In the last six months, I have lost three members of my family. I wish I could go to a therapist, but I am so afraid of the LSBME finding something wrong with me that I don’t really consider going because I do not trust them not to use everything in my medical record to find me incompetent to practice midwifery. I suffer in silence. I try and sleep as best I can. It’s lonely.
Following my (non) attorney’s advice, I call the closest treatment facility and ask for an evaluation. As expected, once I explain that I do not know why I need the evaluation, the admissions counselor asks me to send her the Board Order so that she could see if I fit criteria for admissions. I am very honest about what I think the order is asking the evaluation to determine. Keep in mind that this facility was one of five LSBME pre-approved drug and alcohol treatment centers I was given to choose from. I have bolded the admissions counselor’s responses. The Board Order that I sent to her follows.
2/7/2018 Talbott Admissions Counselor, Sorry I’ve had a death in the family so I’ve been off line for a few days. It does state the evaluation is for competency in midwifery. If this is something that can be done or is appropriately screened in a three day evaluation can you elaborate on how exactly my competency in midwifery is going to be evaluated? It seems competency is based on skills and not physical or mental criteria but I’m not certain. Thank you again for your assistance and time. JM
2/7/2018 JM, I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m glad you were able to follow up with me, so hopefully we can point you in the right direction. I’ve read over your Board Order, and unfortunately, this is not the type of evaluation that would fall within the scope of our assessment here at Talbott. I wanted to at least let you know that, but I am seeing if I can get any referrals for you as well. That part may take me a little longer, but I will be back in touch if I can get you a name or two.
Our evaluations are specifically for substance use, and the evaluation that you are recommended for is a mental competency evaluation. They basically want to see if there are any mental health or cognitive issues that would make it unsafe to resume practice. We do this type of fitness for duty evaluation, but only as it relates to substance use disorders, so I can sort of see why you got to us. I would imagine that your eval would need to include a battery of cognitive testing and an in depth psychiatric interview at the least, but may not require you to admit to a facility to complete.
I have a colleague that may have some suggestions for you, so as soon as I can speak with him, I may have some leads for you. However, the LSBME will have to approve the providers that you select BEFORE you are evaluated. So make sure you get that approval first, if the provider is not on a list of approved providers you may already have from the LSBME. If not approved, they may not accept the eval, and you would potentially have to do it again.
I will let you know if I come up with anything. Good luck!! Talbott Admissions Counselor
2/8/2018 Talbott Admissions Counselor, Thank you for the quick reply. I appreciate you looking into the Board Order and discussing with your colleagues what direction will be best for me to take. Also thank you for your candid opinion on what assessments I will be needing. That helps.
Below is the list of providers the LSBME provided for me. Do you have an opinion on whether they will be in the same boat Talbott is in regarding my assessment being outside of scope? I’m not sure if you work with these facilities as well but figured I’d ask.
Yes I realize I need to have the facility and/ or provider pre approved which is what prompted my inquiring to LSBME to begin with. Please let me know if you have any suggestions towards pursuing. Thank you again for your time. JM
2/9/2018 JM, They are all very well respected programs, you would be in good hands with any of them. While I cannot comment individually or steer you in a specific direction, I would suggest you look them up online/contact them and see what is the best fit for you. I think if you are able to better state the nature of the assessment, which is basically reading them that first recommendation, they will be able to tell you quickly if they can help. Our focus here is just too narrow, as we do our evaluations with the scope of whether substance use was a factor in the problems addressed by the Board. Some facilities have a wider scope of what they evaluate, with regard to the “mental/physical” aspect of the requested evaluation. Good luck to you, Talbott Admissions Counselor
My Journey as a Licensed Midwife in Louisiana 