Declined nursing program. .. need to vent.

I don't know your level of pain, but I've got L4-L5, L5-S1 flattened out and I'm starting school this Fall.

I was told on the first day of nursing school that for every one of us there were 4 qualified candidates who the school had to turn away. I always think about those other four people with lives like yours that were changed because you went down a different path. I, for one, am grateful for the opportunities nursing school has given me and will never forget that others wanted to go but could not.

Have you thought about becoming an medical laboratory technologist? It can lead to some very interesting and physically less challenging career paths.

My mom switched to health information and has her RHIA credentials. She started in nursing and left for several reasons, some of those which affected you. She, too, was in her mid-40's at the time. She now works at home as a coder for a large teaching hospital for the state she lives in and LOVES it. She could have done sooooo many different things with her degree, though. Several of her classmates went to work in insurance review, community statistics, hospital administration, etc. The path she took lead to a state job with GREAT hours and great pay and she is happy!

Good luck with your choice!

I think you are wise to know your limitations. There are many ways to help people and many of them don't require a strong back and healthy knees & feet. I've been a nurse 32 years and it has really taken a toll on my health. If I were starting over at my age*53* I don't think nursing would make the cut--my body just would not cooperate. At this point in my life I don't see me ever working in a hospital setting again. I can't take the shift work or the long hours. I work in a small school as a school nurse. The job requires me to know a LOT about general pediatrics, first aid, asthma, diabetes, seizures, sickle cell, heart disease, transplants, and child abuse. Most of my day is spent sitting or walking short distances so it's a good fit for me.

I think you are wise and I wish you well.

Look into health information management, becoming a science teacher, there are any number of things you can put those credits towards.

Nursing is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and while parts of it are very rewarding it is not even close to what I thought it would be. There's far more butt-covering and far less nursing than I ever thought possible.

there's so many different ways to be a nurse (they don't all center around a hospital, patient care or require much physical activity).

the education itself is invaluable, it will help you with your own health and the health of your loved ones.

think about applying again.

After reading your post, I felt compelled to post a reply. I commend you for being really honest with yourself....that is a very hard thing for many people.

I personally have a bad knee injury and now a rotator cuff injury, and i know EXACTLY what you mean about having to hide it from employers and also work through some pain.

I worked as a CNA in a nursing home for 5 years and I can tell you honestly, nowadays they have much lifting equipment that wasnt available 20 years ago, so the 'bad back" stigma is not as bad as it once was. The other thing is that in the nursing home setting, the CNAs do almost 100% of the lifting, unlike the hospital setting where nurses do alot more of the transfers and ect. But having Degenerative disk disease i am sure would make u at high risk for injury with even minimal lifting. Basically if an old person is about to fall, you have to be physically able to catch them and bear their weight if necessary, becasue it is simply not acceptable for patients to get injurys from falls. Caregivers (mostly CNA's I think) by the way also have the highest rate of work place injury statistically, even higher then construction workers, heavy machine operaters, ect.

But as other people on this site have mentioned, their are many good careers in the medical field that are popping up such as medical transcriptionist, medical coders, medical secretarie, cardiac monitor tech and i think these jobs start out at 14-$17 per hour with minimal time and $ invested in education.

So good luck to you!

Sarah :)

after pulling my own back 2 weeks before gallbladder surgery the other week, I understand. Kudos for recognizing that you may not have been able to fulfill the career duties. I'm sure the student who got your spot was thankful they got in. Keep on looking in the medical field, there are a lot of things that can be done in it.

I also wanted to add that I do pediatric home care nursing, 1 patient per day right now, so if i am taking care of a 2 year old then i am basically doing zero hard lifting..my heaviest pt is 95 pounds.

My point is that you are young and if u change your mind someday and decide that you really have a CALLING to be a nurse, that their may be jobs out there as a nurse that u CAN physically do.

Good Luck,

Sarah