HELP Recyle disabled nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I know that I am not the only nurse who is no longer working as a nurse due to a back injury. In the US, OSHA requires that you be able to lift 50 lbs to work on the floor as a nurse. I can't.

My "reasonable accomodation" was a move to watch heart monitors on the med-tele. floor where I worked. I also took quite a pay cut to do this. My only other option was to be unemployed.

I have my BSN, ACLS and over 15 years of nursing experience. I can't lift much, but I am still capable of starting IVs, inserting foleys, giving meds, assessing pts and knowing when a pt is in trouble. Frequently, I am a resource person to the nurses I work with, answering questions and debating options.

Years ago, I saw a news story on this nursing student who graduated and worked from her wheelchair. I can still walk, but am not allowed to work as a nurse but someone in a wheelchair can? This doesn't make sense.

There is a nursing shortage. It is bad....I see the shortage every day at work. I have good clinical skills and experience. And I am not alone. Is there any way that we can recycle and use nurses who are still able to perform a great deal of the core skills required in the daily routine of nursing care?

Can anyone out there (or here) help us......We want to help you by being able to do the work we have been trained to do and by working with you.

Thank you for your help.

P_RN, I am sorry that you had that experience. Thank you for sharing. I guess the best thing to do when looking at a pain clinic is to talk with people who have been there. Were they helped? Any down sides? How many doctors in the clinic and who did they have ? Any bad experiences with a different doctor on call for the clinic? Any other questions that anyone can think of?

Obviously, try to do some research online to know what options are available and to know what to expect.

And when you go, ask plenty of questions. If you don't like the answers, tell them you want to consider your options and thanks for the info. Then consider it. After full consideration if you don't like it, look elsewhere.

Any further advice on this subject? You all just come on and jump in.

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How could they justify telling a chronic pain sufferer to 'take Tylenol or Motrin'??

If that helped we would still be using it...

I had hoped that with the new patient rights bills and chronic pain treatment mandates we would have pain clincis with more compassion. Thanks for the warning, PRN, I will beware.

NSAIDS are aggravating my GI tract...Ultram and the antidepressants don't mix (risk of seizures I'm told)

Anyone else have any long acting pain control meds that work well for them?

Maybe a Duragesic patch is in my future after all.

What was your symptoms with arachnoiditis, PRN? How are the docs treating this...so sorry to hear about this.

I am having TERRIBLE headaches this week (8 weeks postop) and I don't know what it is about...hope I'm not rejecting the bone graft or something....:(

Any news from anyone in this forum? How's everyone doing? I had to resubmit SSA forms that I evidently filled out wrong....so now I'm just waiting...and trying to fend off creditors. I am sure we will end up in bankruptcy court before too long...:(

Well, I'm all done whining now...anybody got GOOD news to share? If not vent away......we gotta get it out, right? ;)

((((HUGS)))) to all! :)

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Mattsmom and all, howdy. I have had a rough week or so.

I was scheduled 8 hrs on the 4 th and then three 12 hrs Fri, Sat, Sun. Went in early at 7 p.m. on the 4 th because they were short (also my husband was at work, so no conflicts there).

Thursday night my little toe started getting irritated. There was a growth on it above the nail bed, that hadn't been bothering me. Friday morning I get home, the growth starts bleeding. had a hard time getting it to stop. So I dressed it, went to bed. Saturday am picked up peroxide and started dossing it with H2O2 and neosporin. Did it again when I got up, before I went to work.

Well, Sunday morning I get home, take the dressing off, and my toe is red, warm....infected. Darn, guys, as you have probably surmissed, I am diabetic. I call in sick to work and go to Immediate Care. They start me on an antibiotic.

Monday night I check my blood sugar....it is 309. So I had been diet controlled.....called my dr and am now on sliding scale insulin.

My toe was looking really bad.....my husband, an EMT, kept telling me "honey, if they want to put you in the hospital...."

Of course, I kept saying"no. I'd rather stay home." There isn't much I can't do for myself. And we, as I am sure you all have, occurances of MRSA. I feel like I'd be much more likely to get that in the hospital.

Monday I switched to betadine after the H2O2. When I see the dr late Tuesday, the toe is just slightly red, but the growth is turning black. Thankfully my dr removed that growth.

Well, any way, I am still trying to get my blood sugars under control.....especially after having my glucometer die on Tuesday (along with the ac in my car). Well, a quick run to Wal-Mart took care of the glucometer....got a new one.

Anyway, I hope you all had a better week than I did. I may start some new post about some of this. Any other comments from our old friends (of this post) or any new ones?

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Gosh ya'll :o I hate hearing about everyone's pains.

It's a shame too, because we really need good dedicated nurses like you all still working.

Good health to all :kiss

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((((Mercykitten))) What a week...hope your toe heals now without further incident and your blood sugars come back under control quickly!I'll keep ya in my prayers. :)

You mentioned your hubby was an EMT...do you guys work out of the same hospital?? Bet your house has a whole lotta medical talk going on...LOL! But kinda nice to understand some of each other's job frustrations and perks too I bet!

Gotta love Walmart... It's one of my favorite places to shop---has everything we may need from soup to nuts and you can even get your oil changed or your hair done while you're there...LOL!

So how's the tele job going...any more info on the new job prospect?

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