Help! I've hurt my back....now what?

kakamegamama · Dec 28, 2016

I also ruined my back. I became a NP. Still patient care although in a different way. I can sit or stand or whatever to relieve my back spasms.

localgirl85 · Dec 28, 2016

Thank you kakamegamama for replying! I have considered becoming an NP because I still love dealing with patients and patient care. Thanks so much for your input! Are you a general NP or specialty? I'd probably like to stick with peds, but with an NP can you take care of both??

crazin01 · Dec 28, 2016

I never went into peds, after my back injury. Stayed in acute/ICU settings making it worse. It sort of sucks, but my own fault. I think it's great you were able to find a specialty to help save your back, post injury.

I'm also in a fairly rural area, with the local hospital having about a 12-bed peds unit; they fill up during flu season/outbreaks, but for the most part are usually minimally staffed because census is usually low & parents are mostly very involved and present around the clock.

What about a pediatrician office, if in a less urban area? Not sure how offices in your area utilize RN & LPN's versus MA's, etc. In my neck of the woods, it's mostly MA's; very few physician office jobs in general for an RN.

Other options for back issues, any type of office/desk job. Of course personal preference if you enjoy the paperwork/computer stuff, versus actual interaction with patients. Outpatient centers, surgery centers, urgent care centers (however, I imagine they would have much most substantial time on feet and lifting, at least in surgi-center). Nursing home/LTACH/Rehab/ detox, psych facility are mostly less physically demanding for the most part. RN's are usually the ones charting & doing the paperwork.

As far as ease of getting back into peds, after 10 or so years case management, or another specialty: although sometimes it seems you always have to 'know somebody' to get in somewhere desirable, sometimes they want the candidate with a certain background or education. You just never know, if you don't try or ask. And of course, networking is always good.

Sorry I haven't answered your questions. Just wanted to say, take care of that back while you can. Us nurses are always putting ourselves last. You only have one and it's never the same after surgery. Best of luck in looking for a less strenuous specialty. :-)

localgirl85 · Dec 28, 2016

Thank you crazin01 for writing such a nice and thoughtful response! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond! I feel stuck where I live due to some family issues, but want to find a job I will hopefully like, that won't hinder my future as a nurse. I'm afraid to leave the bedside and afraid to leave peds because I know it will be hard to ever go back to it. (mainly peds, adult floor nursing I've given up on cuz of my back haha). If I choose something like case management, home health, teaching, etc I don't know what the trajectory of my career will look like. I've done med/surg/tele, stepdown, and peds ER. The other two were so short lived that I don't count them as experience. I don't like surgery or pysch, so can't take that route. I've thought about doctor's offices or clinics. I've also thought about teaching/being a clinical instructor, CM, HH, school nurse,manager, or anything peds. If it comes to it I'll either go back to school to become an NP or pick a different career :/ (I'd rather not do the latter, because I love nursing and went into the profession for a reason).

I'm a pretty young nurse (only had about 6 years of total experience), so it's really hard to give it up and move onto a dif aspect of nursing. I really like the patient care aspect. But, we have to take care of ourselves once in a while right?!! So that's why I wrote this, I just wanted some non-biased opinions/advice from other people in the field :) so thank you so much for responding!! Hope you can find a specialty/area that won't continue to hurt your back as well...!

localgirl85 · Dec 28, 2016

**Also, what does your day look like as an NP kakamegamama? I've dealt with NP's in doctor's offices, but just curious what the job is really like...?

amoLucia · Dec 28, 2016

To crazin01 - I need to differ with your suggestion re LTACH/NH/rehab as being LESS physically demanding for nurses, esp like OP. Like NO WAY!

In our fields, we DO have lots of paperwork & charting, but ... in every LTC place I've been, nurses are right there on the front lines doing pushing & pulling, positioning, transfers, etc. Have you ever guessed how much a med cart weighs for a team of 30 or more pts per cart ... and you're pushing it for several multi-hour med passes.

Oh, and when you're pushing wheelchairs, equip and beds (on 11-7, there's nobody to help - we're the moving crew!). And then there's the pts who are on the floor and need lifting to get them back to bed. We have quite our fair share of workplace aches & pains, (even if we're NOT talking an actual documented injury).

Home care and PDN can have its physical tasks also

Most all nsg specialties are very PHYSICAL for bedside, hands-on care positions. If you're thinking specialty positions, like Staff Devel, MDS, UR, IC, some admin positions, then yes, the physical demands may be less. But experience, education and/or special training may be required.

But by and large, we go home at the end of our shifts beat!

OP really needs to make decisions re her future career. Bedside care will continue to take its toll on her. Should she go for more educ to advance her position options? Change her specialty field? Can she afford part-time income? Is she interested in stepping into insurance, pharmaceutical research, sales? Only she can determine those intangibles.

localgirl85 · Dec 28, 2016

Thank you so much amoLucia for your response. I have definitely steered away from anything like ltc or rehab, knowing full well what those jobs entail! I have also not applied for any adult floor nursing jobs for the same reason (I didn't realize an adult ER was quite similar because I worked in a peds ER, but found out quite quickly it wasn't safe for me). The more responses people write, and the more discussions I have with my husband about our future and our wants/desires for our lifestyle, the more I'm considering going back to school to become an NP. The other options don't interest me as much as dealing/helping patients and interacting with them, so I need to do more research, but feel it could be a good fit.

Does anyone know what an NP job really entails? Is it super physical? How flexible can the schedules be/how flexible is location(city vs rural)? Are there per diem/part time options/are hours flexible/do they pick their schedule? Can they take extended time off?

Just trying to get a sense of the lifestyle of picking that over a regular RN job that usually has more flexibility for stuff like that...

Thanks again for your thoughtful response!! I really appreciate any input I can get! I've been in quite a difficult situation for the past 6 months and am ready to move forward toward what I want!

nutella, MSN, RN · Dec 28, 2016

If you love pediatrics - what about a pediatric doctor's office? it won't be bedside but probably easier on your back and if you consider becoming an NP (pediatric or family NP) the regular work hours may work for you depending on the school.

I am not a NP - in my area the pediatric NPs work as providers and see a lot of patients per day - a different kind of stress...

Perhaps you also want to look into other options but in a rural area you probably have less options - what about mental health with adolescents /children including eating disorder programs or such?

I agree that it can be harder to get back to bedside once you have been out for some years - on the other hand - your life is now.

I have not provided bedside care in a couple of years and though working as a nurse I am not in the traditional primary care bedside role. I had concerns similar to yours when I decided not to stay with my acute care bedside nursing job - it did not fit with the needs of my family anymore when one child had a lot of chronic illness issues and I looked for other options. I do not regret that I left bedside nursing and with years of experience there will always be a job even though it might not be a "dream" job.

Libby1987 · Dec 28, 2016

The two rural public health nurses I've known worked primarily with peds doing a lot of assessment and education.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Dec 28, 2016

Several of my adult ICU coworkers went on to NICU and talked about how wonderful it is for their backs that their heaviest patient might be six pounds, if that. Are there any NICUs in your area?

I would pick job over lifestyle in this case. I know when my back hurts at home I'm miserable and just want to curl up on the couch and not do anything. I can't imagine your quality of life at home is awesome if you're in pain from your back from your job. It seems like you'd have a better quality of life outside of work if you had a job that didn't injure your back, period.

localgirl85 · Jan 6, 2017

Thank you nutella! It's good to remember that my life is now, so thank you for reminding me! And you're right, experience is experience. Someday it might not be my dream job, but that's ok. It's nice to hear others have changed their careers too for family reasons. My husband hates for instance that as a nurse we usually work weekends and would like me to find something with weekends free. Thank you very much for your thoughtful comment. I really appreciate it!