will self harm affect my chances of working in a hospital?

Question

i've applied for an admin job at a hospital and have to fill out a health questionnaire. one of the questions asks if i have/do self harm.
i've been cutting myself for 5yrs, should i be truthful and tick yes? i really don't want them to know, it won't affect my work. i'm worried they'll make me have a health assessment and i don't want to have to discuss my reasons for it.
i want to tick no, but i'm worried they'll access my medical records and discover i lied.

what should i do?

charly
(female, 19)

Answer 1

Hi Charly

I can understand your reluctance to be honest.

However it shouldn't affect whether or not they appoint you to the position if you prove to be the best candidate for the job.

I was in a similar position when I had been in a temp job for a Local Authority. I was offered the job and accepted it before they asked me to fill in an application form and do any paperwork. One of the forms was the health questionnaire.

As I suffer from clinical depression I didn't want to let them know as I feared what they would think, and like you didn't really want anyone asking questions about it.

This is what should happen, and in my case did..........

Your application form goes to the person who advertised the job and is shortlisting candidates, the health questionnaire goes to the Occupational Health department and is NOT seen by anyone on the interview panel.

If a person is offered a position that is when the OH department will look at your questionnaire and assess whether or not they need to seek any further advice about any health issues.

The only way that they can ask for information about you from your GP is with your consent. This is usually a form that they will ask you to sign. There will be a box for you to tick that says if you would like to see the Dr's report before it is sent off to the person seeking information.

Once your Dr has completed the form, or written his letter the surgery will contact you and tell you that you have a specific amount of time to see if before it goes off. Obviously if you are unhappy with anything that has been written you can ask for it not to be sent until you have spoken to your Dr about it.

What I actually did was to go and talk to my GP before he was asked for the information and warned him to expect it. I could also voice my concerns with him.

As you have probably realised by now, I decided to be honest and completed the questionnaire with all the details of my illness.

Occupational Health did contact me to ask for permission to approach my GP for information.

My GP had no problem writing a letter that was positive, and I did get to see it before it went off.

Occupational Health then informed the manager who appointed me that I was 'fit to work' and no details were passed on about my illness. So until I was ill some years later they did not have any information at all.

I hope this helps.

Good luck with the job application and don't let your self harm put you off. You deserve to strive for what you want and not to be discriminated against.

Go for it.

Answer 2

God, what a question... I can't answer it for you... I wish I could!

Perhaps it would be a good idea to talk to someone off-the-record and see if they can give you a heads up?

I guess you should be truthful - it is a hospital job after all! If anyone could be sympathetic and understanding of your actions, then surely it should be a hospital? And they are surely least likely to discriminate against you for it?

And then you reserve the right to not discuss your reasons -it's your own damn business and as long as you can assure them it will not interfere with your work then it shouldn't be an issue surely?

Lastly, perhaps it might be worth having some counselling, and seeing if you can break the habit, because there really isn't anything that's worth hurting yourself for (been there myself).

Take care xx

Answer 3

Tell them, they ask for a reason. It's not the usual sort of question that is asked by a prospective employer so you have to realise that its something they really need to know about, clearly it does somehow effect the job or they wouldn't be asking about it. Also, as someone else has already stated if you lie about it and they find out then they have grounds to sack you, which would not only result in job loss but also you wouldn't be able to use them as a reference when you apply for another job. I don't think they can not employ you because you self harm, that would be discrimination and one of my friends worked at a hopsital for ages and she also self harmed. It is mainly a health and safety thing which means they need to know I think. They can't let you work with open wounds etc.

Answer 4

I would be honest, a job in admin shouldn't really be affected by your self-harm as you're not usually in contact with patients. If you get an interview you could explain, that you're getting help and it's under control and it certainly won't affect your work.

Answer 5

No need to go to the hospital. But, I'm not a medical expert. I just wonder what/who has hurt you so much that cutting seems to be the only way for you to feel better? You seem to need someone to pay more attention and care for you.

Answer 6

its a difficult situation, i can understand your reasons for wanting to lie, but it would be so hard to keep up, if you cut your arms the marks would show if you wore short sleeves (as nurses etc ususally do) and of course you have to think about things like mrsa and even hiv or aids getting into open wounds.
my advice to you would be to say yes, you do self harm, but you are getting/willing to get help and show them all the other reasons that you are the best candidate for the job.
good luck, i hope it works out for you xx

Answer 7

Sorry, but you would qualify as a patient and not an employee if it were my hospital.
Check the Yes box, and explain yourself later if needed. You will be terminated if they find out you lied.
You DO need help, and should discuss the reason you cut yourself as this is NOT normal.

Answer 8

You need to tick the yes box. If you lie and you get the job, than they find out, you will get sacked for lying. You don't want that on your shoulders every day.

Answer 9

Admit it and hope for the best. If it affects your chances then what better reason for getting help and stopping the self harming NOW xxxx

Answer 10

Check no, if you really want the job, and if you will stop this attention seeking behavior, because jobs dont want to hire someone that is going to be off work and in a psych ward, because they have emotional issues. If you can honestly say that you will not engage in this behavior any longer, check no and move on to bigger and better things. They cannot acces your medical records without your consent, its a violation against patient confidentiality. They can only get these records with your consent, you would have to sign a form for them to have access to your records