Will I get in trouble with the BON for receiving mental health care?

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Oct 4, 2015

Two years ago I was diagnosed with Bipolar 1, for many years diagnosis of major depressive disorder, anxiety and panic attacks. I finally went to a psych doctor and not my regular dr, that was 2 yrs ago.
Last month I got called into my my managers and Chrg nurse office and was told I was cussing (yes but not in front of pts or the time in clinic. There's nurses dropping F bombs everywhere And when pts are in the rooms). Then they said a nurse on my team told them I told her she was todo certain things only in clinic (again not true, and I even asked the nurse if she did say something she said no and that's nothing I would say to anyone) yesterday things repeated itself....I was told I spend too much time with families on the phone (this is a children's hospital mind you). We have as many as 60 calls come in plus another already 30 waiting to be called back.
Long story short- they're calling HR on me. Within the last 6 months they've done this to one nurse and another nurse that she eventually quit. She had mental health issues and would take about it openly (management).
Do I beat them to HR or what?
They are many other things going on in the clinic that I am sure JACHO would love
I am applying to other jobs within the hospital tomorrow. I've worked since I've been 15 yrs old and 42 yrs old and NEVER have had anything reported to HR all my references say I am always upbeat and positive and they'd hire me back.
Please anyone help with advice.

You have my sympathies. I'm bipolar 1 too and two years ago I made the worst mistake of my career---I disclosed my diagnosis to my supervisor. BIG mistake. From there on out I was scrutinized to the point where the stress of it all made me sick. I had a breakdown at work and had to go out on medical leave. When I came back I was told that the company could not and would not give me the accommodations requested by my psychiatrist so I could continue in my job. Two days later I was fired.

I'm not sure what, if anything, you can do to salvage your work situation. Just beware of disclosing your illness going forward, whether in this job or the next. I wouldn't even tell your co-workers, you never know if it'll get back to the boss. Wishing you the best of luck. (((HUGS)))

Katyp2008 · Feb 8, 2018

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious to know, for personal reasons how they didn't find out that you were bipolar before? Did you go to your Psychiatrist? Or is that confidential? I always thought they would look at claims? Did they refer you to a peer assistance program?

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Feb 8, 2018

I wasn't diagnosed until about six months before I lost my job. Of course, my work was erratic and management had noticed, but didn't say anything until I told them about the BP. Then they brought in the corporate nurse consultant, who told me "Your job performance is consistent with your diagnosis". They also started watching me closely and it seemed as though I was in the administrator's office every week being questioned about whether I was doing OK, if I was doing my job, and if I was having any interpersonal difficulties. *I* thought I was doing all right, but evidently my staff had major concerns and right after I came back from medical LOA, I was told that they didn't trust me to take care of the patients.

My psychiatrist wrote out a short list of what we both thought were reasonable accommodations, which were immediately denied. All we asked for was a quiet place I could go to for a couple of hours each day in order to get some uninterrupted work time, a 4-day/10 hours schedule to give me another day off each week, and (temporarily) excuse me from high-stress situations like dealing with irate families, and turf them to other senior staff. In retrospect I can see why they had a problem with that last request, because one never knows when a conversation is going to escalate and it would be awkward to bring in another party to handle it right in the middle of it. But the rest...I don't think that was too much to ask. I'd been doing 4 10s a week anyway, and a couple of hours without interruptions from other staff and families, the constantly ringing phones, and lack of privacy would have made me much more productive, to say nothing of stabilizing my moods. But no, like I said, they decided that wasn't possible, and I had another breakdown right then and there. That's when I was let go.

I knew I had rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I should have fought it. But I was too dispirited to file a complaint, and frankly, I didn't want my job back. Who wants to work for people who treat you like that? Besides, the ADA didn't protect me from getting fired in the first place, and since I knew the company had an office full of lawyers who knew all the ways to get around it, I just didn't bother. I took it as a lesson learned and eventually moved on.

allnurses Guide · Feb 9, 2018

Hi all,
I've been struggling with severe anxiety and depression for a long time, but recently it is to the point where I have difficulty leaving my house or even getting out of bed on my days off. It hasn't affected my work performance, in fact I've been picking up extra shifts just to keep myself busy. I've never been to a counselor/psychologist/psychiatrist and I have heard horror stories about nurses who do. Will I be reported to the board for asking my doctor to refer me for mental health, or if I receive a psychiatric diagnosis? I want to go get help really bad but I cannot afford to lose my job or my license. I have no family who can help me should I become unemployed and no other skills to fall back on. Most of my colleagues and patients tell me I do a good job, and I don't feel like my reasoning or concentration is impaired at work (I don't receive complaints, have never made a serious error, and receive good evaluations). I'm terrified of getting referred to TPAPN (I practice in Texas) to the point where I've delayed going to see a doctor, but I'm not sure I can put it off much longer before I completely fall apart. Can anybody give me insight to what happens when a nurse is treated for a mental health disorder?

If your illness is not causing your practice to be impaired there is no need for the BON to ever know. Your medical records are private under HIPAA and cannot be released without your consent. See a mental health professional sooner rather than later. If you end up seeing a psychiatrist and going on medications make sure you have valid prescriptions for everything you take.

Good luck to you

Hppy

Katyp2008 · Feb 9, 2018

Oh ok. Thank you so much for sharing! I've heard horror stories and I'm scared to self disclose anything.

viprn21, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2019

Hey guys!

Different account now, but I was the original poster of this thread back in '15 (I made a throwaway account due to my paranoia, lol)

Thank you all for your encouragement. My mental health is much improved now with therapy and medications. It wasn't an easy road but I'm very glad I took the first step and asked for advice here.

I left the job I was at (which was greatly taxing my mental health, looking back) and now have a job that supports me professionally and personally. I'm still practicing as an RN, in my preferred specialty of ICU no less. I was very worried about not being able to work in ICU anymore because as stressful as it is, it's where I belong as a nurse. I'm also applying for CRNA programs and hope to start next year.

My thoughts, looking back on it all:

Get help asap. Find a therapist and doctor you trust completely. It took a while seeing them before I was ready to disclose some of my symptoms but taking the time to find someone I trusted not to put my job in jeopardy made it so much better. Both my therapist and psychiatrist were understanding of my fear of losing my job and worked with me to make sure I could practice safely while getting treatment.

Take care of yourself. It's the #1 way to keep your patients safe. If you can't care for yourself, you can't care for them.

DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOUR TREATMENT AT WORK (I know you all warned me but I'm an idiot sometimes). There is no good way for it to end, no matter how tight you are with your coworkers. It cost me good professional relationships and good friends. In addition, your hospital and BON are not on a "need to know" basis of your treatment. It's been fine keeping my mental health information to myself.

I hope and pray that anyone who needs mental health treatments in the medical field has the courage to seek it. It is pounded in our head from day one that any flaws in our character or practice could wreak death and debility upon our patients, but rarely does anyone take the time to tell us the reality: we are human. And being human is not something we can do on our own. No one is immune to mental illness, and expecting us just to shut up and deal with it is not safe for us, our patients, or our community.

Maybe someday, a young nurse won't have to turn to strangers on the internet to find the strength to do something as simple as seek treatment for an illness. But that day isn't here yet, and I am grateful for those who took the time to give a few encouraging words to me while I was struggling. It very well may have saved my life.

God bless.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jul 20, 2019

Thanks for the update. So many people post things and never return to their threads and we're left hanging, never knowing if they've even read the responses. I'm glad you came back, and so happy things are working out for you!

Bella_25 · Sep 8, 2019

The same happened to me. I made the mistake in confiding to a co worker. Then everyone knew. The manager was a real j&rk. He treated me poorly. Spoke down to me. He would leer and absolutely intimidate if I had a concern. He would yell. Horrible experience. I just wish it never happened, but it did. Another example of stigma used against me. And my co-workers did a 180 completely different people. They started to avoid me. I was like OMG really. Would they have done that if I had a broken arm. Nope. It was a toxic environment to work in. Just sickening. But I'm out now so lesson learned.

KR · Sep 24, 2019

Personally if stuff needs reported to JCAHO, regardless if u stay or go I would do that. Not sure about HR, but I wouldnt want to stay somewhere I was being harassed. Nursing is stressful enough on it's own. Praying 4 u. So sorry u r going thru this

Molly90210 · Oct 6, 2019

nevermind, old post

medical_zebra · Oct 10, 2019

as long as you know you're safe to work, i don't think its anyone's business. this is your life....even if it did end up ruining your career somehow (highly unlikely) you not getting help can ruin your life. i see too many nurses sacrificing themself for this career. take a time out and get yourself the help you need. you are most important. you are the only person that takes care of you. we as nurses aren't much help to patients either if we aren't in a good place. i hope you get to feeling better soon!