Disability Question

[Brian2MN]

I'm a very healthy guy who is considering a career change into nursing. The aspect of working with people, dealing with stress, and physical labor aren't too much of a concern for me. However, I do suffer from anosmia, which is a lack of the scent of smell. I figure I was born this way, as I've been that way throughout my life. The doctors I've visited said that it's abnormal that I have this condition but seem to have a very acute sense of taste, and they could find no medical reason for this and figure I must have a damaged olfactory nerve.

My question is this--how limiting is this condition in the field of nursing? Of all the sense, I often feel lucky that this is the one I'm missing, but it does impact some avenues of my life. It doesn't officially have disability status (I suppose because it's difficult to prove that someone actually has this and someone may lie about it), but I could see where it might have an impact. I honestly can see where it may have some benefits in this field.

I just want some good advice--those of you who are reading this--if you suddenly lost your sense of smell, could you do your job? I'm still trying to decide on a specialty, any particular ones to avoid?

Thanks

[llg, PhD, RN]

That's an interesting question.

I think there would probably be several specialties in which the lack of smell would not be a problem. While smelling something unusual and/or characteristic of a specific condition can be an assessment clue, I don't think "missing that clue" would prohibit you from working most areas -- though it might be a disadvantage in a few.

My clinical specialty is Neonatal ICU and I can't think of any reason why you couldn't work there.

llg

[GalRN]

As long as you are willing to ask a co-worker to assess things like wound drainage for foul odor when necessary I don't see any problems.

I can think of several instances where it may have benefits too...

[rn in 3 years]

I would say you are pretty lucky if you became a nurse and had no sense of smell :rotfl: . Me, I have a very STRONG sense of smell. I swear I was a police dog in my previous life because I can smeel things other people can't. I will definately have to do the vicks under the nose trick!

[Dixielee, BSN, RN]

I worked with a man with the same problem a few years ago. He had been a firefighter and EMT and was currently in nursing school and working in the ER. He did not seem to suffer any deficits at all, and was a great asset to the staff. I'd say, noooooo problem.

[Brian2MN]

Thanks for everyone's response. It's good to know that other people out there share my problem too and I'm not nuts. :chuckle When I was in college I went to an ENT doctor at a good hospital, because I wanted to give it one big try to see once and for all what may have been wrong and if anything could be done. He took X-rays and said he couldn't see any reason for it. He then gave me a scratch-n-sniff "test" with 50 different samples where I was supposed to say what they were, and he then left me in the room for almost an hour before returning to find me napping because I was so bored. I hadn't filled any of it out, and he asked why. I said I didn't because it was multiple-choice, 4 choices each, and if I got any right at all it would have been pure chance and 25% would have been misleadingly high. He asked me a bunch of questions about taste, and I know he didn't believe me. Oh well.

I don't have a problem at all asking for help when I need it. If anything, I'm probably more paranoid about personal hygine, bathing too much, changing clothes any time I feel a drip of sweat, etc. Obivously bottles of stuff in a hospital would need to be handled and labeled in a way where you wouldn't rely on your nose to identify it....but I was thinking about things like where if someone had an "accident" or whatever, I'd hate to get fired because I let someone lay in soiled pants all day or something.

I appreciate the advice.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

I lost my sense of smell for several years after a severe bout of mycoplasma pneumonia. The only way I found out was someone asked how I could stand to go in a room of a patient with a terrible infection.

No smell also meant very little taste. I couldn't stand to eat things I formerly loved like cucumbers and chocolate. I couldn't smell candles or bakery goods. It wasn't much fun.