors about coworkers, which is exactly what this sounds like. If other coworkers expressed concerns about this person, I would have referred them directly to the person or to the nurse manager to address their concerns, not gotten involved in spreading the rumors and gossip.

Lots of people who work in mental health have occasional or chronic mental health problems themselves, including perhaps needing to be hospitalized. I'm not saying that it would automatically, in all cases, be okay for someone in that circumstance to continue working on a psych unit -- just that it would not automatically be a problem, or exclude someone from employment in mental health.

I, too, am confused about how someone could simultaneously be an inpatient in one program and working as a tech in another program -- does the OP maybe mean that the person was (according to the rumors being spread) hospitalized and then returned to work as a tech in the other facility after discharge?

Would that exclude them from a position in a psychiatric-setting?

  • Expert
Would that exclude them from a position in a psychiatric-setting?

No, it wouldn't (as I said in my first post) -- plenty of mental health professionals have been hospitalized (for psychiatric concerns/crisis) at some point, in some cases more than once, and that doesn't necessarily, by itself, preclude them from continuing to work in mental health settings or roles. In fact, some people in mental health feel that that kind of experience is a plus, that it gives the person a greater sense of empathy and understanding of our clients' lives and experiences.

I've worked, over the years, with several colleagues who had to be hospitalized and then returned to work after they completed their inpatient treatment -- there was no question that they would not be welcomed back to work, or that they were not competent/safe/whatever to continue to work in a mental health setting. And those were only the people I knew about! :) At any given moment, lots of mental health professionals and paraprofessionals are in outpatient mental health treatment, and that is, in and of itself, no impediment to working in mental health, either. It depends on each individual's particular circumstances and difficulties. Certainly, there are some people with severe enough difficulties that it's a bad idea for them to continue to work in a mental health setting -- but simply the fact that someone has been hospitalized is no proof, by itself, of that.

Sit in any room and look around. According to the Surgeon General's 2000 report, 25 percent of Americans have or will have a psychiatric disorder at some point in their life. That's one in four! That means that you probably know lots of people (and work with them too) who have psych problems.

Having a psychiatric disorder and getting treatment does not mean someone can't work in the field...absolutely not! What makes the difference is if the person's disorder is controlled or not. I've worked with nurses who have gotten treatment and come back to work. They did quite well. I also think that someone who has had psychiatric treatment is in a great position to know what patients are going through, and can put that knowledge to work to help them. I think attitudes that former psych patients can't work in psych is reflective of the stigma that's put on those who suffer such illnesses.

Another issue that came to my mind as I read the OPs post is that the MHC who told the OP about the hospitalization of the person definitely absolutely violated HIPAA, and passing that information on could be a violation as well.

  • Expert
Another issue that came to my mind as I read the OPs post is that the MHC who told the OP about the hospitalization of the person definitely absolutely violated HIPAA, and passing that information on could be a violation as well.

I thought of that, too, and had just come back to this thread to say something about it, but I see you already have. Coworkers who may be having mental health difficulties and some level of mental health treatment are just as entitled to privacy about their health concerns as anyone else.

I have no issue someone working in psych while being in treatment, but they should be cleared by occupational health for their competence in working. It would be like working with a diabetic who was in diabetic acidosis they would be competent 99.9% but not when their diabetes is out of control.

The question for me is how to do you verify the person has been cleared ? To me I would speak to the nurse manager, but I would be very careful since you will be asked how do you know? If you worked in the facility caring for the patient you have broken HIPPA, if a friend told you have also broken HIPPA. So I guess the only way to ask if the person wasn't performing their job.

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