minnie26

Thanks for your feedback. Family and friends are encouraging and confident in my ability to make a good nurse but it always helps to talk to people that are actually in the profession. I do not really wish to declare that I had a mental health problem for obvious reasons but I was advised to do so by my doctor. As I am on medication for the condition, she felt there may be consequences further down the line if I was not upfront at the start. I also have to explain why I needed the extra time and I don't really want to start my career being dishonest or omitting information. I may just be building it all up in my head but I had such a negative response from another student on the course when I confided in her. We also lived together and she was very competitive - it wasn't a happy time and looking back I believe she went out of her way to make me question myself. However, that was over a year ago and I feel like my outlook on life has completely changed, I am certainly a lot healthier in mind and body and not so sensitive to spiteful criticism! So I guess all I can do now is draw upon the experience as suggested and put it to some positive use, right? Thanks again for your comments.

I have recently qualified as an adult nurse but I am concerned about any application I make to start work as a nurse. I had to take an extra year on the course to deal with clinical depression. It was something I had struggled with for years and it started affecting my nursing studies. The university was very supportive, they knew I was a good student and noticed the down turn in my health. encouraging me to seek medical help. I managed to get myself sorted with medication and completed the course with a good degree result. The help I received made an incredible difference to me and I feel I am now ready to start my career in nursing but I am afraid about the stigma of depression when applying for jobs. It took me a long time to come to terms with this illness, I hated the fact that I needed extra time to finish the course so I am also worried about the views of potential employers.