I see my doctor and therapist as required.
As required? Doesn’t fit the definition of voluntary.
I’m baffled that you would receive the honest replies to your post as being some sort of personal attack or indication that the person posting the reply holds some sort of prejudice towards individuals who suffer from a mental illness. You need to step back and view your situation from the outside looking in.
Would you feel comfortable being cared for by someone who has the potential to do you harm due to a pre-existing condition that can disrupt their concentration? There are constantly cases in the news of people who have had the wrong medication delivered to them or swapped with someone else’s, even cases of doctors operating on the wrong subject or wrong organ! In a hospital setting where you have so much going on in the way of trama, emergencies with many different physicians treating so many patients and staff changing shifts needing to be briefed on changes in treatment, births, deaths and all happening at the same time, often making for a state of chaos. Do you believe it is wise to add another potentially lethal element of uncertainty to this trying environment? Is employing staff, who must themselves “see a doctor and therapist as required” so they don’t become a threat to the safety and well-being of patients who’s health is already in compromise?
They have deemed that I am safe to practice but require continued monitoring to make sure I continue to be compliant with the treatment plan.
Now who’s responsibility does it become to ensure your in compliance? Should the Hospital assume your continuing your voluntary treatment, or do they have an obligation to keep tabs on your condition? If a situation were to arise due to a mistake or misjudgment on your part, who would be liable? Weather or not it was related to your illness, would the hospital be considered negligent for employing a nurse who they were aware has the potential to put patients at risk, due to a “lack of concentration”?
When I do experience exacerbations of the illness, I sometimes become too incapacitated to realize the severity.
So by your own admission, it can and does happen. In fact it happens without you realizing the severity!
There is a prerequisite for almost all professions. Regardless of weather someone has a mental health condition, a physical handicap or learning disability, or their too fat, short, tall etc., each group will not be suited for a career in certain areas. To suggest to a person born with no arms that they will never become a professional bowler isn’t prejudice or cruel, it’s a fact created by their handicap and one they have to accept. Do you think Stevie Wonder ever considered pursuing a career as an umpire with the American Baseball league?
When you informed the manager of your condition, they had the obligation to look into it and question your suitability for the job. Had they not required additional testing, I for one would have serious reservations about the hiring practices in the medical field. The cost of malpractice insurance has got to be one of the most expensive policies on earth. The ever rising cost of this necessary coverage is passed on to everyone who seeks medical treatment. What would the cost rise to if insurance companies discovered that a hospital staff was made up of people with pre-existing mental conditions which have the potential to cause patients harm, possibly even fatal results?
Quite frankly, I’m surprised that your suitability for the job didn’t arise sooner. Do they not ask questions concerning your own health on the paperwork and applications you fill out when seeking employment in the medical field?
Even the DMV asks all drivers applying for or renewing their drivers license if they have suffered seizures or black outs.
I wouldn't want to endanger a patient because of poor concentration and I don't want to lose my license because I enjoy working in my profession.
Then I suggest you enter another area of medicine, possibly one where you are not directly responsible for hands on treatment of patients. If you chose to continue seeking employment as a nurse working directly with patients, then you should be prepared to receive the same humiliating treatment as you have posted of here.
If I was hospitalized, I wouldn’t want anyone with your condition anywhere near me or my family members either. While this is not legal advise, it is a reality you need to be aware of. But by no means is it meant as a judgment of you, I’m only trying to put into prospective what you have posted.
