Rehab and hospitalization? Hopeful future nurse

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Hi there,

This past year I was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital for some psychotic features due to my bipolar II disorder. I agreed to a voluntary temporary detention order (TDO). I am now on the right medication and don't expect any additional issues ever. Also, I entered a rehab facility where I stayed for a month due to some alcohol issues I was having. With all this being said, can I still expect to become a nurse? What kind of barriers will I face? Do I really need to disclose any of this to any nursing boards to receive licensure? I live in a mid-atlantic, east coast state and hope to be license through this state or a bordering one.

Thanks!

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So, your'e not a nurse at the moment right? If your not a nurse then I wouldn't disclose any of that information to the nursing board. Treatment is supposed to be confidential so there's really no way of them finding out unless you got a DUI or something like that. I have known nurses who went to treatment before they became a nurse and never said anything about it and were just fine. ?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Women's Health, LTC.

Exactly what mississippi said....SAY NOTHING! Take good care of yourself and I am glad you are on the path to health and nursing.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

It is tough being a nurse. It's even tougher being a nurse with a mental illness. But it can be done, and you are motivated enough to do it, I think. Just one pesky little detail: what, if anything, should you disclose?

ZERO. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

If you were a voluntary patient, you have nothing to worry about. Medical records are still private in this country, and there's nothing the school or a future employer can do to obtain them. And who ever would? I'm assuming you're stable now, and as long as you stay that way there's no need for disclosure. I wouldn't be complacent in thinking you may not ever have another bipolar episode, because the hallmark of this illness is extreme highs and (very) low lows, and it's cyclical. In other words, whatever you cycle into, you're apt to cycle out of at some point. I have bipolar I, so I know from experience that it can never be "cured"...but it can be managed.

By all means take your meds, embrace a healthy lifestyle if you can (being a nursing student makes it very easy to fall into bad habits), and go for it! Don't let bipolar get in your way, and definitely don't share your diagnosis with anyone other than family and friends. That excludes fellow students, instructors and supervisors. They don't need to know. If someday you need accommodations to do your job, you'll have to disclose it then, but there's no need to borrow trouble. I've known nurses with mental disorders who had fine careers, some of whom are still working into their 60s and beyond.

I wish you the very best. Keep us posted on your progress!

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Thanks for everyone’s feedback!!

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hello all, starting off... i had two dwis within 3 months of each other in 2017. went to rehab immediately following the second where i completed treatment and have been sober since. i am getting off of a two year probation sentence in june that i have complied with to the dot of an i. when i graduated high school in 2011, i went to college and just stopped going. i had 6 fs with a 1.2 gpa. fast forward-- last semester i retook four of those classes and got an a in all of them. my gpa is now 2.68; high enough to meet the requirements for the adn program i am applying to this semester. i still have 2 fs to replace (one drawing class i am taking this semester and a nutrition class i will probably take in the summer). i made a cumulative score of 90% on the teas with a reading score of 97%, math 96%, science 68%?, and english/language 78%. i have done research on the declaratory order i will most likely have to have, if they even accept me into the program. i have written an extensive letter of explanation and gathered all of the necessary documentation needed for the declaratory order, im just waiting for the all clear to send it in.

my question is this: has anyone had a similar experience or have any kind of idea of how this is going to play out? i know that if they let me in, i graduate and apply for my license will be an entirely different story. likely will have to be a part of tpapn if/when i get licensed

i appreciate any advice/comments at all!!

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