[zudy]

mattsmom, you said a mouthful, it is shocking how little compassion is given to nurses when we are hurt, after years of caring for others. A good friend of mine was fired when she had cancer of the breast because she was going in for chemo and missing work. (I work in a "Right to work" state) Luckily for her, she was married, and was on her husbands insurance, but what happens when a nurse does'nt have that support?
This thread breaks my heart. All of you are in my prayers.

[ScarlettRN]

I have really learned a lot from this thread. I am only 37 but have been living with chronic pain for almost 5 years now. I just went to my pain doctor yesterday and told him how sick I am of living like this. I don't have spinal problems...I tore a ligament in my back about 10 years ago, and then reinjured it over and over again when I graduated nursing school. My official diagnosis is Myofacial pain disorder. He told me to think of it as fibromyalgia but localized. Just one area of my lower left back gives me incredible pain.
I was just put on a duragesic patch yesterday and decided to not tell anyone at work. It kicked in somewhere in the middle of my shift this evening and got me fuzzy around the edges, but I was too busy to think about it, and worked thru the feeling....better that than being in pain!!!
I work in the ER, and my strategy when it comes to transferring patients from the EMS stretcher to ours is to meet them at the head of the bed with the BP cuff and O2 in my hand, ready to hook them up. I hardly ever have to do lifting and pray it stays that way.
How many of you have thought about teaching nursing school? In TN you can teach LPN school with an associate's degree.

[lucianne]

I'm not disabled, but chronic neck pain and my advanced (!) age when I started nursing helped me decide to go into psych nursing--in addition to the fact that psych is where my talents are. In the acute setting, I have to do some physical management but it isn't the daily lifting, pushing, and pulling required in other area. I'm currently in a PMHNP program so that I can get out of acute care because I feel that it's only a matter of time before I damage my back (or get otherwise injured working with kids). Are any of you who are unable to tolerate bedside nursing able to get your master's degrees? I could be wrong, but it seems that working as a family or pediatric NP would be easier on the body. (I used to joke that I'd become a peds NP and run a clinic that only did immunizations, otitis media and strep tests and take most of the summer off.) There seems to be more and more financial assistance available for graduate nurses lately.

good luck to all
luci

[bestblondRN]

Good point lucianne! I am looking at graduate programs right now and preparing to take either the GMAT or the GRE. I think that most states are offering some sort of tuition forgiveness/assistance programs for both undergrad and graduate education. In addition, many places of employment offer tuition assistance. Financing the education may not be as difficult as it once was.

I am going to the second round of interviews (with the docs) for a clinic nurse position in the outpatient department of a hospital today. I am one of two candidates being considered, and am hopeful that I have what they are looking for. Time to go get the java brewing so I'm sure to be absolutely alert (nothing functions without benefit of caffeine anymore!)

[lucianne]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
luci

[Sharon]

It is much more difficult to adapt to a new disability later in your career then it is for those who have had one occur prior or at the beginning of their career. Most of the disabled nurses I have worked with and have successful accommodated have been those with chronic long term illnesses and sensory deficits. I have worked with many nurses who have Primary Immune Deficiency, Asthma, renal and liver disease, s/p amputations, Deaf/deaf/hearing impaired, low vision, post transplant, etc. The most successful accommodated positions are those in which the employee know their job and what the specific accommodation is whether it is equipment or reworking the job flow. The accommodation must be reasonable, in writing, and with proof that the employee is both an individual with a disability and a qualified individual. Any request that changes the actual numbers of work hours is usually not considered reasonable because it requires the employer to pick up the cost of a replacement for those work hours.

A reasonable accommodation does not include promotion into management or any other position of higher authority or qualification. Even if an employer does allow for job duties to be removed the employer can adjust wages to reflect fair compensation for the remaining duties.

It is the employees’ responsibility to have the following written information to give to the employer: detailed medical documentation of their disability, what they can do, what accommodation(s) they want, how the accommodation works and how and when the accommodation will be evaluated. It is the employer and employees’ responsibility to attempt to locate accommodations including other positions for which the employee is qualified. The employers’ responsibility is to meet face to face with the requesting employee to review the employees’ documentation. The employer does not have to provide a position or accommodation that will maintain the employees’ salary if the employee is moved to a lower paying position. For instance a nurse accept a move from the ICU to an out patient staff position. The nurses salary will be changed to the pay rate of the out patient clinic.

The best resource for you to access both in the US is the Job Accommodation Net work at http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/.

[Disablednurse]

I do not have the option of going back to nurses school due to the fact that I cannot sit for longer than 20 minutes without severe pain. I cannot lift more than 3 pounds also. My limitations also limit me from other avenues of employment.

[bestblondRN]

Sharon, thank you for the information about accomodation. It shed some light on what employers and employees are expected to do. I think many of are a little confused when it comes to that.

I went for the clinic interviews yesterday and I have the job! I am really excited about it and am looking forward to being back in the workforce! I've had entirely TOO much time on my hands lately

[mattsmom81]

Congrats and hope the new job works out for you Bestblonde! Does job stress and constant interruptions aggravate your pain? Or is it mostly the physical workload? I ask because I notice the stress/tensions will aggravate my pain as much as careful, controlled bedside work does (in small increments).

I hurt less tending 2 patients for 12 hrs or so a week than being in charge stuck at a desk. Funny how pain effects us differently. Maybe my limited work now is like a TENS unit for me...a little distraction to ease my day...??!!!

I'm interested in how others manage chronic pain...hope I'm not too nosy!

[bestblondRN]

I find that prolonged standing or heavy pushing and lifting are my worst enemies and aggravate my back the most. I end up with back, but and leg pain that can be excruciating, not to mention the anterior numbness in my legs that is terribly annoying when it progresses to pins and needles. Stress doesn't seem to have too much to do with how my back feels, although I notice an increase in tension in my neck and upper back from time to time.

For pain management, I take Aleve 660 mg. QD and on occasion, when the pain is really wicked, 2 Vicodin at HS. Hot baths and whirlpools also help alleviate the pain temporarily, as does forward bending and placing my foot on a step--alternating feet when the pain gets bad again. I guess this is a common thing with stenosis and neurogenic claudication. Walking is OK most of the time, as long as I keep moving.

Thanks for the well wishes mattsmom! I am awaiting reference checks and a formal offer following that. Woo-hoo!!!!!! It'll be great to be employed again!