Can I be a registered nurse if I have bipolar disorder?

Nurses Disabilities

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Hi, I am new here.

I noticed that on the university's prerequisite website (one that I'm looking to transfer to) that it says that a history of mental illness may prevent someone from obtaining their BSN license.

I have bipolar and have had it since I was 9. It used to be way out of control, but for the past year and a half I've been completely stable. I'm still on medications, but I'm very stable.

Do you think I should just stop doing the prerequisites and not be a nurse? I mean do you think because I have bipolar that I wouldn't be able to get my license?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

I realize this is something I should ask an advisor about, but I'm just going to community college right now...

Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
VivaLasViejas said:
Stigma is a huge issue everywhere, IMHO.

I feel perfectly comfortable telling my supervisor when I need a few hours off to attend my husband's medical appointments. He has cancer, and everybody understands about cancer. But I do NOT feel comfortable telling anyone when I need a couple of hours off for my monthly psychiatrist visit, because very few people understand about mental illness. Nor do they want to. MI is still a dirty secret---it's like people are afraid that if they touch a mentally ill person, they might get some of it on them.

That said, a nurse with a controlled MI can do the job just as well as anyone else, and as I've said elsewhere, they may even be better at some of it because of the empathy that comes with the experience of living with a psychiatric condition. That's why I could never be a psych nurse---I'd over-identify with the patients! But, although I'm sure there are those who would disagree with me, I think having bipolar disorder has made me a better nurse and a kinder person overall, even though I haven't always been a good employee.

viva!

i so admire you and your jorneys, thank you for your insight and advices;)

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Life is short and we are human...you come first! You're patients will be better off if you remember that always!

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I am a nursing student and I also have bipolar disorder (type 1). I had the exact same fears when I started nursing school. I am very fortunate. I have an excellent doctor and my family and friends are very supportive. I take my medication, exercise, eat healthy and ask for help when I need it. My advisor is aware that I have this condition and she is very supportive. I currently have a 4.0 GPA (I'm in the 2nd semester of my RN program). Take care of yourself, find people that are supportive and you will do well. I believe that our suffering makes us better nurses, it makes us more compassionate. Also visit your college's office for students with disabilities. They are there to help. Good luck to you. You can do this!

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I have had bipolar disorder since the age of 23. I am now 61, almost 62 and have been an RN since 1991. It helps to stay with the same employer and to be a valued employee. I've been with my hospital for 19 years. I have FMLA for those times I need to be off work which is usually only a couple of weeks, although I did have to take 4 months off once and ended up on the short term disability offered by my employer. It helps not to take a day off here and a day off there. If you're seen as reliable, they are more willing to work with you. Yes, there have been days I've literally had to drag myself to work. I have a supportive boss and a great psychiatrist. I take my medications religiously. I do work nights which is a bit of a challenge but I find the slower pace helpful. It definitely can be done. Several of my co-workers also struggle with bipolar disorder and have also been here for some time.

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I too am an RN with bipolar 2. I am very stable as long as I stay on my medication. I have never told a future employer or the board about it because I don't feel that it is something that they need to know. I function very well. Hope this help you somewhat. I know that there has to be multiple nurses out there with the same problem that never tell anyone.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
Ellie G said:
I have had bipolar disorder since the age of 23. I am now 61, almost 62 and have been an RN since 1991. It helps to stay with the same employer and to be a valued employee. I've been with my hospital for 19 years. I have FMLA for those times I need to be off work which is usually only a couple of weeks, although I did have to take 4 months off once and ended up on the short term disability offered by my employer. It helps not to take a day off here and a day off there. If you're seen as reliable, they are more willing to work with you. Yes, there have been days I've literally had to drag myself to work. I have a supportive boss and a great psychiatrist. I take my medications religiously. I do work nights which is a bit of a challenge but I find the slower pace helpful. It definitely can be done. Several of my co-workers also struggle with bipolar disorder and have also been here for some time.

That's amazing. I had nothing but bad results from my employers who knew I was bipolar. There was no understanding---I couldn't even get accommodations when I needed them to perform my job. I didn't expect anyone to disrupt the everyday operations of the workplace on my behalf, but getting fired for going out on medical leave for three weeks...I was manic at the time and it was much better to be away rather than embarrass myself and my company by acting inappropriately on the job.

Oh well, that's all water under the bridge now. You are extremely fortunate to work for a hospital which appreciates your talents AND understands when you get sick. ?

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Our hospital CEO is an ex psych nurse, so that might be part of it

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After 20 years, I am facing the HPMP because of it. I have sued jobs for discrimination toward me. I am considering giving it all up. If I could go back, I would have gone to school for engineering instead. Living with a mental illness in Healthcare is not easy.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

You've got that right! You'd think the healthcare industry would be a little more forgiving and understanding, seeing as how we take care of all sorts of people with similar conditions without judging them (hopefully, anyway). But no, we're harder on our own than anyone else outside our profession could ever be. I don't get it. We're human too!

So sorry you have to deal with HPMP. You shouldn't have to, unless you've diverted drugs or shown up for work drunk or stoned, gotten a DUI or committed other crimes of that nature. Mental illness that is managed well doesn't make us unsafe to practice and we don't deserve to be treated like criminals. Now in my case, I got to a point where my bipolar illness DID make me unsafe to continue as a nurse, and I retired at the end of 2013 because I could not in good conscience subject patients to my erratic job performance and memory loss issues. I'm a lot better now, but I'm also on disability living a comparatively low-stress lifestyle, which makes it possible for me to stay well for the most part.

You are the only person who can decide if staying in the profession is the right thing to do. I'd have left sooner if the BON had forced me into a monitoring program (I did disclose my BP-1 on my last renewal, but nothing ever came of it). But for some, the career is worth all the expense, inconvenience and embarrassment the programs put them through, and that's OK too.

Wishing you the best, and Welcome to Allnurses.com!

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In TN, the application for licensure states, "have you been hospitalized for mental illness?" I was a couple of times over 10 years ago and attended an IOP program. This all took place in another state, but do I disclose this? Is my confidential health information accessible to the BON?

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

No, it's still private health information that the BON has no access to unless/until you grant it to them through a Yes answer to the question.

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Oh am I glad I found this post! I am working as a CNA and have one year left of RN school. I just was diagnosed with mixed bipolar and was being treated for the wrong MI for 6 years. The medications I had been taking were aggrevating the bipolar symptoms. I received a phone call from one of my managers about my work performance recently. I had no idea I did anything wrong, but I did notice I was having memory trouble over the past few weeks(can be a symptom of bipolar I found out). I thought maybe it was just a "hangover" from the medications I was taking in the first place. I felt I had been doing an excellent job at work, and didn't realize I was rapidly cycling between mania and depression. After I got off the phone with my manager I immediately got help from a different psychiatrist and started seeing a therapist.

I just had a meeting with my managers. I'm totally in the dark about what they're going to do, and I know that they are considering termination. I disclosed to them that I am getting the help I need and requested a week and a half leave of absence. I told them I had something going on medically that I was just informed of, causing impaired judgment, but didn't disclose the diagnosis. I work on a psych unit.. I'm sure they can tell what diagnosis I have. I feel so much better already with my medication being corrected, finding out my TRUE diagnosis, and sorting my thoughts out with a therapist. However.. at this meeting a manager said she is concerned about my ability to perform safe patient care. I'm nervous I'll be fired and can't obtain licensure. I researched my states law and it only says "do you have a mental illness that can cause harm to the public". I am confident I can manage this, now that I am aware of what to look for. I am working HARD to better myself and requested another chance to show them I can be a stable worker. This is the only time I have messed up in the two years I have worked there. I felt so alone in all of this until I found this forum.

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