Sleeping pills over dose

[PM2016]

Hell everyone. I was accepted to PA school and will be starting in the summer of 2014. About 2 weeks ago I overdosed on sleeping pills..took 31 and was taken to the ER..I was kept there for 24 hrs for observation then released since no damage was done. The first thing that friends and some family members asked me is if this is going to affect my career as a PA. Your probably wondering why I did it well it was a stupid mistake. I've been taking them for years and was so angry at someone that I wanted to fall asleep immediately but that backfired on me because I started overdosing and was not able to sleep. My hospital release papers state that is was an accidental ingestion. However I work in the hospital I was taken to well not the exact campus but I was able to pull up my records and it states that one of my problems was suicide..that concerns me. Am I doomed?

[Acebecker]

Your medical history is your own.  No one has a right to know it, unless you start posting it on public forums.  If I were you, I'd remove most of the above information and the other post (you double posted this).  The short answer is "no," but I have to question whether or not you'll be able to handle the stressors of PA school.  You need to make sure you have a counselor in town and a good support system handy for when the crap really starts to hit the fan about 1/3 of the way through didactic year.  Good luck, keep us posted if you need help. 

 

Andrew

[primadonna22274]

It may come up with licensing and credentialing. Every time I complete a new form or renew my license, there is a standard list of questions to answer, one of which goes something like this: "In the last 5 years, have you suffered from any physical, emotional or psychiatric condition (insert long list here, including sufferance use/abuse, psychiatric diagnoses etc) that would adversely impact your ability to provide competent and effective patient care?"....

My advice is to maintain close follow-up with your health care provider, be vigilant for worsening mental illness and put your own health first.

[skyblu]

I'm surprised you weren't put on a psych hold. What you describe is not truly an accidental ingestion. If you will excuse my forwardness, taking THIRTY-ONE sleeping pills goes well, well beyond the "I just wanted to fall asleep" scenario, and if I had been your provider in the ED, I would have had you cleared by psych before discharging you. Taking 4 or 5 pills can be construed as "they weren't working and I just wanted to fall asleep", but 31, in my opinion (as an EM PA who sees this things regularly) would have been a huge red flag. I would have probably been very concerned about you and would have requested a psych eval to rule out a suicidal gesture. 

 

You might want to get some support from a therapist to get a handle on ways to manage stress, since PA school is probably the biggest stressor you can imagine and the pressure is constant and relentless.

 

Specifically addressing your question, though, in my organization, there is a way to put a confidential stamp on electronic medical records. We usually use that for psych/substances but also for employees' records. It gives a flag when you try to access the record that reminds the user that only people directly involved with the patient's care can access this. Of course, it doesn't mean somebody else could not go ahead and click through that warning, but their username is logged so you could audit who has looked at your EMR and deduce why. It would be a HUGE breach of HIPPA for somebody not directly involved in your care to access your record. 

 

Having said that, as primadonna pointed out, each licensing form does include the verbiage she described. You'd have to have a good look at yourself and your ethics when answering those questions. Answering them anything other than truthfully is really, really NOT a good idea.

[PM2016]

Thanks for your replies. I was seen by psych before being released and was released because he believed I am not suicidal. I do intend on seeing a psychiatrist before pa school

[skyblu]

Ah, makes sense. Great! I am glad you are open to help. Good luck!

[winterallsummer]

No it will not affect you.  I worked in psych as a CNA and am a 2nd year student with no psych history myself, but do know people with such a history excelling in various fields including medicine.  If you fill out a form and it asks you if you have any such history, I would answer no.  However, you should definitely do something about finding better ways to handle stress because as mentioned, PA school is going to pile a lot of stress on you.  Find proactive ways to relax, see somebody and keep your family or friends as a support system.  You will be fine.

[cinntsp]

If you fill out a form and it asks you if you have any such history, I would answer no.  

 

Why would you answer no?  

[bradtPA]

No it will not affect you.  I worked in psych as a CNA and am a 2nd year student with no psych history myself, but do know people with such a history excelling in various fields including medicine.  If you fill out a form and it asks you if you have any such history, I would answer no.

And you have no experience filling out a PA license application and no experience seeing others check a box "no" when they should have checked a box "yes" get reprimanded and applications for licensure denied. it is irresponsible of you to do so on this board.

[primadonna22274]

No it will not affect you. I worked in psych as a CNA and am a 2nd year student with no psych history myself, but do know people with such a history excelling in various fields including medicine. If you fill out a form and it asks you if you have any such history, I would answer no. However, you should definitely do something about finding better ways to handle stress because as mentioned, PA school is going to pile a lot of stress on you. Find proactive ways to relax, see somebody and keep your family or friends as a support system. You will be fine.

Unethical to answer no and very unsound advice.

[skyblu]

No it will not affect you.  I worked in psych as a CNA and am a 2nd year student with no psych history myself, but do know people with such a history excelling in various fields including medicine.  If you fill out a form and it asks you if you have any such history, I would answer no.  However, you should definitely do something about finding better ways to handle stress because as mentioned, PA school is going to pile a lot of stress on you.  Find proactive ways to relax, see somebody and keep your family or friends as a support system.  You will be fine.

 

Absolutely horrible advice. If your ethics are this loose, I shudder to think of you taking care of patients, charting accurately, and being honest in your credentialing paperwork.

 

To the OP, please, please, please do yourself and the profession a big favor and NEVER lie on your licensure or credentialing forms.

[winterallsummer]

I am just looking out for the OP.  If his stress/depression/SI is managed, why should he jeopardize a job?  Yes there are jobs that will discriminate for this reason.  If he has psych issues, he should say yes, if they would jeopordize the job.  But he doesn't have to tell everyone every gritty detail of his past IF he is managed/under control/etc.

 

Also the question is "do you suffer from psych etc that will IMPACT YOUR WORK ABILITIES?"  If it is managed, he SHOULD say no.  If it is not managed, then yes I agree he should say yes.  But I would hate to see this guy screwed out of a job because he is blindly following some advice from a forum that I guarentee over half the people here (admit it or not) would not take themselves.

 

 If he needs help, no, he should not lie.  IF HE IS NOT PSYCHOLOGICALLY SOUND, HE SHOULD NOT SEE PATIENTS.  I perhaps was not clear on this.  But let me state I do not condone him seeing pts if he is not mentally well.  But I do not want him to fear being able to practice as a PA **IF** his psych issues are managed.

 

And it is not lying, because the question (at least from what the poster above said) specifies "if it will impact your job/work abilities."  And this is a question for a job not a credentialing forum.  Obviously the OP should think for himself and be honest, but I do not want him to check yes because some people here so adamantly proclaim he should, if the actual honest answer (assuming he is under control) is no.

 

Hope this clears things up.

[greenmood]

Someone who VERY recently made a suicidal gesture is not in the proper frame of mind (whether he admits it or not) to make an objective determination of his own competency with patients.

 

 

Beyond that, the OP hadn't even started school yet. My advice would be to get your issues under control because if you don't you aren't going to make it through PA school and all these ethical and credentialing questions will be totally pointless.

[bradtPA]

Obviously the OP should think for himself and be honest, but I do not want him to check yes because some people here so adamantly proclaim he should, if the actual honest answer (assuming he is under control) is no.

 

Hope this clears things up.

It doesn't clear anything up. Again, you have no experience in filling out a license application, you are a second year STUDENT. This is not a job forum, it is the professional PA section. The OP needs to be advised to answer truthfully to any application, whatever that truth is, to avoid consequences of a false answer. On my own license application every year, I tell them I am under treatment for hypertension. Why? Because they ask if I am under treatment for ANY disorder. It has no affect on my job, and no effect on my renewals for my license. But if I answer "no" then it's ethical problem, and one that I could be held liable for for answering falsely. Oh my state med board site right now, there is a doctor being reprimanded for not admitting to a DUI in 2007.

[True Anomaly]

I am just looking out for the OP.  If his stress/depression/SI is managed, why should he jeopardize a job?  Yes there are jobs that will discriminate for this reason.  If he has psych issues, he should say yes, if they would jeopordize the job.  But he doesn't have to tell everyone every gritty detail of his past IF he is managed/under control/etc.

 

Also the question is "do you suffer from psych etc that will IMPACT YOUR WORK ABILITIES?"  If it is managed, he SHOULD say no.  If it is not managed, then yes I agree he should say yes.  But I would hate to see this guy screwed out of a job because he is blindly following some advice from a forum that I guarentee over half the people here (admit it or not) would not take themselves.

 

 If he needs help, no, he should not lie.  IF HE IS NOT PSYCHOLOGICALLY SOUND, HE SHOULD NOT SEE PATIENTS.  I perhaps was not clear on this.  But let me state I do not condone him seeing pts if he is not mentally well.  But I do not want him to fear being able to practice as a PA **IF** his psych issues are managed.

 

And it is not lying, because the question (at least from what the poster above said) specifies "if it will impact your job/work abilities."  And this is a question for a job not a credentialing forum.  Obviously the OP should think for himself and be honest, but I do not want him to check yes because some people here so adamantly proclaim he should, if the actual honest answer (assuming he is under control) is no.

 

Hope this clears things up.

 

Credentialing forms do not specify "impacting work abilities".  When you fill out one for the first time, you're free to come back here and say "I told y'all so".  

 

It is patently UNETHICAL to not mention this to either a licensing body or a credentialing office.

[rev ronin]

The OP should defer for a year.  Even if you're OK to go through life after getting your act together, PA school is SO MUCH MORE stressful than normal life that it would be an incredibly bad, risky decision to continue with PA school.  You're better off taking care of yourself, first, if you ever want to actually complete PA school so you can get to those licensing and credentialing issues.