Heavy Lifting in the NICU

BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN · Jun 30, 2005

First off, I think that stinks what they did.

We don't have much heavy duty, pushing warmers and isolettes can be hard sometimes. Do you have a weight restriction? On occasion, NICU's will have bigger kids that have been there for a while, but when one of our nurse's needs help with lifting we chip in. I work with several that have bad backs, 2 have had to go out on disability..standing on your feet for 12 hours can do a number on your back. Also, many times we are floated up to peds and have to do heavier work up there.

But in nursing school, you will have more lifting and repositioning of bigger patients, so that is something to keep in mind. I would make sure you have the approval of your doc, because if something happens while you are in school you may be up the creek with them, especially if you aren't forthright with them upon admission.

I hope it all works out for you.

BabyRN2Be · Jun 30, 2005

BittyBabyGrower,

Thanks for your answers. I don't know a weight restriction right now, but I will see my doctor in August and I will tell her what happened at that hospital. She knows about my plans in becoming a nurse and she's quite supportive. I do know that there will be heavy lifting throughout school and I would definitely tell someone about the problem before I go and make the problem worse.

Also, I don't have any problems pushing or pulling anything, and I do understand that moving the isolette and radiant warmers are part of the job. I was wondering if there was something that I was not thinking of that would entail heavy lifting.

Thanks again for your response. It's very helpful information.

Mulan · Jun 30, 2005

How did they know you "gave false info"?

Did they know somehow from another source that you had pain?

Jami RN, BSN, RN · Jun 30, 2005

I work in hospital recruiting and hopefully I can answer your questions. You shouldn't have difficulty getting another job in healthcare, as long as you can meet the physical requirements for the job. I can certainly understand why you were confused and accidentally omitted the information -- most hospital hiring processes are more complicated than getting top secret clearance for the CIA or something. But, hospitals take any dishonesty in the application or pre-hire process very, very seriously. There are two reasons for this -- The first is that anyone who is dishonest before they get hired is lacking integrity and might do things like falsifying charting or lying about their mistakes. The other is to avoid huge worker's comp claims and lawsuits. There are people out there who look for jobs only for the purpose of filing a claim or a lawsuit. For instance, even though your herniated disk did not happen on the job, you "could" have fallen on the floor with excruciating back pain on the first day of work, and all subsequent medical care for your back would have to be paid by the hospital because it was supposedly an on-the-job injury. From the HR side of things, I am privy to the cost of these claims, and an injury claim can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars over years and years.

I know that you were not deliberately dishonest, but just move on and chalk this one up to experience. My advice to anyone applying for a position is this: BE HONEST AND UP FRONT ABOUT EVERYTHING! Read the fine print and if you are in doubt about whether to disclose anything -- disclose it! The number one reason we rescind positions is dishonesty on background checks, applications or health forms. Most of the time, if people disclose something negative, but can reasonably do the job, we hire them.

Best of luck in the future!

Jami

RebeccaJeanRN · Jun 30, 2005

I work in hospital recruiting and hopefully I can answer your questions.
Jami- I know someone who was turned down because she was supposedly didn't pass the background check, but she said she wasn't dishonest about anything (and I believe her). They didn't tell her what she didn't pass or any further info. I told her that I thought they HAD to tell you. Is that right? What excactly do the background checks for nurses look for? She has definitely never had a criminal charge, DUI or anything else!!! Thanks!

Jami RN, BSN, RN · Jun 30, 2005

Jami- I know someone who was turned down because she was supposedly didn't pass the background check, but she said she wasn't dishonest about anything (and I believe her). They didn't tell her what she didn't pass or any further info. I told her that I thought they HAD to tell you. Is that right? What excactly do the background checks for nurses look for? She has definitely never had a criminal charge, DUI or anything else!!! Thanks!

I believe that the applicant must be provided with the background report and given a chance to dispute it. If something comes up on someone's background check that they didn't disclose, we generally call them and ask about it. If they deny the conviction, we give them a copy of the report, and they have 5 days to contact the agencies involved to have it removed. (No one has ever done this, though... hmmmmmm.) I would think with all the identity theft that is out there, companies would consider that false information could be on someone's report. I've actually been able to make two people aware that their identities had been stolen due to suspicious social security information that came back on their report.

As far as I know, the law for background reports is similar to credit reports. If you are turned down because of information in the report, the report must be made available to you. Your friend should pursue this, regardless of whether she gets the job or not, because there may be false information on her report that may come up over and over and prevent her from getting any job!

Our background checks show every crime anyone has been convicted of, including traffic violations. We do not look at minor traffic violations, but would look at a DUI or Hit and Runs. We would not hire someone convicted of murder, rape, sexual assault, child or elderly abuse, or possibly domestic violence. Things such as assaults, drug use, fraud, or forgery would probably prevent someone from being hired, unless they happened more than 7 years ago. Things such as shoplifting, DUI, minor in possession, etc. wouldn't be a big deal as long as the person disclosed them. And no, contrary to popular belief, your record isn't wiped clean when you turn 18 or 21, unless you request it to be expunged... you have to disclose those things too.

I hope this helps!

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2005

There's no heavy lifting. Once in awhile there is a piece of equipment on wheels to be pushed, but if you have back problems, you can probably have someone else move it for you. You won't likely encounter a pt heavier than about 15lbs... and that would be a HUGE pt. They're moreso in the 1-9lb range.

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Jul 1, 2005

Will you have problems with standing for long periods of time? Or with hunching over to assist with an LP or PICC placement?

BabyRN2Be · Jul 5, 2005

There's no heavy lifting. Once in awhile there is a piece of equipment on wheels to be pushed, but if you have back problems, you can probably have someone else move it for you. You won't likely encounter a pt heavier than about 15lbs... and that would be a HUGE pt. They're moreso in the 1-9lb range.

Yeah, I kind of figured that for the most part, the pts would be in the 1-9lb range. Except that we had an audiology teacher who worked in NICU and mentioned that she saw several postdates who took up most of the warmer. They were usually in for meconium aspiration and could be up in the 12lb range.

I was just wondering if there was something that I wasn't thinking of that would require heavy lifting in the NICU (aside from moving warmers and isolettes).

Dawngloves,

To answer your question, no, standing for long periods of time does not bother me. Neither does hunching over working on a pt have any effect on my back. Normally, I work as a doula and I do spend a lot of time on my feet hunched over a client as it is now! :) 'Tis not a problem.

Thank you all for your responses.