Can I do nursing?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2012

Hi, there. I'd like to commend you on exploring your career possibilities!

To be straightforward, I highly doubt that you will be able to do bedside nursing at a hospital, nursing home, or other type of custodial inpatient facility. The duties involved in bedside nursing are rather physical, and many tasks require that you be able to walk or run.

However, I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to be a nurse in a doctors' office or clinic. Many of the routine duties in an office setting (education, vital signs, vaccine administration, calling in scripts, etc.) do not necessarily hinge on the nurse's ability to walk. Please keep in mind that LPNs often are the ones hired into the role of the office nurse due to labor costs. In addition, many doctors prefer to hire medical assistants due to even lower labor costs.

Also keep in mind that discrimination against applicants with an obvious physical handicap is a real possibility. No hiring manager will ever admit that they rejected a qualified applicant over someone who is completely able-bodied, but this type of thing secretly happens. Good luck to you!

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2012

I believe to enter nursing school one would have to be able to perform essential tasks with accommodation. That would mean clinicals in a hospital where the nursing student must lift, transfer (and unexpectedly, catch!) patients.

I'm hoping that some with nursing academia experience will join this thread to shed light on ADA v. nursing school requirements. Good luck as you are exploring your options.

Old.Timer · Jan 15, 2012

Another option to consider would be occupational or speech therapy. You have direct patient contact with fewer mobility requirements. My mother recently had a pretty bad hand injury. Immediatly after surgery she began working with an occcupational therapist who specialized in hand therapy. She was not able to walk and did just fine.

glencovediva · Jan 16, 2012

Hi,
I am 18 years old and currently a senior in high school and I have been accepted to my dream school for the Fall semester. Currently I am undecided because of the possibility that I will not get admitted into nursing school. First off I want to clarify my condition. I have spina bifida, specifically myelomeningocele. I am in a wheelchair and have no feeling in my legs from the knees down. However, I do not have a shunt or any learning/mental impairments. I have great upper body strength and normal fine motor control. I do everything by myself and for myself. I am a VERY independent person. Basically, my only problem is that I am not able to walk. Anyways to my point... To the nurses out there, do you think that nursing is a possibility for me? I intend to speak to people at some nursing schools in my area about this, but my vocational rehab counselor keeps telling me I cannot do it, along with several other people. I am the type of person who does not just flat out take no for an answer and I intend to try to pursue my dream until I am absolutely positive I will not be able to do it. I am currently CPR certified and my only concern about nursing that I can think of is lifting and transferring patients. Can any nurses out there please give me their opinions on my situation? Sorry about the long entry!

Listen to your counselor. As a nurse, you have to be able to walk, run, lift, transfer patients, the list goes on and on. You have to be realistic about your career options. Nursing will not be a good career choice for you.Have you looked into social work? I once worked at a hospital where the social worker had spina bifida and she did her job just fine.Good Luck to you.

loriangel14, RN · Jan 16, 2012

Even if you were able to perform the duties of a clinic or doctor's office nurse you would still need to get through nursing school. As the others have pointed out you would need the ability to walk, sometimes run and transfer patients from bed to chair, assist with ambulation etc.

life_aknew · Jan 16, 2012

I am not a nurse nor a nursing student but I wanted to jump in here to commend you for going after your dream. There are many of us who start out late in life just because and end up juggling spouses and children and responsibilities. I admire that you believe in yourself even if no one else does. While it may seem impossible to those around you, I understand the giving it your best shot attitude and nothing less.

I say go for it. Try. Because if you don't, you will understand a decade or so from now that it's better to fail than not even have tried at all.

Truly wishing you the best.

KaitlynLeighx3 · Jan 16, 2012

I have actually checked the requirements for the nursing school of my choice and all the skills listed are ones I am able to do. Lifting and transferring is not listed as a requirement which I was surprised by. Thanks for you input!

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jan 16, 2012

I have actually checked the requirements for the nursing school of my choice and all the skills listed are ones I am able to do. Lifting and transferring is not listed as a requirement which I was surprised by. Thanks for you input!

It could be listed under something generic such as "physical agility."

I know ADA accommodations do not exempt anyone from doing essential tasks required for a position - it's just the ADA gives those with disabilities accommodations if they can perform the essential tasks with an aid of some sort, etc. For example, if a nurse is hearing impaired, an electronic stethoscope that amplifies sound could be an ADA accommodation. However, if the nurse cannot hear at all - there would not be an accommodation because an essential task for the nurse (hearing) could not be performed.

I don't understand how a nursing student could perform in clinical without the ability to lift, transfer, and catch patients.

We don't want to discourage you from your dream, but we also don't understand how you can perform the tasks required. As a nurse, you have physical responsibility for your patient. You have to be able to respond physically.

I would check with a nursing advisor at the college of nursing you are considering. I don't know how this particular disability might or might not be accommodated.

KaitlynLeighx3 · Jan 16, 2012

Thank you! I plan on giving it everything I have and then some. I don't ever want to look back and regret not trying.

KaitlynLeighx3 · Jan 16, 2012

It lists specifically "physical strength", I have great upper body strength and would actually be able to move patients and even lift them with help. I obviously couldn't do it alone, but with help I could.

BluegrassRN · Jan 16, 2012

Why is nursing the only thing you are focused on? Honestly, I don't know how you would turn or repositiona pt while being ins wheel chair yourself: the rooms are so small, and the beds are pretty big...how could you get close enough with your wheelchair to be of much assistance? I think the accommodations required would not be considered reasonable,nor would it be safe for the pt.

Most aspects of nursing overlap into other fields, though. Want to work in a physician's office? Why not become an medical assistant? Want something more advanced...why not a PA? You could work in a hospital or office, and make quite a bit more money thn nursing.

Speech therapy is another clinical area which directly works with pts and is very intellectually challenging. Other areas that quickly cometo mind are dietician/nutritionist, pharmacist, and social worker (trying to think of all the people I interact with during the day on my unit in the hospital).

All the disabled nurses I know were not disabled when they received their degree...they found the accommodating jobs based on education and experience that they obtained before their accident or injury. Nursing is not the only way to directly impact pt care, or to be a major player in a hospital or physician's office setting.

If the science aspects interest you, I 'd say go for pharmacy, PA school, or speech path. If you're more interested in the nurturing aspects of nursing, go into social work or maybe nutrition, something that would involve more counseling and education. If you want to work in a docs office seeing pts, you could either be a medical aide (a fairly quick program, similar to Lpn in many aspects), or do the PA thing and become an midlevel practitioner (similar to a nurse practitioner).

You have plenty of pt care, acute care options. Don't make nursing the one and only. It's not, and it doesn't sound appropriate for your situation. Plenty of other stimulating and important positions are, though.