I will be finishing my nursing degree in one month and I have a question regarding the pre-employment physical. I'm hep-c positive and have been since having a clotting factor after a surgery at 12 years of age. I has been almost 20 years and I'm in great shape with no physical problems. Is this something that will be help against me when I attempt to apply for a job? Also, is it confidential or will it be disclosed to my manager? This is a private matter to me and I'm just wondering who all I'll need to disclose this information too. I would greatly appreciate input from anyone who knows about this. Thank you.
Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.
my last two pre-employment physicals also included lab draws.
i'm trying to remember what labs were run. i know i had titers drawn, and your employer certainly has the right to do that.
i can't remember if a cbc or chemistry panel was run. i don't think so. for the life of me, i can't even remember how many tubes were drawn.
i would think they could get away with checking at least a hct to check for anemia, since that could certainly impact your ability to do your job. i'm fairly certain that they can't do an hiv test; it would follow that they can't check for hep c, either. but that could very well vary from state to state. (and before anyone says anything, i work in a state that does not require consent for an hiv test)
I will be finishing my nursing degree in one month and I have a question regarding the pre-employment physical. I'm hep-c positive and have been since having a clotting factor after a surgery at 12 years of age. I has been almost 20 years and I'm in great shape with no physical problems. Is this something that will be help against me when I attempt to apply for a job? Also, is it confidential or will it be disclosed to my manager? This is a private matter to me and I'm just wondering who all I'll need to disclose this information too. I would greatly appreciate input from anyone who knows about this. Thank you.
every drug screen i've ever had required a list of all meds that were being taken, including otc meds..
most of my pre-employment drug screens have been done at a lab. however, my last two jobs have done the screen in employee health, and the employee health nurse was the one that got the med list.
i used to do preemployment physicals including idot which is a state thing, illinois dept. of transportation...never asked for med list because it wasn't required, if people requested to list their meds they could do it on the back of the drug screen forms but it wasn't standard..
I did not have any blood testing done during my pre-employment physical. Apparently the only reason they would draw blood is to check certain titers. The nurse informed me that my vaccination records were sufficient, however, and that I did not need any blood testing done. The employee health department also did NOT require any type of medication list during the physical. If I remember correctly, we were only asked to list conditions which could affect job performance.
I believe you don't have to disclose that information. I recently had a pre-employment physical for my new job. They required that I bring any prescription meds I was on. I was on Clomid at the time and was pissed that I had to endure the uneducated, unhelpful comments of the employee health nurse about my infertility. Nurses should know better than to give the old "just relax- you're just impatient" hoo-hah :angryfire.
I did not disclose my hx of depression or hospitalization as a teenager- none of their damn business. I had to endure yet another physical from the doc later, b/c of my hx of fibromyalgia. Never missed a day of work because of it, as confirmed by previous employer, but was told if the doc didn't pass me I couldn't keep the job. It felt so invasive.
Does anyone know - do the pre-employment drug tests check for SSRIs? I kept this info private because I'm on it and it works and I'm not depressed, therefore it has no relevance to my ability to perform, end of story. But I just switched jobs and took a pre-employment drug screen - wondering if my fib will bite me in the butt?
My preemployment physical did a blood draw to see if my Hep B shots were still working and nothiing more. They also did a UA drug screen and I saw the results right after I was done. All of this was done in employee health. Also, they did ask for what meds I took, but since it's only BCP's and Motrin prn, I didn't have a problem disclosing this.
Specializes in Pulmonology/Critical Care, Internal Med.
I've been looking at one of the hospitals up in Birmingham (UAB) and they have you do a chest X-ray (what a TB test isn't enough), as well as a UA drug screen, lab work (I'm assuming titers but I've also heard HIV which I thought was illegal for some reason that bugs me) and then you have a physicial from one of their physicians. You can't do it anywhere else but at their location.
I'm going for a pre-employment physical this week and I have some questions regarding disclosure.
#1: The medical form asks if I've ever been hospitalized for anything other than childbirth...and...I don't want to lie.
Last year I spent a month on a psych ward and a month in rehab related to this. It was a month on the psych ward because I refused medications and meditated instead [with much success, actually, towards the goal of mood stabilization], and the Psychiatrist assigned to me went on vacation during my stay so I had to wait for him to come back. I went into the hospital and rehab voluntarily.
I have been in recovery from substance abuse for over a year now and am active in narcotics anonymous and have most definitely made some changes in my life in the past year, and continue to. I am very grateful I got into this process before I became a Nurse!
I (and others) believe I am willing, ready, and able to handle the demands of Nursing, moreso than I was when I graduated.
I've been advised by other people to say No to that question. But can I say Yes and just state that the hospitalization doesn't impact my job without disclosing anything further? I *have* managed to hold down an Administrative Assistant position for over 6 months now with accolades from demanding bosses. :)
I wonder about worst case scenario...that someone, somewhere, somehow tells the hospital staff that i was on the psych ward with them. that, and I've got a huge problem lying.
I also have no problem telling the whole truth because I am not the same person I was a year ago and I am more educated about addiction and what I need to do to prevent a relapse. I am committed to staying clean. No matter what stresses may come my way I am not going to pick up because I have too much that I want to do in life.
My instincts, however, tell me that they don't need to know the whole story. So I'm seeking a happy medium. I don't think I can effectively plead the fifth on why I was hospitalized..so perhaps I can admit experimentation that led to a crisis.
Any other ideas or cautionary tales?
#2: The form asks me to list any medications I've taken in the last 12 months.
I also don't want to disclose that I took lithium last year for a few months
because they had diagnosed me with bipolar II when I was in the institutions and I figured I'd try it and give their diagnosis a chance. I've never had a classic manic episode...I went into the hospital because I couldn't sleep for four days because I was intoxicated!
The psychiatrist at my outpatient (which I no longer attend) later refuted the idea that I was biploar and suggested ADHD instead, and I started taking Wellbutrin.
At this point I have not been on any medications since January (besides a multivitamin) and have managed life just fine.
CritterLover, BSN, RN
929 Posts
my last two pre-employment physicals also included lab draws.
i'm trying to remember what labs were run. i know i had titers drawn, and your employer certainly has the right to do that.
i can't remember if a cbc or chemistry panel was run. i don't think so. for the life of me, i can't even remember how many tubes were drawn.
i would think they could get away with checking at least a hct to check for anemia, since that could certainly impact your ability to do your job. i'm fairly certain that they can't do an hiv test; it would follow that they can't check for hep c, either. but that could very well vary from state to state. (and before anyone says anything, i work in a state that does not require consent for an hiv test)