HI,
I need some career advice. I don't know where to start, so please forgive my long story. If you want to skip over all this below- this is it in a summary. I've been injured in the same 2 areas on my back 4 times in 3 years. Doctor says it's in bad shape- a 70 year old's spine- and I should quit lifting. There are no jobs locally (and I want to stay here) in nursing that I think I'd like, that don't require lifting- that would accept an ADN RN. Oh, and my hospitals' workman's comp/ employee health practices stink. I see what the MRI says tomorrow. Any advice?
OK, On with the long version for those brave souls who have the time. (don't say I didn't warn you!
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I'm 27. I had a car accident 10 years ago, was treated for a short time with chiropractic, and then settled out of court with ins. Wish I hadn't done that!
During nursing school, was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Went to PT because of back pain. Graduated (ADN) in 1999. Worked full time for about 10 months- the pain was really getting to me as the FM flared, and work was really stressful- surgical floor. Went to night shift on Tele - my body doesn't like night shift. Tried a traveling position - never trust American Travelers. Ended badly. Tried another tele position (nights). Gave up on nursing for a while- moved in with my grandma and tried to get it in order again. Moved to Ohio with mom- really enjoyed working with Peds at a Rainbow- short term position just for RSV season. Decided I liked nursing , there was hope- so I went back to NC to work towards my bachelors degree (in state tuition). Was in school getting some pre-reqs for 2 semesters- health went down again. Tonsillectomy and GB removal, plus the up and down flares of FM. Found a school I really wanted to go to- for my RNto BSN. Moved to the area with my daughter. Put her in school for the first time (I homeschooled her up to this point). Worked full time - my first time in several years- on a 'step down' unit. Bought a house. all this while taking full time credit hours . Hurt my back after 4-5 months- a patient 'fell' while me and a CNA were supporting her and I strained my back. This is about the time that my manager really began to hassle me- she would go around LOOKING for things to say against me. (BTW- everyone was glad when she left- only to be promoted to a higher level). I was on light duty and not supposed to bend/ reach or be on my feet for very long. This hospitals idea of light duty is that you get the job duties of a CNA- I had to take all the VS on all 44 pts every 4 hours- lots of bending, etc. ok. so I fervently tried to find a different dept to work- she blocked my transfer by telling other managers to not consider me. All but one- the float pool. So I now work in the float pool- and have enjoyed it . I dont' really like Med surg, but I like the pay, I like the other nurses that do it, I like that I can go to one floor one day- and have the crabbiest people in the world, but the next day I'll probably be somewhere else. My manager is great- I usually get very good ratings. I don't have benefits though, like short and long term disability, sick or earned pay, etc. So a year after my first injury, I had another, walking my pt who 'slumped' between me and a CNA. I had short therapy, did light duty for a week- and though on different units the outcome was the same- by being on light duty - even though I'm a RN- I get stuck with a bunch of bending/ walking / catering to everyone's needs because I am another 'floating' warm body. (you can't take a pt assignment when on light duty- even if you can do everything but lift). so I left light duty as early as possible.
Last Oct, a man died in a semi-private room. The room mate knew he was dying. Census was high- acutally it's never come down since then. I had to move the other pt into the hall so I could get the morgue cart in the room. The brakes weren't working on the cart, there was no additional help to be found, so a CNA and I were going to transfer him to the cart ourseleves. The dumb cart moved ( i didn't know the brakes didn't work until this happened) and the tray tipped- so I'm leaning way over and trying to keep the man from falling between the cart and the bed while she runs to get help- note that no one answers the call bell for 5 minutes. so I went to employee health and they give me this look - you're back again? and I go for an XRay, the ER doc says it's fine and the next day I go to an occupational injury MD.Dealt with sharp, shooting pains down legs, PT for 2 months then went back to reg duty after I made PT show me the BEST ways to keep from injury- and I put these in practice. - I was still hurting some, but they ran me more as light duty than I do as reg. duty. MD says still not in alignment (SI joint) so I started chiropractic acupuncture, etc. Was coming along nicely, until the chiropractor went out of town and wanted me to see his massage therapist while gone. I did that and was really sore. Next day, at the end of the shift, I helped a lady get into bed- she did so in a floppy motion, and then I lifted her legs onto the bed- and it happened again. This time more thoracic pain than lumbar. I told employee health, but didn't want to get seen- maybe I was just sore from the massage. So I waited a day, and when the shooting pains came back, I went in again. Now, originally they said that because they were two seperate injuries, I had to see the same MD at 2 different appts each time. Well, the MD decided it was generally the same area, so he called it the same injury- which is bad for me because my length of time on light duty is up and they immediately threw me to disability pay (60%). This happened while I was in the middle of working a 12 week contract- 12 extra hours on top of reg for 12 weeks for $1800. I was workign very hard for that- all that light duty in the fall really hurt my finances. So now I still get to work those extra hours- but instead of extra pay, I get 60% of my original. The MD finally did a lot of XRays and told me " you have the thoracic spine of a 70 year old. " I took the Xrays to my chiropractor without tellign him what the MD said, and he said- your thoracic spine is really bad- (lumbar looks ok) it has a lot of degeneration and bone spurs I wouldn't expect to see until you were at least 60, and then not in this area . so I had an MRI this am and will see the MD tomorrow. MD said Quit lifting, this area is only going to be easily re-injured. Chiropractor said ' if you love your job, just tell them you'll continue workign but can't lift. ' Yeah, right, but I know what hospital I work for! My job description says must occasionally lift up to 50 lbs. How often do we lift 100 lb people with another's help? usually the pts' are much heavier. Employee Health is pretty rude to me. In fact, the radiology nurse left my employer after she was injured and they gave her such a hard time.
My dilema is this: I'm a single mom. I have a lot of bills that aren't going to get paid. All money I was attempting to save is gone. Due to a new computer system and subsequent short staffing , nurses have left the hospital in an exodus. I can't find any jobs that dont' require a BSN nearby that I won't have to lift pts as part of the job description. I'm considering leaving nursing altogether. Dental hygienists make as much, with regular hours and the worst thing they have to clean is teeth! In my career, I have been hit, thrown at, yelled at , cursed out, scratched to the point of scarring, expposed to TB and other fun diseases , am daily frustrated by the computers ( I am pretty computer knowledgeable, but the programs freeze all the time), rarely get a break - much less lunch, and 4 back injuries. no matter how much I enjoy helping pts, it just doesn't seem to weigh out in the end. . BTW, we were just granted MAGNET status. Then the computers came- MCkesson, our DON left, and so did a bunch of experienced nurses. McKesson would be good, if the computer we are required to use didn't break down all the time, and the programs ran without flaw every time you used it. I am on several councils, and we are trying to work effectively towards best practices and solutions. I spoke with the interim head of nursing about these issues, and got really good answers from her- I do think she is trying her best. So I don't hate nursing- just to be clear. I do think we have so long to go..... but I can't continue to risk my back , or sanity, on the profession.
Are there any PICU nurses with back injuries that could share? I'm hypothesizing (sp?) that maybe if the bodies were smaller, it wouldn't be so bad. I don't know. I'll know more tomorrow. I just needed to vent, Thanks!
