[HipsterPat]

Dear all,

I was involuntarily committed for 72 hours last year for a medication reaction I was taking for my bipolar I disorder. I am a rising third year in college on the pre-med track. Will my involuntary commitment keep me from gaining a job as a doctor? I know I am thinking far down the road. To my understanding, I am protected by the Disabilities Act if any employer sees it or my other voluntary hospitalizations. I see it, that if I am stable through college and med school (7 more years), any employer may overlook the hospitalizations and hire me as a resident, then a Doctor (if they find out about them).

I know the voluntary hospitalizations won't come up and hurt me (except for getting insurance), but I don't know about the involuntary hospitalizations, because they're legal, not medical. I have heard of nurses who have had involuntary hospitalizations and ended up fine, but I don't know about doctors.

If I could get any good advice on this to ease my mind about becoming a doctor that would be great. Also, yes I know I can't buy a gun or get a security clearance unless I get the records expunged at the court which issued the Involuntary Commitment, which is what I was told. I might actually try to get the records expunged, anyway.

Thanks a lot,

Patrick

P.S. My dream of being a doctor is not far fetched or manic.... I have straight A's and go to one of the top colleges/universities in the U.S. I even played Varsity sports for a year. I have interned for 6 weeks and volunteered with Doctors and in an ER. An admissions board member (an MD with whom I've interned) told me that he would get me in to his school that is among the top for medical schools.

[Sometimes psychotic]

There are definitely dr's that are bipolar but I believe you have to self report to be liscensed. Mark Vonnegut was diagnosed as schizophrenic went into inpatient then later after recovery as bipolar and then went to Harvard med and is a leading pediatrician...his second book deals with becoming a dr.

I'm sure it's different from state to state though since the liscensing is different. Here you can't even get a drivers liscense if you've been involuntarily committed.

[HipsterPat]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

There are definitely dr's that are bipolar but I believe you have to self report to be liscensed. Mark Vonnegut was diagnosed as schizophrenic went into inpatient then later after recovery as bipolar and then went to Harvard med and is a leading pediatrician...his second book deals with becoming a dr.

I'm sure it's different from state to state though since the liscensing is different. Here you can't even get a drivers liscense if you've been involuntarily committed.

Well, I have my driver's license... What do you mean? To be a licensed Dr., they will ask me those questions, and I will have to honestly answer that, yes, I have been to a mental hospital?

Thanks for the story... I don't want to finish Med school and not be able to find a Dr. job because of my medical history, which should be protected and not discriminated against, right?

[Sometimes psychotic]

They will ask on your license application if you have had a mental illness and to what extent it impairs your performance. This varies from state to state though some states just ask if you have any illness which could impair your performance this includes mental illness. The ADA act will not protect you if you don't get a license. Also if you lie on your application your license can be revoked. Basically you will be at the mercy of the state and may even be given a probationary license. If you have an involuntary commitment the state already knows so you will have to say yes , explain, and hope for the best.

A friend of mine has epilepsy and finished med school. When she asked for a break becuase she thought she was about to have a seizure they told her no and asked what medicine she wanted if she did seize. So don't expect any special treatment or protection from the ADA.

[HipsterPat]

Well, my illness will not inhibit me from performing as a doctor. Also, the involuntary committment was after a reaction from an antidepressant, which is easy to explain. I still think that years of stability will make me fine... I have read of other doctors with involuntary hospitalizations before even med school.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Some states have specific questions that ask about bipolar so you might have to supply proof you're not impaired.

Here is a link or two

Disclosing mental history on licensure application [Archive] - Student Doctor Network Forums

Doctors' Toughest Diagnosis: Own Mental Health - New York Times

[HipsterPat]

Okay, so what I get at, is that if I cannot get the involuntary record expunged (difficult after the Newtown tragedy), they will know about my involuntary hospitalization somehow? If they don't, I can answer truthfully that my BPI does not interfere with my ability to perform. If they know I can get a Dr.'s note and be in the clear, right? They cannot discriminate against me because of my medical condition... right?

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by HipsterPat

Okay, so what I get at, is that if I cannot get the involuntary record expunged (difficult after the Newtown tragedy), they will know about my involuntary hospitalization somehow? If they don't, I can answer truthfully that my BPI does not interfere with my ability to perform. If they know I can get a Dr.'s note and be in the clear, right? They cannot discriminate against me because of my medical condition... right?

That's how I understand it in theory but in practice people can fire you for anything. They also don't have to approve accommodations if they deem them unreasonable. You can expect a background check when you get hired and that will turn up an involuntary commitment. So if I were you I'd get it expunged because there is nothing saying anyone has to hire you whether you're a dr or not. Also you might want to post about the ADA to see what people say about it. I don't think it's as protective as you think in the real world.

[kaliope]

I'm a social worker. I was involentarily committed as well as sp3nding a week in the hoßpital on my own. My licensing board àsks if I haves àny problems that could keep me from ethically serving my clients. I'm stable so I can say no. They have never specifically asked me to reveal mental health issues nor did my commitment show up in my background check. I think you will be fine. You have years of stability to show for yourself

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[HipsterPat]

How would an involuntary commitment show up on a background check? It's not criminal... Kaliope, you're not a Dr., though, who has to be licensed by a board to practice...

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by HipsterPat

How would an involuntary commitment show up on a background check? It's not criminal... Kaliope, you're not a Dr., though, who has to be licensed by a board to practice...

Explain your involuntary commitment...was it just a psych that committed you or a court? If it wasn't a court then it's probably not on your record so there is nothing to be expunged. Court records are public and therefore susceptible to background checks...that's how the gun laws work.

[Yoda]

I am unclear on involuntary commitment/background check. Several years ago I was admitted involuntarily by the court and I expressed concern about losing my right to own a firearm to the attorney representing me. The attorney told me that as he understood the law that, involuntary commitment process is for assessment by a psychiatrist. If the psychiatrist tells the court that the patient needs to be admitted to a state psych hospital for treatment that constitutes involuntary commitment. Assessment ≠ commitment - that's what the attorney said; I hope he is right.

I had let my RN license lapse several years ago when my mental illness made me unable to work. Last year I renewed and the board of nursing asked about my mental illness and I wrote in a letter that my bipolar is controlled by meds and will not require accommodations and because of my ptsd I would prefer not to be the primary RN for patients involving domestic violence. They were okay with that explanation and renewed my license to practice.

[ThisWayOut]

I never knew involuntary commitment would show up on records. to the best of my knowledge, it's protected under HIPPA (in the US). I have been involuntarily committed (a few times actually) and it had not stopped me from getting another mental health job. not sure how it would effect becoming a licensed physician. In general, time being stable counts towards the positive, but again, not sure how that effects being a physician. Now I want to look into this... to the best of my knowledge, none of my commitments were necessarily of legal record, just medical. when does it become a legal matter? or am I misinterpreting what "legal" means in this case?

[Sometimes psychotic]

Ok I may be wrong about the gun laws... Not all court records are public ie civil are not....the gun laws work because the states are required to report involuntary commitments to the FBI. I was confusing employer background checks with gun background checks and unless you are working for the Feds I doubt the FBI will be providing your background search. So you are probably in the clear.

[onionknight]

Every time, I hear the words "background check," I sort of freak out wondering if somehow that would show a past hospitalization (which I think was more of the coerced voluntary type). I've never been turned away from something after the background check so it mustn't matter.

I wouldn't give up your dream because of past hospitalizations. Focus on staying well and doing your best and fight the battle if and when it comes.

[BipolaRNurse]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

That's how I understand it in theory but in practice people can fire you for anything. They also don't have to approve accommodations if they deem them unreasonable. You can expect a background check when you get hired and that will turn up an involuntary commitment. So if I were you I'd get it expunged because there is nothing saying anyone has to hire you whether you're a dr or not. Also you might want to post about the ADA to see what people say about it. I don't think it's as protective as you think in the real world.

That's for sure! I'm a nurse and was fired earlier this month from my director position, presumably because my employer 'couldn't' make the accommodations my pdoc requested for me to be able to continue in my job. In essence, however, I was let go because of my bipolar, which admittedly was made worse by the stress of the work.

I'm not saying that the OP can't be a doctor, not at all. In fact, I think s/he should be one, and will be a better one for the experience of being a patient and having firsthand knowledge of mental illness. It's just that so many medical professionals are shamefully ignorant about psychiatric issues when WE'RE supposed to know better, and we tend to eat our own. There's nothing better than a success story to make people think. GOOD LUCK!!