Deferred a year because of surgery?

[jessleigh91]

Hello!

So I'm just wanting to get some info from people to see how other programs handle injuries. I had to have a L5-S1 spinal fusion in December. I was told it would take a few weeks until I got back to "normal" function by my neurosurgeon. By the time school started, I was able to drive to school and everything. Yeah it wasn't perfect, but I'm in my third semester of nursing school and I didn't want to miss anything. So I disclosed my light duty restrictions to my professor and was told the next day I can't participate in the program until next year. I was able to do my clinicals, restrictions being no lifting over 15lbs and I needed to sit down for a few minutes every couple hours. I was on light duty since last June and my professor last semester was completely accommodating and understanding when I had to sit down for a few minutes during the really boring geriatric clinical rotations. So I was told I couldn't participate in this semesters med surge/psych clinicals. I can't pick up until next spring because there are no classes offered before that I need. I go to a private college, is this a common thing? There are people in the program who use canes. And two others have back issues, yet they stayed. I just don't get it. I know they want to protect themselves but jeez.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

You may want to take a look at the student forums and the nursing with disabilities forum for personal experience stories. You may also want to contact a moderator to move your post to a better suited forum- this one is actually for nurses who specialize in providing nursing care at schools.

[jessleigh91]

Aw man. I would post it on the wrong forum. Lol í ½í¸”

thank you!!! :)

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to the General Nursing Student forum.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

The students with canes may be in the program with the disability coordinator. We had to do a physical where our physician signed off that we could lift over 20lb. Otherwise, we would not be accepted into the program. I'm thinking they got through with disability accommodations. Yours is not an actual disability per se. I know it's a temporary one, but not a long term one where ADA comes into play. In the medsurg clinical you are doing heavy lifting. You are transferring patients from gurney to bed, and back out for testing, you are ambulating post op people who may be very heavy, there is wound care where the patient may need to be turned a certain way. There is much heavy lifting going on. The fact you can drive means very little. I know it stinks but you are probably going to have to sit it out.