Crutches during clinicals?

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I sprained my knee while skiing on New Years Day. I've had x-rays so I know I didn't break anything, but I haven't yet had an MRI so I'm not sure yet if I've torn anything.

Anyways, I am worried about clinicals! When I went to the ER (I was out of town), the doctor gave me a work excuse for 1-2 weeks, until I see my own doctor, which says "no prolonged standing, bending, lifting, or walking without crutches for 1-2 weeks." When I see my own regular doctor I might need more time.

Clinicals start on the 17th, so by then it will be a little over 2 weeks since my injury. I'm really worried about how I'm going to be able to complete clinicals in the shape I'm in. :(

Has anyone else had this experience??

Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

The rule at my nursing school is that if you have limited mobility you can not attend clinicals and have to take a leave of absence and restart with the next time a new class starts.

hope it works out for you!!

No crutches on the floors unless you're a patient. :)

I was able to work on a broken ankle but I had a walking cast and wore long scrub pants so nobody noticed, other than one patient who remarked that my shoes didn't match -- I wore a wool sock over my toe.

So my knee has gotten a lot better the past week. I got the okay from my doctor to quit babying it today, but if it doesn't get better by the end of the weekend I'll be getting an MRI. I think I just need to get used to walking on it. I've definitely got a major limp going on.

I always thought that was the hardest part of knee injuries, the mental part. Doctors can say your knee is back to normal, but YOU know that it doesn't feel like normal. I wish you well and praying that it feels better for you.

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