Past depressive/anxiety issues coming back to haunt me...not sure what to do?

[dreamjobin2011]

I am very excited that I am graduating from RN school in May 2011. However, my professor posted our first power point already and asked us to look at it. It was regarding our application process to the Board of Nursing. When I went to the website it asks a series of questions to register to take the NCLEX-RN. I have never been convicted of any crime, arrested, or addicted to any drugs or alcohol so I can answer "No" to all the questions regarding eligibility except one that I am unsure of...

"*Within the past five (5) years have you been diagnosed with, treated, or hospitalized for schizophrenia and/or psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, paranoid personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or borderline personality disorder?"

I currently do not have any of these disorders, however, I did have an incident that landed me in the ER my first semester of RN school (a year and half ago). The short version of what happened is this: I am married to my husband that I have been with since I was 14 years old (which is 15 years) and we have 3 kids. My 1st semester in school he decided to be extremely unsupportive, left me to take care of the kids most of the time on my own and then I found out he was sleeping with his 19 year old employee. He was spending most of his time with her and that is why I was dealing with everything at home on my own. When I found all this out and combined it with the stress of school, I had a mental breakdown. I went into a full blown panic attack (which I had never had before) couldn't breathe and ended up taking a lot of pills and badly cutting my leg. My husband ended up calling 911 and I was ambulanced to the local ER (my B/P was 178/110 and HR was 155, just to give y'all an idea of what state I was in, it was very scary for a normally stable person to experience). I did undergo a psych evaluation at the hospital due to the pills I took, and she sent me home saying she didn't believe I was trying to commit suicide. I ended up seeking treatment afterward for the recurrent panic attacks I was having and my psych Dr diagnosed me with PTSD with situational anxiety and depression. I got on medication and was on it for about 9 months when I weaned myself off and have been panic attack/depression free every since.

During this time, I never missed any class, clinical time, etc. and I also managed to make the Dean's List for 2 semesters. So, my performance in school was great. However, the problem I have is: since I know that a police report was filed for this incident and technically I did spend a night in the ER, which is "hospitalization", should I answer "yes" to this question which allows the BON to open my medical files, possibly delaying my application 3-6 months, and also possibly putting stipulations on my license? (all of which is stated will happen if an applicant cannot answer "no" to all the eligibility questions) Or, should I just answer "no" since I technically do not and did not have any of the listed illnesses?

One other thing...the officer that came to my house and hospital said he was not going to list my driver's license on the report, only my address, and he said I shouldn't have anything pop up on my background check, otherwise if my driver's license was noted he said it might pop up. The only thing about this is, I don't understand how the background checks work and even though I am sure he knows what he is talking about, what if for some reason he forgot to remove my information, or it is a more extensive background check that nurses undergo that he is not used to, etc... ?? I just don't want to be flagged as a dishonest nurse, or be seriously delayed getting my license, or be penalized for a severely personal matter that is no longer an issue!

Any advice in a similar situation would be wonderful and appreciated! I don't feel comfortable discussing this with my professors seeing that I am still in school for this one last semester either.

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Since panic attacks and/or depression are not listed under the conditions of the questions, I would NOT answer yes to this. They are looking for people with major psych issues, not situational ones like yours. I appreciate that you are wanting to be honest, but that is a can of worms you do not need to open. You are not being dishonest by answering this question No. Congrats on your upcoming graduation!

[Liddle Noodnik]

Since panic attacks and/or depression are not listed under the conditions of the questions, I would NOT answer yes to this. They are looking for people with major psych issues, not situational ones like yours. I appreciate that you are wanting to be honest, but that is a can of worms you do not need to open. You are not being dishonest by answering this question No. Congrats on your upcoming graduation!

I agree. If it's not asked, don't answer it!

I would be up a creek if they asked me, as I have bipolar. But my state doesn't ask this question.

I have since had to take myself out of nursing because of it, however.

Good luck!