sarit

I went to nursing school to be able to support my family. Now, at square one, just because I was hospitalized, we are impoverished, living only because my father supports us financially. I hear everyone saying here, if they did this to every nurse then there wouldn't be many nurses. Well, please do not think I am lying. I have never had any complaints about my practice. It is only because I was hospitalized. So much for the American Dream. People with psychiatric diagnoses need not apply for that…we're not wanted by society.

Viva, thank you for your kind words. You know it differs from state to state. In my state, I was investigated for a VOLUNTARY hospitalization. Depressive episode, no psychosis, no suicidality. That was my first hospitalization. This is wrong! It discourages health professionals from getting inpatient treatment when they needed it. Obviously anyone with a controlled psych issue, no matter what it is, can be a good nurse. I also met a number of nurses disciplined for addiction and this state comes down way too hard on them as well. I would so much like to move up to Maryland because as of last year they weren't investigating like this, but my grad school is in Virginia and that will affect tuition rates.

Yes, I am surprised the BON moved like this! Over hospitalizations? I am not accused of patient harm, etc. No history of addiction. I'm so worried how this will affect me in my attempt at a new career, public health. I am in grad school for this. The lawyer said its better to let the license go particularly since, I had volunteered myself in the monitoring program after the second hospitalization and the monitoring program has caused nothing but grief for me. They wanted to monitor my public health practicum and I just can't have a new career killed before it starts. I did have the option to go to an informal hearing and fight for my license, but the best case scenario would be they would publish even more stigmatizing information and order me into the monitoring program. I miss nursing. I was a good nurse. I have the option for reinstatement, and don't have to do it in my state. I want to move on in public health though. I am very scared it won't happen, I won't get employed.

I am so upset. After struggling to gain stability, I have been asked to surrender my license because of mental health disorder. I was hospitalized a couple of times since being licensed, a couple of times too many for the BON. I surrendered it. I am very upset. I see a lot of people with diagnoses just as serious and even more so than mine but I have to surrender the license.

VivaLasViejas, I hear you. Stigma is everywhere! It would be nice if we could get stigma out of legislation, including legislation regarding nurses. It's hard enough coping with mental illness, treatment side effects, difficulties obtaining and/or affording treatment, and yet the stigma just makes it so much harder.

Oh wow! I totally want to hear people's responses to this thread. I had to do the whole monitoring thing because I was hospitalized too. (No hx of alcohol or drug abuse, either.) I volunteered into it thinking (wrongly) it would protect me from being investigated if I wanted to go to hospital again. I ended up in grad school in a health-related but not nursing field, and the monitoring program would just make it very difficult for me because they also wanted to monitor that! I just surrendered my license (not permanently) in large part to get out of the monitoring issue, but the BON is going to put up that I did so for being hospitalized for psych. This way I can continue in grad school unmonitored at least. I worry though about how the BON's publication will affect my job hunt in health care and how to explain it?

Hi Tagit. I think it depends on the state you are in. Each state is different though. My state investigates if you get hospitalized for psych no matter what the circumstances as if you had committed some ethical wrong. But I know other states don't do this, you can go get inpatient treatment without being investigated. Ideally I think one should consult a nursing lawyer regarding licensure with psychiatric disability or history of substance abuse before applying for licensure just to see what the lay of the land in their state may be and what they have to disclose, and how to do it. But who has that kind of money to consult with such a lawyer, especially most nursing students? Anyway, good luck! Lots of nurses out there with controlled mental illness that are doing well in nursing. I feel that as a nurse, at least where I live, the stigma issues of having a diagnosis are the biggest challenge.