Career Change needed due health reasons....please help

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Apr 29, 2012

Welcome to Allnurses, Elizabeth!! :yelclap: Speaking on behalf of the Guides, I hope you enjoy the site and all it has to offer.

I'm so sorry you are going through all these trials. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, other than "Everything happens for a reason", but I believe there is something special out there waiting for you......we just don't know what that is yet. :)

From what I understand, there really isn't a huge market for legal nurse consultants these days, so if I were you I'd research this very carefully before committing time, energy, and money that you may not be able to spare at this time of your life. You can do this right here by clicking on the Site Map at the top of your page, scrolling down to Legal Nursing and clicking on that link to access threads by nurses in this specialty. Also, sirI is one of our Administrators and a LNC herself, so she can tell you more about what's going on in that field than I can.

Once again, welcome, and may your association with AN be a long and happy one!

Viva

morte, LPN, LVN · Apr 29, 2012

.....wanted to PM you but you have that disabled.....

llg, PhD, RN · Apr 29, 2012

This isn't what you want to hear, but maybe you should listen to your doctors and take the steady income that disability provides. It's not much ... but if you stayed home with the kids ... your husband could get a job (at least start to get the education needed to get a decent job). His income plus your disability payments would probably come close to what you would make as a nurse -- particularly if your health prevents you from working full time at a stressful job at the higher ends of the RN pay scale.

At least it would be better than you both being unemployed. In time, you might be able to find or develop a "2nd act" for your career that would get you off the disability.

I wish you the best in luck with whatever you decide.

Elizabeth138 · Apr 30, 2012

Morte,

I am new to this site and just fully activated my account so hopefully you can PM me now but it did say something about needing "15 quality searches" or something to that note in order to use the PM system. Please try again or feel free to reply to me here. Thanks, Elizabeth

Elizabeth138 · Apr 30, 2012

llg,

The problem with seeking disability is that I have to be unemployed for at least 6 months before even applying. Then the process can take years. I do still currently work as an ICU nurse but it takes A LOT out of me, I can't work more than 2 shifts in a row and if I do work 2 in a row then I sleep for at least 14 hrs the next day I have off!!

We currently don't have the income to send my husband back to school and, of course, I make too much for any kind of financial assistance with his tuition. See how difficult this is?

I work at a newly established (within the last 3 yrs) physician owned hospital and the benefits are horrible. There is no retirement, short-term or long-term disability, and the insurance is fair at best. We also provide primary nursing care....no aides, no IV team, no phlebotomy, aka no help. So far the only reason I have stayed is for the FMLA I qualify for although no one ever has enough PTO to use it and my health insurance. I would gladly go back to school and earn a higher degree but we don't have tuition reimbersment and nor can I afford the tuition.

My hopes are to find a field that offers shorter, less physical days and can help me further my education.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my thread, Elizabeth

nursegirl75 · Apr 30, 2012

Kaiser has call centers where nurses answer the phone and give nursing advice to patients or set up dr. appointment for pt when they need further assessment. This is to prevent unnecessary trips to the ER when nurses can resolve the situation over the phone. It is a desk job and all the nurses love their jobs! every nurse gets their breaks and its a very relaxing job Gluck!

Elizabeth138 · Apr 30, 2012

Nursegirl75,Thank you for the heads up about Kaiser. I'll try to find their website. I wouldn't even know what to do on a break, since I never get one or even a lunch!?!Thanks again, Elizabeth

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2012

.....wanted to PM you but you have that disabled.....

They need a certain amount of posts before PM is activated...15 I believe unless you have a paid subscription.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2012

llg,
The problem with seeking disability is that I have to be unemployed for at least 6 months before even applying. Then the process can take years. I do still currently work as an ICU nurse but it takes A LOT out of me, I can't work more than 2 shifts in a row and if I do work 2 in a row then I sleep for at least 14 hrs the next day I have off!!
We currently don't have the income to send my husband back to school and, of course, I make too much for any kind of financial assistance with his tuition. See how difficult this is?
I work at a newly established (within the last 3 yrs) physician owned hospital and the benefits are horrible. There is no retirement, short-term or long-term disability, and the insurance is fair at best. We also provide primary nursing care....no aides, no IV team, no phlebotomy, aka no help. So far the only reason I have stayed is for the FMLA I qualify for although no one ever has enough PTO to use it and my health insurance. I would gladly go back to school and earn a higher degree but we don't have tuition reimbursement and nor can I afford the tuition.
My hopes are to find a field that offers shorter, less physical days and can help me further my education.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my thread, Elizabeth

llg is right. Your husband needs to find a position somewhere that hopefully would provide benefits. If you were home you wouldn't need daycare which I agree is cost prohibitive. But with disability with what you qualify for and your children qualify for individually it might be more workable than you think.

As a nurse in the ranks of the very ill with auto-immune disorders. Trust me..........for the most part, No one will hire you. Not call centers, not offices, not hospitals. Not education, no long term, no short term. I hid for as long as I could...once I was outed it was over. I have cried, shouted, screamed. I have fought, prayed, and begged. I have beaten my head against the wall:banghead: for so long I have permanent marks. I KNOW what you are going through.

I worked at the bedside for 33 years. All critical care/Emergency medicine. I have worn many hats. I was teaching/supervision as my difficulties with energy and walking were becoming more visible in hopes of continuing working to hide my increasing ill health. When I could no longer walk unassisted I said I hurt my back. I said fell. I said I twisted it when I fell don the stairs ....what ever I could say to explain my unusual gait.

My last year of employment was brutal. I was accused of being impaired because of my unsteady gait. I was constantly sick because of immunosuppressive drugs. I blew up like a balloon because of the massive steroids. I became very ill with PNA and I went to work for fear if I didn't, I would never work again. I was admitted to ICU where I spent 2 weeks a total of almost 4 weeks total. The cat was out of the bag. :eek:

When my bosses found out they were so sympathetic. They said if there was anything they could do they would...:icon_roll....that My job was safe.......and then I returned to work. I became the poster child of poor performance. I was written up for absenteeism, You know the drill 2 instances within 6 months. I was written up for more things in those last months than I had ever had in the entire career. My work performance became poor.....I no longer did anything well enough, fast enough, good enough. No longer was I the valued employee. I was treated like a leper and was suddenly fired. No one wants to have to pay for a sick employee with expensive meds like IVIG (which I am still begging for.). :nono: No one wants a liability.

Word spread quickly that I was ill. Being active in the nursing community/EMS/ED on one committee or another....I was unhirable......for 14 months I sent resume after resume, hundreds of the in a tri state area. I got a job briefly at a small community hospital educator of the ED. I was pulled out of the orientation and told that it was decided that upon reviewing my medical screening I would be unable to perform the new job description of the ED educator/Clin spec. Oh........ I did the whole EEOC government thing.....and got a lawyer. It's time consuming and expensive. Money I Didn't have. It zapped what energy I had to use to go to medical appointments especially when there were days I couldn't get out of bed.

After working for 33 year in a profession I devoted my life to caring for others. For putting my safety in danger to save someone else....I could not be saved. :sniff: I had no pension, no disability. The only pension I ever had was in the late eighties and that was embezzled.

Education is expensive and there are no guarantees. Legal Nurse Consulting is VERY expensive and that Vicki Milazzo...whatever the name is....... is a huge rip off. I got the kit thinking I had a brilliant idea:idea:.......to help you set up she wants something like $40,000.00 dollars....Yeah Right...I've got that in spare change. Any retirement we had got lost when the market dumped and they rest is to pay medical bills and live on. College fund? that is another guilt trip heartbreak for me for letting my kids down and having to have a sick mommy. My active life ended in a heart beat.

I got disability in just a few months....like 4 months. Get a lawyer. DO NOT APPLY YOURSELF.....you will be denied. They are regulated by law and there are diseases that you don't have a 6 month disability requirement. The lawyer is paid a flat percentage from your initial check...by law. I am on disability now as much as it makes me angry, guilty, and embarrassed........My kids need to eat. My husband works but the economy strongly affected his job as well but we have insurance. You can get medicare/medicaid and food stamps assistance in hardship cases, almost immediately. I know it's not what you want....but it maybe what you need. Having your doctors on your side will get you disability quickly and your children will get disability income as well.

I am not usually so forthcoming about my illness but maybe it's time to help someone else out.....don't get me wrong. I miss nursing so much it hurts. :sniff: I have worked without stopping for 33 years. Both my maternity leaves were short and sweet. I wasn't ready for it either but I had to admit my failure and shortcomings in being disabled to save my family from losing everything.

My hair stands on end and I have to exhibit a ton of self control when the topic is mentioned about medicare cuts and abuse of the SSDI system and the word lazy in the same sentences and how people are sick of paying for the lazy folk sucking the system dry. :madface: I try to remind those who feel that way to remember that they don't know what their future holds and that not everyone on disability are freeloaders. You never know when you will have to walk in my shoes and that no matter how great your plan is........it psobably isn't enough. :no:

I do know that when one door closes another one opens.......I am looking for my key. I know that God won't give me anything I can't handle (right now I think he is trusting me a little too much). I am thankful my babies (babies;) they are 15 and 16 this month) are healthy and happy. I am thankful (although frustrated) that I didn't have a diagnosis of a grade 4 astrocytoma and 3 weeks to live. I am thankful to AN for helping me to maintain my sanity. :bugeyes:

Don't shy away from disability....you can get it rather quickly, with a lawyer. you can actually work if it's under a certain amt per month. (I still can't find anyone who'll hire me ill...Oh well). You can go just about anywhere in an electric wheel chair and you don't have to be scanned in the airport or go through the metal detectors...so there are perks..... :lol2:

I wish you the very best. :hug:I am sorry you have to go through this......as a fellow critical care nurse I feel your pain. It really will be OK. Peace.

Elizabeth138 · May 1, 2012

Esme12,I now no why I felt so compelled to join AN and post my thread....I think God had it in his plan for me to meet you!! My primary doc told me from the beginning to get a lawyer but I figured they would charge me a large fee I didn't have. I also had NO idea that I could receive disability money for each one of my 3 kids also?!? We've also had a lot of financial hardship related to my illness (lost our home and filed bankruptcy) and it's still a daily struggle to make rent, pay utilities, and just put food on the table. Food pantries have become a Godsend to us.I am also receiving the same treatment at my current job that you did after your "cat was out of the bag." I have started receiving write-ups for nothing. My first was for tardy's. Most places of employment have at least a 7 minute window before and after your shift is supposed to begin but my job is only allowing a 7 minute early window. I literally clocked in 1-3 minutes "late" too many times and was told that if I clocked in "late" one more time (even by 1 minute, no matter the reason) then I was going to be terminated. I work a 7a-7pm shift and had clocked in too many times after 6:45am. Literally the clock-ins were 6:46am and the latest being 6:53am!!! I had never had ANY complaints from the previous shift of being late, I felt as though I was being zeroed in on. I explained that my fatigue and pain is so bad in the morning that it is harder for me to "get going" and asked if I could use my FMLA towards the "tardies" and was told "no!" I was told that even if I have to get to work an hour early and sleep in the car until clock in time, then that was what I needed to do in order to meet their clock in requirements!! I now have my husband literally scoop me out of bed in the morning so I can make it to work on time. My boss was expecting me to walk out and quit that day! She already had arranged coverage for me. I did just go ahead and leave early that day since I was so distraught. Since then I have clocked in "on time" and some of my occurrences have dropped off. I also was denied coming back to work on a full-time basis due to this and they would only let me hold an official part time position after coming back from FMLA leave. So they let me work full time hrs (since they needed a full time person) but I'm paying part time benefit rates!! This has all passed now within the last few weeks and I'm off of probation but I'm still waiting to get my full-time status reinstated!I also got wrote up last week for "disturbing the unit," apparently I'm not allowed to voice my opinions to fellow co-workers and the Charge nurse about unfair and unsafe nursing assignments. Needless to say, I need to "get the hell out of dodge!"How is it constitutional do be denied a job for your disability? I thought all places are supposed to be an "equal opportunity employer?" I could understand if it turned out that you didn't meet the physical requirements for the position during your probationary period and then were "let go." But to deny you upfront or pull you out of orientation after reviewing your health history doesn't seem legal?!?I am in the middle of a flare up now and my LUPUS rash is overwhelming and I'm experiencing an even worse intolerance to heat right now causing me to overheat easily but within the last few days they have made it against policy to use a small desk top fan, stating that it is an "infectious disease hazard!" Today my patients were asking me if I needed to sit down? My BP sky rocketed and I felt as though I was going to have some kind of heat stroke. I have shoulder length hair and it was pulled back into a pony tail and all my hair was soaking wet with sweat today, all the way down to the tips of the pony tail! When I asked about getting a doctors note for a fan, they said that I probably wouldn't be allowed to continue working there with that "restriction." Needless to say, I do completely sympathize with your work horror stories.How long have you been ill? Mine came hard and fast!! Do you share my same diagnosis? Is LUPUS and my clotting disorder one of the approved disability diseases?I just seem to have no good luck and I'm scared of not being able to take care of my family. You mentioned that I could stay at home with the kids while my husband tried to find employment but I'm also scared of falling asleep while being home alone with the kids. As you know, this disease takes a HUGE physical toll on you and I can fall asleep out of nowhere sitting straight up on the couch. My boys are a little older (almost 6 & 7 yrs old) but my daughter is only 20 months old. My husband has been a lifesaver this way!! Since he stays home, I can rest. I'm just so confused and lost. How do I go about finding a lawyer also? Thanks for all your help and support, Elizabeth

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 2, 2012

This process is so convoluted.... I agree that we were meant to find each other. I ma still in the throws of adding diagnosis. I have Dermatomyositis/polymyositis and I am in the process for some sort of lupus right now amongst other diseases being tossed about. I have had "issues" off and on for years....but this present process was hard and fast. I have struggled since 2008.....but that is another story. You will be less confused and tired if you stop working. You can try to remind them that they have to accommodate "reasonable accommodation" in: the fan.....but I have found that your elimination process has probably already begun. Lawyers......another subject. They are expensive. I have reported places to the EEOC, the ADA, and to whom ever I could report to and not spend money.

Being ill has enlightened me that hospital administration and Human resources people have the morals of alley cats and the compassion of a toad. I was once reported for crying at work......in my office, ALONE, at 3 am(I leave my door open at night to hear the overhead and to encourage staff if they need something my office is open.....after a particular BAAAADD code in L/D when both baby and Mommy died.....I was unprofessional. I am so disheartened and disappointed in healthcare in general.

The lawyer worth her weight in gold was my disability lawyer. I found her in a local news paper. Just do a google search for disability lawyers and pick one that appeals to you. call them and see if the karma is good. Call those guys on TV they can refer you to a lawyer in your state.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/AdultListings.htm

14.00-Immune-Adult

7.00-Hematological-Adult

I'll PM you and you can PM me when you can about 15 posts.....unless you get a paid membership....which is not alot ($30.00 yearly for the basic) and really worth the money. Support the site and get more perks in the process!