Major Doozy.....Please advise

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Goodmorning,

Well, I am completely distraught. After trying many years to get into a nursing program, I finally got accepted in July:yeah:. However, for me every good news comes with major bad news. A few weeks ago, I had a seizure attack, this scared the hell out of me and my children since this has never happened before. Since then I've seen a neurologist and have and an MRI, CT and am scheduled for an EEG in two weeks.

But here is my problem, as I type this I am suppose to be at clinical this morning at 8 am, but because of another seizure attack I had last night I had to be hospitalized again.

Here's my dilemma, do I tell my clinical intructor that I suffer from seizure disorder? I am afraid if I tell the school they may make my life miserable until I am forced to leave, since they may see this disease as a hindrance. In order to make up the clinical and lab time I must provide a doctors note, what do you guys suggest?

Also, what are the chance of me succeeding at school and in this profession with this disease? I am not asking for medical advice, just some thoughts on how I may approach this and make it work for me.

Thanks a bunch :typing

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Talk to your faculty, see a doc, and try to get it under control. I think that if they tell you that you can't be a nurse, then they are full of crap!

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I agree with CDeniseGo, if they tell you that you can't be a nurse they are full of crap.

That being said, from your post it sounds like this is a new diagnosis for you and your first priority should be your health. If it was bad enough for you to be hospitalized then what you should be concerned about is finding out is causing the seizures and getting them under control.

You should talk to the faculty and see what their policies are. It is better to come clean now since you are going to have to give them a doctors note. It may be that you have to take some time off until things stabilize. I know this is probably not what you want to hear after working so hard to get in. It is a hard decision to face however, your safety and your health should come first.

I hope you get better soon.

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get to the root cause of ur seizures.. ur life and kids r ur utmost priority.. i m not sure if this wud be a hindrance but u shud talk to ur faculty about this. you dont want them to find this later in the program. if u try to hide facts and they do come to know of this later, then they can take action against you.

i know how hard it is to get to the point you have reached and you dont want to be turned away after you have come this far. but set your priorities first. a good nurse always takes care of herself first and then her patients... its not vice versa. good luck and take care!!! :nurse:

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I agree that your health should be your first priority. If I were in your situation I would talk to my teachers asap, let them know what is going on and work out a solution if necessary. I don't think letting them think you just skipped class is a good idea. My pharmacology instructor actually told us yesterday that a kid in our program had a seizure last week. I'm certain that all of our teachers will support him. They are nurses after all.

At the worst, I would think they would maybe tell you to take a break for the semester and then return when you have your health/possibly medications figured out.

So sorry you are going through this! Nursing school is stressful enough.... :redbeathe

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I also believe that your are protected under the ADA Amercians with Disabilities Act. Therefore, you can't be denied work. Good luck!

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Specializes in Dialysis.

There are lots of people with seizure disorders around. Once you have them under control, there is no reason you can't function normally. Please don't drive until it is under control, for obvious reasons. I concur with the above people in that you must take care of yourself first and be upfront with the staff. I know this is scary at the worst possible time imaginable. You can do this! It will be alright and you can even use this as an opportunity to learn as much as you can about neurology. (I've been there)

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Check to see if your school has a policy for withdrawal. My school does and depending on the reason (and if you follow procedures) you can come back and finish. I agree with the others that your health should be a priority. Good luck!

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Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. Well, I had an EEG done this past week which confirmed that I DO NOT suffer from epilepsy. I will follow up with my neurologist in a month.

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