Employment and bipolar

To my surprise I was offered a job as a healthcare assistant at a local hospital after passing an interview. I accepted but have since been given a sixteen page in depth medical questionnaire to fill. It asks many specific questions, including ones about medication/mental health - amounts/dates, there is no way to be vague, or play down the symptoms. I also have other health problems and am now worried that they will turn around and say I am not suitable for the job. Is there any reason why someone with bipolar could not work in healthcare? My brother lost a job after a medical questionnaire when he declared his epilepsy because the company said their insurance would not cover him (he washed dishes in a hotel) so understandably I'm worried.

[ILADVOCATE]

Well I know there are laws protecting people with disabilities from discrimination but they differ from those in the United States. This is list of them:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/RightsAndObligations/DisabilityRights/DG_4001068

[Xila31]

This sounds really fishy to me, Star. Do you live in the US? Here it is illegal for a company to ask you these questions. Bipolar is a legal disability in the US and they can't discriminate against you for having a disability by not hiring you.

I work in healthcare. I'm an assistant, in fact the only assistant, in my office seeing patients. I schedule appointments, set up the scheduling system, handle all the money, make all of the documents and educational packets, maintain our paper medical records, triage the new patients, meet with all the pharmaceutical reps, keep data on patients seen, no shows, maintain all referrals, keep inventory on all of our education information, and medication samples, and many other things that are needed. As you can see, this is a lot of responsibility for someone with bipolar disorder, and at times it is hard for me but I keep at it and not give up on myself. And, I'm not even stable right now.

So, I think you can do it, Star.

[adel_ezz]

there is nothing bipolars can't do, it's only employers want to protect themselves that's all. it depends on how your symptoms manifest themselves in public. If you don't have mixed states or rage then i would say accept the offer.

as to the questionnaire, since you can't play around or being vague, then you can leave them unmarked unless they will call you back to check with you why didn't you answer them. In which case you can reply that how would you know that you have a mental illness say, the others only who can recognise it. Of course they will tell you, NO we mean have you been hospitalized before, then you can say yes once i was very tense to reach maximum anxiety so i sought help. Of course they will not call an inspector from scotland yard to conduct further investigations with you.

If i were you i would consider other matters like is there any serious responsibilities or stresses that my illness can't bear, or that my illness would hurt others, customers,... patients, etc... but if it's only secreterial kind of work, then no harm done really to others.  

if you end up with a deadlock with the person who questions you, then you could pursue as IL said to check the laws, but not before. Because if you tell them about discrimination etc...it means you start your career with them by making problems. You resort to law after you get appointed but not before, i.e. preserving your rights is for the members of a certain society and not for an outsider. Until now, you have no proof that you work with them, OK they offered you a job, but subject to other matters one of them is the questionnaire.

if on the contrary you are striving hard to get the job. Then you simply lie, and there is no way to check further upon you; especially that the person who has done the interview didn't notice anything weird abt you  

good luck

[starbunny]

ILADVOCATE - Thanks for signposting me to the disability discrimination act (UK) I will take a further look into it now in a bit.

Xila31- I know it sounds fishy, especially as some of the questions are very intrusive, but my job is with the NHS and probably everyone who works with them has to go through this. I have worked with the NHS before and after the questionnaire I had to go for a thorough medical examination too, and just got through. My job duties would be very similar to yours but with added duties of monitoring parients and ensuring they have a comfortable stay. It is only day shifts /part time, so  I believe I could cope with it. :)

adel_ezz - Thanks for your comments, I will consider what you have said and perhaps thinking about it maybe the cpn would be able to advise me further about whether some of the questions are compulsory or not. The last time I spoke to her (before I recieved it) she told me I have to be truthful, but I did not know how detailed the questionnaire was going to be. She said if I lie and they find out it is instant dismissal and no future reference for another job.

Wish me luck!

[paranoid_cataclysm]

I'd say you can do anything you can handle the stress level of.

[Xila31]

Yes, I would say you can handle that for sure. My job is full time, which I think what makes it so hard on me. But, I stick with it and do my best. I'm not sure what the NHS is, but it sounds important, like maybe a government job. That's probably a very good job to have, then.

Congratulations on the offer, by the way. :D

[starbunny]

Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement. I will take it all on board. Xila, I admire you for coping so well with a full time job :). I will let you know how I get on and will post here again. Speak soon!