I need some advice!

Nurses General Nursing

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I am in nursing school and I will be graduating with my RN in May. I have been having severe pain and swelling in my knees for many years. Since I have started working at the hospital as a tech, the pain has become unbearable. I had an MRI done. The MRI revealed torn meniscus, cysts, joint effusion, and joint space narrowing in both knees. I am waiting to see the orthopedic specialist which could take several weeks. In the mean time, I have pain that shoots from my knee all the way up to my back and down to my feet. I only have 51 days until graduation so I refuse to give up after coming so far. I am thinking I will probably need surgery done. My fears are starting a new job as an RN and then having to have surgery. And also how much pain I will be in afterwards when I go back to work. And worst of all, I have practicum next month which will require me to work four 12-hours shifts each week, and I work one shift each week as well. Has anyone been in a similar situation or does anyone have any advice about this? Thanks so much!

UH.. hem.. this will be closed pronto, as it falls into the category of seeking medical advice.

Finish getting your degree.. at all costs. I Never had a practical that required four 12 hour shifts in a week.

Guess they are getting you ready for the real world?

Walk as little as possible, elevate your legs.. whenever possible.. and smile.. smile..smile. It's almost over.

When you are able to get the surgery... it can only improve. Just get that RN behind your name.

Good luck.

Specializes in MPCU.

Medical / legal advise violates the TOS.

Otherwise, I hope all goes well for you. You can have your dreeaaaam. Think about a position in management or teaching, You do not really need to be competent clinically (read, A bedside nurse), that is someone who cares about others.

Common sense, in another field, would be to tell you to please find a job that you are physically capable of doing. We victims, (nurses), simply want to encourage you. You should be encouraged, but not into nursing. Really, to be a nurse you need to be physically able to preform the job. You have many opportunities to help others, Nursing is not the place, with your challenges.

Anymore than telling a person who has been blind from birth, that training as a sniper is not realistically possible, I'm not telling you anything.

But , persue your dreams.

It doesn't seem as though the OP is asking for medical or legal advice???? She wants to know if anyone else has suffered a painful condition that makes being on your feet an issue, and how she should handle it. I have no good advice, besides maybe mineral soaks in the tub and take it as easy as possible. Do you have insurance right now to cover your future procedures or are you banking on finding an RN job before you get your problem taken care of?

Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU.
Medical / legal advise violates the TOS.

Common sense, in another field, would be to tell you to please find a job that you are physically capable of doing. We victims, (nurses), simply want to encourage you. You should be encouraged, but not into nursing. Really, to be a nurse you need to be physically able to preform the job. You have many opportunities to help others, Nursing is not the place, with your challenges.

I completely disagree. There are many different fields of nursing that do not require significant physical ability. Granted those places usually reside outside a hospital, but they do exist. Case Management and telephone triage are a couple of examples off the top of my head.

OP: Have tried wearing some heavy duty knee braces to help take some of the stress off of your knees?

Specializes in MPCU.
I completely disagree. There are many different fields of nursing that do not require significant physical ability. Granted those places usually reside outside a hospital, but they do exist. Case Management and telephone triage are a couple of examples off the top of my head.

OP: Have tried wearing some heavy duty knee braces to help take some of the stress off of your knees?

And I, respectfully, disagree. Without floor experience, or only limited experience, you really do not have a clue.

You are not a clinician with less than one year of floor experience. At that, you are just a beginner.

someone with experience, then is injured, would be an exception.

However, I would not want to discourage your dream.

Specializes in NICU.

Your practicum may be difficult. While waiting to see the specialist, you might see your primary care doctor about non-narcotic pain managment strategies (Rx NSAIDS, physical therapy, etc). But the practicum is short term.

By the time you graduate and take the NCLEX & join the (sometimes dismal) world of new grads seeking a job, you might have time to get the surgery done before you start your first RN job.

Also your post-op pain may be significantly less than your pre-op pain.

Don't panic! My mom always said "Don't borrow trouble," which means don't anticipate trouble which hasn't yet happened. :)

Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

Never give up your dream! I was in an accident and lost my toes on one foot and had severe ankle involvement as well. Just when I started PT, I got my acceptance letter. It had always been my dream and I wasn't giving up for anything. I've been a RN for about 1.5yrs and still don't look back. Pain is part of my life, but I don't let it decide my fate. Wishing you the very best and although it may take a bit longer to find that job, keep the faith and it will come. You will find something. Home care may be an option. One patient at a time might be easier on the knees.

Specializes in none.

You are starting out with two strikes against you. Better get some more medical advise. We on this board are not qualified.

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I am in nursing school and I will be graduating with my RN in May. I have been having severe pain and swelling in my knees for many years. Since I have started working at the hospital as a tech, the pain has become unbearable. I had an MRI done. The MRI revealed torn meniscus, cysts, joint effusion, and joint space narrowing in both knees. I am waiting to see the orthopedic specialist which could take several weeks. In the mean time, I have pain that shoots from my knee all the way up to my back and down to my feet. I only have 51 days until graduation so I refuse to give up after coming so far. I am thinking I will probably need surgery done. My fears are starting a new job as an RN and then having to have surgery. And also how much pain I will be in afterwards when I go back to work. And worst of all, I have practicum next month which will require me to work four 12-hours shifts each week, and I work one shift each week as well. Has anyone been in a similar situation or does anyone have any advice about this? Thanks so much!

As a couple of other members have already stated, we cannot offer any sort of medical advice, as it is beyond our scope of practice as nurses. Additionally, it's a violation of the site's Terms of Service. However, we can try to help you with suggestions for getting through the rest of your clinicals as well as areas of nursing which you may be able to handle with accommodations, or without having to do a lot in the way of physical work.

Like you, I have two bad knees that will eventually need replacement. I had an arthroscopic surgery plus an open procedure to remove a huge chunk of floating cartilage two years ago this June, and to be honest, this ended my bedside career. My ortho told me I could never go back to running on hard floors for 8 or 12 hours a day because of age, weight, and the severity of the arthritis. I could probably avoid TKR only if I could lose a few pounds and do a more sedentary job; now, almost 2 years later, I have a job in nursing management and my knees thank me for it every day. I'm trying to hold off on replacements because I'm only 53 and don't want to have to go through it all again when the artificial joints wear out.

In the meantime, do what you have to do to finish your clinicals and graduate. Use bilateral knee braces and good shoes to get through the 12-hour shifts, and ask your doctor what he advises for pain management. Some meds, like diclofenac (Voltaren) and Celebrex, are longer-acting NSAIDS which can be very helpful without the sedating effects of narcotics, enabling you both to work AND keep your pain at bay. Good luck!

Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.

By the time you graduate and take the NCLEX & join the (sometimes dismal) world of new grads seeking a job, you might have time to get the surgery done before you start your first RN job.

Agree with this. If you don't have a job right out of the gate, the average new grad time from licensing to job is something like 6-8 months, even over a year in some parts of the country. With surgery and PT/OT, this could be a non-issue for you.

I had a vaguely similar issue where I managed to dump an entire pan of hot grease on my foot right as practicum was starting. (We did 2-3 12 hour shifts a week.) Obviously not a chronic issue. But hobbling around on a foot with second and retro-third degree burns sucked. Pulled through it 'tho.

Specializes in Adult/Ped Emergency and Trauma.

Wow, This is like a flashback.

The year I graduated nursing school, we had a series of bad weather moving through, and there was a great deal of water on our campus. It was 3 weeks until graduation, and walking across the parking lot, I had to get across a 4 foot area that looked like a river. Classes were shut down, of course, but my study group met in the room by the Skills Lab, so my dumb self was determined to jump it. I tried to Giant Step it and ended up laying on the ground with the worst pain shooting up my back and down legs that occured 1/2 way through the attempt.

I had no idea what happened, I was laying on the ground with my face really sore too, when I wiped it, my hand was bloody. I thought I must have been shot mid skip b/c of the sudden confusion, and I thought I remembered a loud roar, but wasn't sure if I had dreamed it.

A group of guys from the dorm about 150 ft north of me came running to me. I was still very confused, and lightheadly made my way to my knees in a kind of sitting position. Then, feeling the life slipping away from me, and totally in fear for my life, I fell back on my back with multiple light cramps, and convulsed.

When I woke up again, I was in the hospital, I felt again for blood, but I was clean, and no cuts or sore spots now. I called out, and a little nurse about my age, early twenties came in, . . .

What happened? Was I shot? Am I . . . I got a car on campus, I was holding books, there expensive, did someone bring my books with me? Does my family know I am here?

YOU WERE STRUCK BY LIGHTINING. LET ME GET DR. XXXXXXX(NURSE)

YOU OBVIOUSLY WERE GOING TO TRY TO CROSS A STREAM THAT HAD FORMED BETWEEN THE PARKING LOT AND SCHOOL OF NURSING. HAD YOU GOTTEN INTO THE STREAM, THE AMPERAGE COULD HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HIGHER, WE ARE CHECKING YOUR SPINE, WILL, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO WALK, OR AT LEAST WITHOUT AN ASSISTIVE DEVICE.

Well long story short, I do use a cane, I suffer from pain daily, I went into a huge depression when they removed Vioxx from the shelves, but I am still here, still limping on. MY ADVICE TO YOU IS NEVER STOP SEARCHING FOR WHAT MAKES IT BETTER FOR YOU TO LIVE HAPPIER, SUCCESSFUL, TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY, . . .

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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