NHS occupational health

[occhealthnerves]

Hi,
I have recently started an NHS healthcare course and as part of my health declaration I included that I have anxiety and am on citalopram for it. I have to have a 1-hour appointment with occupational health about it all before I'm cleared for my course.

I'm really nervous about it, an hour seems like such a long time.

I did have to have some time off work last year due to work-related stress in a different field. Since then I've improved and feel completely back to normal, I'm also more aware of signs my mental health is slipping so able to intervene before it gets worse. Starting this course has been such a nice fresh start and I'm worried about my 'past' coming back to haunt me.

I've thought about a few accommodations that might help me, do these sound reasonable? I think it would help to have placements are near to home as possible (if possible), as I find being away from home quite stressful, and I have good family support at home. But I joined the course with the expectation that I would have to travel for placements and I just thought I'd grin and bare it. I also know there's lots of parents on my course so there'd probably have priority for getting the near-by placements.

I'm also quite shy and my anxiety presents mainly as social anxiety. I'm confident that I'd be able to handle interacting with patients and colleagues (otherwise I wouldn't have joined the course), but I'm not sure if there's any accommodations that can be made for that? It might help to meet my colleagues/supervisor informally before I start my placement, maybe?

Would appreciate any and all insight or advice you have on this. thank you

I am a nurse and also have anxiety and depression, but it’s a long time since I was a student. I doubt that your occupational health appointment has to last a whole hour, they probably just schedule an hour in case anything complicated comes up. Explain to them that you have learnt to recognise the triggers and signs that you are struggling and how you manage that.
In terms of “reasonable adjustments,” I am sure it will be ok for you to visit the placements before starting, that sometimes happens on my ward. The university will give you the contact details and you can phone them and ask if you can come and visit. Hopefully, they will have time to show you round and introduce you to some of the staff so you have some idea what to expect on your first day. Whether you can request placements nearer home depends on how the university allocates placements, the opportunities for a range of different placements near where you live and possibly the needs of the other students.
Maybe think about if you would feel comfortable disclosing your anxiety to your assessor/ mentor/ supervisor/ whatever term your course uses on placements. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that everyone will be understanding, but on my ward we do try to support students’ learning needs where possible and could work with you to try and manage your anxieties but only if we know, it gets difficult if we don’t know and can’t support you. There would be no obligation to tell the placements but the university should explain this to you.
Good luck with occupational health and the course.

I'm not a HCP but I've experienced care from HCPs who have had their own mental health issues and it's actually made the world of difference. I remember being in A&E after self-harming and the amazing nurse who sorted me out said she has a history of it too and showed me a scar. Just talking to some who I knew understood was so helpful to me. A few months later I found I was pregnant and my midwife and my booking in appointment was telling me about her own experiences with bipolar disorder. Your experiences will make you a brilliant HCP.

Thank you both, both of your replies were really helpful. I'm feeling a bit better about the appointment now, I feel like it must be quite common for students to have to visit occupational health because they have anxiety and depression?

I feel like I've learnt a lot from the experience, and have come through it all more resilient and self-aware.