Mental Illness and Nursing

[victory123]

I have been a nurse 2 years and have renewed once. On each of those re-applications, I was able to say that I was not diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia, etc. However, I do have Major Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. My new NP, believes that I have Bipolar II, but has agreed to leave it depression and anxiety because labels do not matter to her and she is treating me, not the diagnosis. However, I fear that I might need to go inpatient at some point, because that is the nature of my best. My question, what if I'm hospitalized and diagnosed bipolar? Do I have to claim that on my next applications. And most importantly...what if I don't claim that? What could happen? Thanks.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Hello, and welcome to Allnurses! We're glad you're here, and hope your association with us will be a long and useful one.

There are a couple of schools of thought regarding whether to disclose a bipolar diagnosis to the BON. Doing so may well open up a can of worms and land you in a monitoring program that's actually designed for nurses with substance abuse issues. OTOH, lying to the BON is, well...lying to the BON, and it wouldn't go well for you if you were somehow to get caught. They may not have the ability or the right to look at your health records per HIPAA, but if you were to come to their attention for some other reason, it could easily be found out.

Personally, I disclosed my bipolar 1 diagnosis to my state BON the last time I renewed my license, and nothing ever came of it. Perhaps it was because I'm no longer working and therefore present no risk of unsafe practice; perhaps because I have a spotless record as a licensed nurse. I don't know. At any rate, it wasn't a big deal and I felt better for having admitted to my MI.

I hope you don't get diagnosed with bipolar, or have to be hospitalized. It's not a diagnosis anyone wants to have, and being in a psych ward isn't fun. But there are more nurses than you might think who live with it, and many never have a problem with it on the job. They maintain their stability with meds, therapy, and other helpful measures such as diet and exercise. They are also very self-aware and quick to catch signals that their mental health is deteriorating, and they act right away to prevent their condition from worsening.

I wish you the very best in your endeavors. Hang in there!

[AMN74]

I think it depends on the state in which you are licensed. My state BON does not require me to disclose my illness. When I renew my license it asks a couple questions like: Have you been convicted of a crime other than minor traffic violations? ; Do you have an illness or injury that would prevent you from performing job duties in your scope of practice and there are a few more. As long as my psychiatrist thinks that I'm able to perform my job duties as an RN, the I can say NO to that question. My psychiatrist has pulled me out of work several times to adjust medications or when she has felt that I am not stable, and I take FMLA. If I feel that I'm not stable, or if I'm sick with my bipolar then I take the responsibility to contact my psychiatrist and we work on mediation adjustment. She has taken me out of work a couple times when I thought I was capable of working, however I have to trust her judgement. I feel like if I'm working when she thinks I should not be working and I make an error or something happens then I will have big issues. I've been a nurse for more than 28 years and was diagnosed before I became a nurse. In all those years I've never disclosed my illness to the BON.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

If you live in Texas, yes - it's required.