Fellow LVN's! I need your help!

[Supermanda]

I graduated LVN school back in April 2011. I got pregnant shortly after and couldn't work due to complications. Now, I have a hernia from my c-section and was told I couldn't lift more than 20 lbs. I feel like I wouldn't be good to be on the floor because heaven forbid a patient fell, I would not be able to pick him/her back up! : (

My question is this: Did I waste all that time in school? Is there any type of "desk job" I would be able to get as a LVN?

[T-Bird78]

Is the hernia operable? If so, then you need to get it fixed because your child will be more than 20 lbs soon! You can always try a job in a doctor's office or phone triage or insurance reviewer--don't give up! You're a nurse--nursing school was NOT a waste of time!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Is there any type of "desk job" I would be able to get as a LVN?

There are desk jobs for LVNs with considerable bedside experience: staffing coordinator, wellness director, assistant director of nursing, infection control nurse, wound clinician, LTC unit manager, research coordinator, etc. However, these positions generally are not open to new LVNs with no hands-on paid bedside experience.

You usually do not see new grad LVNs immediately step into an administrative role or 'desk job' without having first worked as a bedside nurse, especially with the horrible state of the U.S. economy. In addition, the reality is that LVN training is geared toward producing a practical bedside nurse. You might need to return to school if you wish to seek employment behind a desk.