Clinicals and surgery

[mellzie22]

hi everyone,

i have recently been accepted into several direct-entry nursing programs. only one of the schools is in my hometown and the others will require me to move several states away. i have the opportunity of a full scholarship to one program that will allow me to go straight through to my dnp (albeit after about 7 years). i got another large scholarship to the school in my city and got into another school in a city i have always wanted to live in. i am so excited to have this opportunity, it has been a long time coming.

here is the problem. i need pretty massive surgery on my legs. the bones in my legs are not aligned correctly and have caused degeneration of the cartilage in my knees, hips, ankles, chronic knee dislocations and other problems, not the least of which is pain. surgery requires breaking the bones and repositioning them with metal plates along with cutting some tendons to make them longer. recovery is at least six weeks non-weight bearing, in both a cast and a straight leg brace. after that, intense rehab to learn how to walk correctly and strengthen everything back up.

two programs start in mid-august and one starts in september. if i move, then i will have to do so the first week of august. surgery is scheduled for june 19, and it seems like that cannot be moved up. my question is, has anyone ever done clinicals while in a cast or brace, or in case things don't improve as fast as it is hoped, in a wheelchair? i have some great opportunities and i don't want to miss them because of my stupid legs. i struggled with numerous health issues growing up, most of which are stable now, and the thought of having to delay something i have worked so hard for for yet another health issue is just short of devastating.

thanks for reading that!

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

are you competely sure you can't get that surgery done sooner? it seems unlikely that there's no flexibility in the surgery schedule thre or four months out. beg. ask to be put on a wait list, tell them you only need a day's notice to appear, npo and ready to go.

as to the schools, they have heard of the ada and will have to accommodate your mobility issues for classroom and campus access. by fall you should have a good handle on wheelchair mobility, if necessary, or for adaptive techniques for ambulation. tell them before you arrive if you think there will be a problem with classroom access, etc.

you might have a problem with clinicals, though. most hospitals and facilities will not allow caregivers on crutches or in wheelchairs, so you might see if they will let you make up time over vacation. you might be ok if all you have is a brace, and even those will come off soon. good luck!

[mellzie22]

Thanks for responding! I'm not at all worried about the classroom, it's all clinical. Since the first part is accelerated, clinicals start right after the semester starts. The NP at my ortho clinic was supposed to call me to go over recovery time and all that with me, but I have yet to hear from her.

[Katie71275]

I would try to get your surgery moved up. Find another surgeon if you have to. Clinicals are hard work and even if you are out of braces and cast, you may not be physically ready. If you have to, Im sure you can delay a semester?

[maccheese]

I would check into deferred admission. Moving patients, making beds, bathing require as much of your body mechanics as possible. I don't thinking going into cliniicals during a major healing process would be too good.

[rubato, ASN, RN]

In my clinicals, I was told that I wouldn't be able to go if I didn't heal really fast from an injury I had that placed me in a walking boot. My teacher told me that it wasn't that I couldn't be on my feet all day but that it was unhygenic. If you're in a cast or brace or wheelchair, it'll be hard to disinfect those things after clinicals. At least, that was my professor's argument. Not that I necessarily agree.

[mellzie22]

Thanks for the advice. I called the surgical coordinator again and she said there are still no available dates earlier than June 19. I do not want to find a new surgeon because the surgery is complicated and I have already gone through four, the other three all referred me to other ones because they didn't want to touch me. I left another message for the NP, so hopefully she will get back to me soon.

[Music in My Heart]

You should certainly contact the programs and the campus disability offices. I don't know how much accomodation they're required to extend given that the job of a bedside RN requires a minimum level of physical function.

To be frank, without some significant accomodation, it's hard to imagine you being successful in clinicals. Perhaps the programs have some means to delay your clinical rotations while still permitting you to begin the program.

I would start with the disability offices and proceed from there.