Injured worker trying to return to nursing

Nurses Disabilities

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I was severely injured on the job in Dec. of 04. in a plant twist injury involving a bariatric patient. Since then I have had several surgeries including a strangulated transverse hernia repair, 2 surgeries on the knee caught in the plant twist injury and another on the other knee because of the overuse of it d/t the pronounced limp, lamenectomy with fusion and instrumentation of L4, L5 and S1. I have been left with chronic moderate to severe, at times, intractable pain, post laminectomy syndrome (failed spine surgery), DDD, as well as depression and anxiety. Those are the WC allowed dx's. My MDs believe that I am totally and permanently disabled, I disagree because my brain still functions and I believe I have a lot to offer, so they have finally released me to attempt to find employment. I am on week 8 and have had 5 interviews. During the job search coaching they told me to avoid mentioning my injury or limitations. I did my best but every single one asks " Do you have any limitations that could affect your job performance?" I don't say anymore than I have too but at the same time I won't be dishonest for 1 I truly believe honesty is the best policy and 2 if I am deceitful in anyway that is grounds for termination. I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place. Once they find out my restrictions they inevitably ask what happened to cause such restrictions. I am at a loss. My passion is with geriatrics and I would love to be an advocate for that population but I do not know how to go about doing that. I completed all of the Excelsior RN courses but was then unable to physically attempt the CPNE per MD restrictions. What I need to know is what kind of job should I be looking for? How do I respond to the limitation questions? Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading my post. Bell

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

If you are going to ask for limitations...you have to be honest with them. If you do not have a license you can't practice nursing. If you are permanently disabled why don't you seek SSDI? YOu can work some and keep your SSDI

The current market is over flowing with nurses and many facilities are requiring a BSN. In some areas of the country unemployment of nurses especially new grads is as high as 47%....even with a BSN. Nursing is hard physical labor and many facilities now require a physical to see if you can physically do the job.

I am a disabled nurse with 35 years experience who's brain is alive and well and I can't even get hired for phone triage. I tutor students and spend a lot of time here on AN.

I am so sorry you have had such a hard time....but I think returning to the bedside will be very difficult. ((HUGS))

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I echo what Esme said. Bedside nursing really should be off the table given your condition; not only are you in chronic pain, but it would be all too easy to injure yourself again.

There are other ways to advocate for the elderly. You could become a geriatric case manager, who coordinates care with home-health and other agencies to provide services at home, consults with elders and their families to determine which services are needed, or in the case of an elder who needs placement in a community-based care setting, makes the arrangements.

You could become a nurse-administrator in assisted living or a memory care unit. This is a position I myself have held, and never once did I work the floor except for the few times I had to pass meds until other staff could be called in. (I wouldn't recommend it if you don't handle stress well, though.)

You could also try applying with your state government for a position as a client care surveyor, which is what I did when it became clear that I couldn't continue in clinical nursing. In this job you can make a real difference, as you would not only be enforcing rules and regulations, but providing technical assistance to nursing facility staff so they can do a better job of caring for their residents.

These are but a few non-clinical positions that you might be able to do with your limitations. There are case management/utilization review nurses, insurance company nurses, even nurse consultants who review facilities for potential or actual survey issues and advise managers on how to meet the requirements outlined in the state rules and regs.

Best of luck to you!

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Thank you Esme12 and VivaLa for your responses. VivaLa are those jobs you listed able to be done by LPNs?

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

That's a good question. I know you have to be an RN in order to be a surveyor in my state, but others may differ. Discharge planning/UR jobs usually require a BSN. Geriatric case managers are generally self-employed, all you'd really need is expertise in the field and knowledge of your local resources. Memory care and ALF nursing can be done by LPNs in many areas; YMMV.

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"every single one asks " Do you have any limitations that could affect your job performance?" Physically , yes.. so apply for jobs that want your brain instead of your brawn.

They are out there.

Good luck.

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Bell, call Excelsior and negotiate with them. They have a person who works with people with disabilities. I took the CPNE using a power chair when I could only walk about 10 steps. They placed a chair in each room so I could sit down as needed. I parked the wheelchair outside the door of each room. You can rent them, just in case you didn't know--I didn't until I researched it, as I didn't have a wheelchair lift at that time, and so, had no way to bring my own chair.

I had to be able to assess the patient, but I did not do any lifting. They were very heavy on assessment and care plans, very little on anything but very basic skills.

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I'm currently injured - back and neck - and it's created limitations. Plus I was already hard of hearing :) I've only been allowed to work non-nursing jobs (don't even need a GED) since my injury. I'm still with my current employer as I"m still with work comp. My rehab nurse told me to apply for any job if I meet at least 50% of the requirements - but it's not that simple. I applied for over 70 positions in my currently facility over 5 months and was denied for every one of them. One of the interviewers that was actually willing to follow up and talk with me let it slip that there was a rumor I had applied for a lot of positions and that's why I was being denied them. Nice, eh? And I'm talking federal govt here so they can do and say as they choose without consequences. I offer them options upon options to deal with me and accommodate but they won't. So I get exactly what you're dealing with. I try to stay positive but it is hard. I just want to be a nurse... like you do too. I'm here for support for you. Wish I could be more helpful.

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