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

Elizabeth138 · May 3, 2012

Esme12, Another member (Morte) was able to PM me the other day once I completed my registration, so hopefully we can start communicating this way. If you can try to PM me when you have time, we'll see if it's working or just a fluke. I do plan to get a membership but it will have to wait a few more weeks.I found something on-line that I filled out regarding disability lawyers. They asked for basic info regarding my situation and were going to send it on to local lawyers. They also gave me the names of the lawyers so I can follow-up with them myself. I plan to make follow-up calls tomorrow. I also see my pain management doctor tomorrow and I'm going to ask if they can refer me to anyone good and cheap. I would assume they have A LOT of people on disability there. Thank you for the links you provided, they are very helpful. Are you familiar with the "ticket to work" program? I've seen a thread or 2 about it. In all my life I have never been so stressed and just plain unhappy. I hate going to work because I know how I'm going to feel after only being there for an hour or so, just plain horrible!!! My newest symptom is this chronic sunburn like rash that have my doctors stumped. It looks like a bad sunburn and itches. It's on my face, neck, and upper chest. After only being active for 15 minutes (whether at home or work) it turns nearly purple and my skin feels like it's on fire! I've been on high dosed steroids for weeks now with little to no improvement. Once it really starts flaring up at work and my profuse sweating begins, I go from feeling "okay" to "blah..."This is when I realized that I'm hurting myself and my family probably more by working in the long run than if I was to stay at home. I never thought I would reach this point and this soon in my illness but I'm sure I still don't have all of my diagnosis' yet. I was put on call today then later called into work. I got there about 12:40pm. I was hoping to feel much better today since I wasn't going to be working a full 12 shift. But it never fails....just within an hour of working I was bright red (nearly purple) and sweating so bad I was having to wipe the sweat off of me in front of patients in their rooms. All my patients, they're family members, and my co-workers continually told me how "bad" I looked. I can't keep doing this, it WILL kill me!My hopes are to get disability and I am in hope that they have programs that will pay for me to go back to school. With an advanced degree, my door will open for less physical jobs that my body can hopefully handle. If I can get my NP, I can work set hrs at a doctors office, clinic, or ER. My husband has also agreed to go back to school and finish his graphic design degree but that's only if we can get his education paid for. He'll also need to work, doing something, while in school or we won't be able to afford to just live because I'm sure my disability won't keep us "afloat." Do you have any idea of what disability pays? I also have 3 young kids. I know you or someone else had said something about me being able to receive disability money for them also.I need to figure out how to post pics of myself on here also so I can get peoples input of this rash I have. As always....thanks for being so helpful. I know I can survive this with people like you supporting me and giving me advice.

studentinnursing · May 5, 2012

OMG. I just, at 38, after our second baby, started school. Divorced him during nursing school. No help or child support. Moving every 3-4 months if I couldn't pay rent or, like me having no luck, the landlord decides they are moving in or....just one thing after another. But whatever, I had been told to go on disability during this, but I just took whatever medication they said may help and got through 4 years of college, until the last 70 hours of 120 of my internship. I am waiting now to see what the Dean says, as our school gives exams and end of program exam before the internship, and the preceptorship/internship is a separate class....I don't even know if I can sit for boards.

So after 4 years of killing myself and refusing to even think about disability (btw both kids have their own issues which I've been told makes them eligible for their own disability). Now, like a week and a half short of graduation I really just could not get out of bed anymore; it got bad in third semester but I kept going, got really bad about a month and a half before graduation, and then it got so bad I didn't care anymore, couldn't care, didn't have the strength to care. And barely able to take care of my kids or myself, I didn't complete those last 70 hours....4 years down the freaking drain; my youngest is 4, so there's my guilt trip, missed the first 4 years of his life basically, and now I cannot even think about nursing, not my ED/Trauma NP plans.

Thank you for telling your story and I am glad to hear you got disability quickly; with 2 kids I just keep trying to do what I can do to get by, but it's all gonna come crashing down now, as I have not been able to work since November but was attending school, been seeing doctors for over 10 years but refused to be disabled. This is so freaking frustrating, and I'm sorry to hear that other people have had this happen, but as sucky as it is, I figured somebody out there must've done it and got through it. Now, I'm thinking seriously about filing for disability. I cannot believe it still, though, and I'm still talking to school/Dean about sitting for NCLEX-RN, but I am currently uninsurable (that's another story, more than just my medical problems), so that may equal to unhirable too. Idk.

Thanks for the info you provided. I was definitely thinking to go through a lawyer if I did it because I just don't have the strength to do it, quite frankly. And I'm the one everybody used to have write their correspondence. God, just never know what is gonna be handed to us. I am so frustrated and sick and disgusted with the whole mess, but I feel lucky because I do have a previous job working at home; however, I have not recently even been able to get out of bed to do that, but I'm trying and will just continue to do what I can do I guess.

Now that I think of it, for the nurse looking for something else to do for work; medical transcription is something you can do at home; and when I started there was no internet so you had to have all drug books, etc., but now that's all at your fingertips, and being a nurse you will have the medical knowledge; we had anatomy, English, all sorts of classes I never thought a transcriptionist would need, and it made nursing school easier I think. Anyway, the problem is it is paid on production; I've made anywhere from $10-20/hr. There are so many schools now that give degrees for this, but really, once you learn those accents you'll be fine. Check it out online, and there is a place where they post jobs, etc., MTDaily online and I'm sure many others by now, haven't looked for a job for 11 years (except my awesome summer as a PCT halfway through nursing school at the trauma center), so I know that particular site is still around and dependable.

Thanks to you both for sharing what you have. I am just trying to at least sit for boards I guess to show I did accomplish something over these 4 years; killing me, but I just couldn't do that last week and a half of school, just couldn't, and I think both of you know what that feels like.

Elizabeth138 · May 5, 2012

Studentinnursing,Do you also have Lupus?Was it the physical nature of the nursing internship that caused your flare?As far as insurance, they can't "not" give you insurance at your place of employment as long as it is offered and you pay your premiums just as every other employee does. But the downfall is if you have gone without insurance for many years and then suddenly have it again thru work, then it would be considered a "pre-existing condition." So any doctors appointment, hospital visits, labs, etc. related to your medical condition WILL be denied. But any medical visit related to a virus, strep throat, sinus infection, and such should be covered.Were you not eligible for Medicaid or any government insurance while you were out of work & going to school?In that since I was lucky. I have insurance thru my work and got sick and diagnosed while I did have insurance and still do. My biggest problem will come about when or if I'm able to find a new job my body can handle and I have to wait the 60-90 days post hire to start receiving benefits. If I don't use cobra (during my work transition) then my new insurance carrier will see it as a lapse in coverage and treat mine as pre-existing also. The last time I checked no one can afford cobra.I did call a disability lawyer yesterday and they spoke with me at length about my options. As of right now I "think" I can handle a desk job & disability doesn't care if you can't find one or not according to the lawyer. He says that with my medical conditions I "probably" could get it but because of my young age and the fact that I do have my RN, it would be a long battle. That means years without any income at all. My main problem is I am an RN and sat for the same boards that an RN with her BSN did but I only have my ADN. I'm having trouble finding a "desk type of job" because most of those are for managers, care managers, etc and the majority of those jobs require you to have your BSN!!! The lawyer, however, has referred me to Vocational Rehab and a case manager is supposed to call me this coming up week. It sounds promising :-)I don't know much about it but apparently it was designed to help people stay off of disability. It provides paid education to people with disabilities to further their education in hopes for them to receive a job that they can do physically although they do have a disability. If I can get off of the physical, stressful, and long hrs of being a floor nurse then I may live working with my disease for at least several more yrs if not indefinitely!! I have hopes that they may even pay for my NP. I'll just have to wait for my appointment and see what they say.Someone else on facebook had mentioned that getting a medical coding or medical transcriptionist degree might be a possibility for me also. I assume I would make more money being a RN and also having one or both of these degrees. Do you know anything about that? I also heard you have to have at least 1 year of experience in a doctors office or hospital before being able to work from home. Do you know anything about this?Please also do not take this the wrong way but I would never suggest to anyone to become a nurse who has an autoimmune disease before even going into that field. I developed my autoimmune diseases after the birth of my last child. I had already been a nurse for over 6 yrs before getting sick and I've now been a nurse for going on 9 yrs. If I were to have contracted this at a younger age then I would have chosen another field altogether. Nursing is very physical and extremely stressful with LONG hours. It's hard enough for healthy people to do let alone with someone who has a compromised immune system. Were you aware of your illness before starting school? Even if you do get to finish your internship and pass your boards, you have a LONG road ahead of you. Me and Esme12 have worked in this field for a long time, her longer than me, and look at the troubles we're facing? And as a new grad your job opportunities will be even far more limited than ours considering experience. I know you're down enough as it is, and I'm not trying to make it worse but that is why we all joined this site, to help other nurses in need.My husband has also applied back to college within the last few days and is in hope of finding a career path that can support our family once I'm no longer able to work. All of this was made possible from all the advice I have received from this website. It has been a Godsend to me and many others like me. I hope we all can continue to help each other. Good Luck, Elizabeth

studentinnursing · May 5, 2012

Wow, we have so much in common, and Elizabeth138--that is exactly how I felt when I worked last summer and basically was worried I might not get a job in the future if I had one more day where I felt like I did at work; funny how a patient can see how miserably in pain we may be, or just plan sick for that matter, but the experienced great nurses ignore every S&S they see in us, or do they not see them at all?! I just thought, how can I be working in a trauma center ED with sweats/chills, N&V, rhinitis/sinusitis, and only the patients notice I'm not feeling well? That was a weekend where I was just plain sick, not a flare-up of my dx that kept me from finishing my last week of school. And what's scary is I had started my first thread ever on here, been reading it since before I took prereq's and half of them seemed like they didn't understand what I was saying....and all I wanted to know is if I could sit for boards (which seems silly because I couldn't be a "regular" nurse at this point, but I hope to feel better at some point, did feel okay the last 3 years but was always late, tired, etc., compared to most others). Anyway, you can "feel" the tension in some of their "voices" when they were responding to me; one said, it doesn't sound like you can be a nurse anyway, [so why should I sit for boards]. I obviously want to finish, the principle if nothing else; I worked so hard to get through school and support my kids while doing it, begging and borrowing along the way, and because I missed the last week of 1 class (other 2 of last semester were completed including all exams/end of program/96% chance passing NCLEX-RN...yada yada...for which I will be turning in medical documentation, and I just want to pass and be an RN even if I have to file for disability, dammit, I worked for it--is what I wanted to write back to that post. I also thought what a great opportunity I am learning about chronic illness and debilitating disease, and what a great hospice nurse I could be, but I don't think I could handle the caseload, and I thought what about private duty? but then what if I didn't feel good that day; I just never know when it's going to be bad or really bad, and at least there are a couple other people who are in the same position.

Legal nurse consulting pays really, really, really good. And you do not have to do Vicki M.....'s think. idk how it's spelled either. With 33 years experience, and in your field; you'd kick butt at it; you could make a lot of money IF YOU CAN do it of course; because I know what people are thinking when I tell them I work at home and can't get out of bed and work; desk is 3 feet from the bed, and no, I can't get up, walk over and sit down every day to work. What I mean is I completely understand if you might say, no, I cannot read files and type reports every day because I can't type reports every day and my job is something I've done since 1995, not a completely new career, which is what the LNC would be for someone. I just am so happy I came across y'all's posts, don't feel as bad as I did about filing for disability; I swore I wouldn't ever do it, for the past 14 years, and now here I am; I agree, we sometimes believe God trusts us a little too much but I do believe everything happens for a reason. I don't feel any freaking better about the whole darn situation, but I do feel better about what I will have to do to take care of my family, just no other way I can do it right now; I am worried about what will happen while I'm waiting for disability, but I have just contacted, tonight, an office I have noticed lots of times, and they really seem to be ethically and morally sound, and that's all I need, a good honest lawyer (don't laugh; as soon as I typed all those words together I had to chuckle, though; is that an oxymoron?) I'm kidding! Law was my other choice after nursing and I wanted to stay good and honest and chose nursing LOL. Kidding! I believe there is a reason, don't agree with it and don't want to deal with it, for all of this...I guess.

Good luck to you, and Esme12, thanks for sharing your story with us; I am not so worried about waiting years for disability now and hope it is swifter than I had thought, did not know what to do about kids, rent, etc., for years; I have friends who can help us out I think if it can be done quickly. I would think if someone has to take care of a family they would look at those cases first, but I completely understand that everyone has his or her own issue and may need it more than I do even if it doesn't feel like it to me some days. Wow, I am not tearing up every time I type the word disability anymore. Thanks again, both of you.

studentinnursing · May 5, 2012

Unfortunately, I had private insurance, not through an employer, paid by my grandfather before he passed away, and another family member kept it going until this month--I'm on my own now kinda thing. Right, what I was counting on is having a job as a nurse and exactly as you stated--they could not, not insure me. I am p.r.n. at home since I couldn't even work part-time hours since starting nursing school, but this is the most flexible and easy-going job I'd ever had, and the reason I have kept it so long. However, they have gotten tighter with transcriptionists having to type a certain amount of lines per day before they can get/keep their benefits and/or PTO.

I'm starting to get tired, but I will try to get to your questions. One thing I saw when scanning...No, you do not need to work at their office for any period of time whatsoever; some may require it; some don't; I have worked for physicians and transcription services. Transcription companies usually hire you right at the beginning from home. You just have to type fast because you will get paid per line, a 65-character line, for example is about 0.07-0.08 per line. Some companies will not pay for the spaces (how'd they like a report with no spaces in it is what I say LOL). From the length of your posts, it appears you type pretty fast; just a guess, but usually posts are short when someone doesn't normally type a lot (not mine! type as fast as I think :eek: ).

You're gonna wanna type at least 85 wpm, over 100 wpm to make decent money. You can make decent money, and I actually proofread my reports and only ever made about 10-12/hr, but a lot of girls do not; they just I guess are careful when they type the first time, and they make more money. I just do QA now and make a lot more, so all those years of proofing paid off later.

If you can get a transcription test--some companies online will have the automated recordings right on their website--and try it out. Even a Southern draw will stump the most seasoned MT, so it's not just the "foreign" docs that are tricky; some docs have no accent at all and just fail to breathe when they dictate :lol2: or have the microphone apparently halfway down their throat with an office birthday party in the background :confused: . When you get those spots, put a blank (the test/transcription service will give you instructions on how to flag/insert blank in the report). I fill in the blanks in QA and what we don't want to see is guessing; when you test, always flag or insert a blank if you really are not sure of something. But with anatomy and physiology and pharm and spelling and grammar in just nursing/charting, you'd be fine; just getting your speed to make money is what matters to make anywhere from 300-500/week. However, there are team leaders and administration and QA positions too after you've been doing it for a bit, so you can make decent money, but you will top out below what you made as a nurse, definitely (and why I decided to become an RN then NP instead of stay in transcription).

I do not have lupus; well, I don't think so. I have been going to doctors for about 15 years; they began with arthritis (at age 27 just before my first child) and chronic fatigue; one of my diagnoses is polymyositis and I have spondylosis and spondylolysis among others they cannot completely rule out. Now my doc wants me to see another type of specialist, so not sure what he's getting at with that yet, but he's the best so far; he treats the whole person instead of the dx is how he comes across.

In the meantime, PM me or I will PM you with the name of one, I think, that has a transcription test on the website. So, you could go to a few transcription company websites and use all fake demographics and do a practice test, or MTDaily might have something there; just Google maybe...medical transcription dictation example, dictation test, something like that and check it out. I will get back with you while not sleeping in a couple hours or in the morning if I get some sleep. Have fun with the tests!

Elizabeth138 · May 6, 2012

Esme12 and studentinnursing,

Apparently people can PM me right now but I can't PM back yet. I spent a lot of time writing Esme12 a return reply to a PM last night, all to find out when I went to send it I couldn't!!! The reply was completely lost!! I just wanted to give you both a update. I spoke to a disability lawyer and it is in vast agreement that my husband needs to finish his education and return to work. He applied yesterday and is waiting to hear from an admissions counselor. As for me, he said disability wouldn't be out of the question for me but could take years because the government would fight against me saying I need to get a "desk job." The lawyer said disability doesn't care if they are hard to come by, he said they would expect me to find one and try first before I could win my case. He suggested Vocational Rehab for me and a case manager is supposed to call me with an appointment date this week. I'm actually very excited about this. It sounds like, since I have a disability, they will pay for my advancement in my education so it would be a lot easier finding a "desk job." This could be an answer to my prayers. However, this still dose mean I have to continue killing myself at my current job until my BSN (or possibly higher) is received :-(

I may try to work just part-time though if I can end up doing some medical transcription work from home like studentinursing suggested.

As for this current horrendous flare I'm going thru, one of my other docs has ordered a adrenal siliva rhythm test. Maybe that will provide some answers. Esme12, I looked up that condition you PM'd me too and that also looks like a distinct possibility. It sounds like I need a dermatologist now so I can perhaps have a biopsy done on the rash. All I can say is I hate being sick and I'm sick and tired of all the BS that comes with being chronically ill! No one understands how we feel but us and it's just plum awful!!

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 7, 2012

Get another lawyer...........what he is telling you is bull. Lazy $^*^%$*. You need 15 posts or paid subscription to PM. PM when you can Keep me updated. Call one of those disability people on TV. They will refer you to someone who represents you locally. :hug:

I have one of those "approved conditions" and it took 4 months. YOur doctors have to on board as well.......it will be like you will have a problem. Keep trying lawyers until you find one who will help you.

The government will not force you to do work outside /lower than your qualifications. If you can't perform YOUR job then your are disabled. Your monthly amount will be based on previous earnings so be careful with lower paying jobs....just to keep working it will hurt you in the end.

I looked at those transcription jobs...pay stinks when compared to being an RN, you have to type a lot and I can't sit up for that long, you have to be certified and that costs money. I looked in to phone triage.....I'm sick no one would hire me.......... Looked into that too......Legal nurse consultant? VERY EXPENSIVE and tough to break into. Impossible to be independent consultant as it take a LOT of leg and ground work If I could do all that I'd go back to the bedside.

For your husband and children....get a better lawyer. If you lived in Massachusetts I'd give you a good one.