How bad is RA while being a nurse

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi All:

I've come back to allnurses.com after taking a sabbatical away from working to become a nurse.

I was rejected from several schools and it became a battle to become accepted b/c the determining factor of my acceptance was something from 10 years ago. I was beginning to lose the desire to become a nurse because I was focusing on the fight to become accepted over the program, so I had to let it go for a while. To me, that is not why one should become a nurse or anything for that matter. Over the past few months, that flame has been back and I'm wondering about one thing that may keep me from working as a nurse.

I suffer from RA, I'm 27 and developed it at 22. I feel amazing, I have no problems other than occasional aches that go away after a hour and carpal tunnel in my wrists. Other than that, I feel great. What I am scared of, though, is entering nursing and with all the lifting, injuring myself and/or making my RA become a more serious, possibly debilitating problem in my life. My question to those with RA who are or have worked as nurses with RA is how much did it impact your work? Did it stop you, did it not bother you at all. How did you manage? Any input you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Steph

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Specializes in geriatric, ltc, telemetry, med-surg.

Glad to hear your coming back into the nursing world. I too suffer with RA, Fibromyalgia and a few ruptured disc in my neck. I was an LPN for 19 yrs and every day was exhausting for me. I have to admit that one of the reasons I went back for my RN was because of my health. While they may do some lifting it doesn't compare to what an LPN does in LTC (of course that is just my opinion). But what I have to do is get up @ least 2 hours before I need to get ready for class or clinicals, I smile when anyone is around me so that they don't know how my body is betraying me. And I get shots to allow me to function somewhat normal. The last shot I took for my neck was in Aug. and it is just now wearing off.

If you haven't been to a Dr. yet and told them what kinds of activities you need to do for your career, then I suggest you do. They can help you as long as you make it plain to them that you want to be fixed and not just doped up somewhere. Anyway Good Luck and if you need anything just ask...

:wink2:

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I agree strongly with travel soon. Talk with your doctor about the effects that nursing activities will have on your RA and what you can expect to happen with your condition over time as you age. None of us can do that for you.

As a general rule of thumb, anyone with any type of "disability" or limitation on their physical abilities needs to incorporate the realities of their physical condition into their career planning. Even 100% "perfectly healthy" people often have trouble doing manual labor as they get older. We all need to take that into consideration as we plan our career paths ... the types of jobs we want to prepare for ... how much education we will need to qualify for less physically demanding jobs ... etc.

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Thanks for this info, I do have a Rheumatologist that I've been going to ever since and she's got me from not being able to walk, grab a pen or hold my dogs leash to feeling and performing as if I don't have RA, although I know it's there.

I have a fallback plan and I may go on that one b/c the last thing I want to do is interrupt my body and hurt it more than it needs to be.

I appreciate your input thanks for this!

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Thank you for your input, I greatly agree that people need to think about their physical limitations before entering a career. That's not to say they shouldn't go for it, but they should be prepared for what may lay ahead.

Thanks again!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Progressive Care.
What I am scared of, though, is entering nursing and with all the lifting, injuring myself and/or making my RA become a more serious, possibly debilitating problem in my life.

It seems like you have two important concerns:

1. That the physical work of nursing might make your RA worse

2. A deeper existential concern about being a nurse and perhaps a concern about being a nurse with a disability.

Question 1 is probably best answered by conversations with your doctors and searches of the medical literature. You might also want to check out internet groups by/for/about people living with RA. Also the nurses w/ disabilities forum is a great little corner of allnurses. You may want to search RA in that forum.

As for question 2 -Being a nurse is your dream. Samuel Elliot Morrison wisely suggested "Dream dreams, and write them. Aye, but live them first."

I suggest reflecting on why you want to be a nurse. It will help you clarify your desire. Be open to the possibility that you really dont want to be nurse. But if you decide that you really do then go for it full throttle.

Remember that not all nursing jobs are equally physically demanding. Have you considered other careers in nursing that are not in inpatient settings?

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

I have a condition similar to RA. Stress of any kind tends to worsen it. Taking boards, orienting to my new career as a nurse, the quicker pace of everything all took a toll on me. I was ill a lot during my first year. As I adjusted to nursing and adjusted my specialty from fast paced critical care to community health to psych, it got better. I still have pain and rely heavily on NSAIDs. I do 8's instead of 12's and say no to night shifts.

Be realistic about your limitations. You can still be a nurse. Most of my psych nurse colleagues never did a day in a med-surg unit. Heavy lifting is generally not a factor. Same with home health and hospice but these specialties require a med-surg background.

Seek out the most effective treatment you can get too.

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Thanks for this info and I agree about being realistic w/ limitations. Even before I kept getting denied admission b/c of my SAT score (took the test 10 yrs ago, earned a college degree and was still was denied, c'est la vie!) I kept thinking about how/what areas of nursing I could work in to limit the need to lift. I would love to work in the NICU, but even that scares me a little. I've heard and read that nursing is now moving more towards machines that help w/ the lifting of patients. How prevelant is that in hospital systems? I know some hospitals in NC have this equipment.

Stress does have an impact on my pain level, but not as much as it used to. In the beginning, my joints would become so stiff that I couldn't bend them at all..this was also the period where I wasn't going to a doctor to find out what was wrong w/ me b/c I was scared to find out! Now that I've been on prescription meds for the duration, they help a lot! Tylenol Arthritis is a great thing :yeah:

It may be best for me to pursue my alternate route of anatomical pathology...2 areas that I love (as well as nursing) and I know that I won't fear putting myself in danger of injuring myself or more importantly not being able to provide 100% care to my patients. That would superceed my pain on any given day.

Thanks again!

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I have numerous conversations with my Rheumatologist and for the past six years she has been working (and has done an amazing job) of getting my RA under control so as it does not affect my everyday life and thank God it doesn't. I've never felt better, to be honest. You are right, I do fear that working as a nurse may make my condition worsen. I've ready a lot of literature on RA and treatments and ways to improved and maintain my lifestyle. So I defintely know there are options out there! Thank you for telling me about the nurses w/ disabilities forum, I'm going to defintely check that out.

I love medicine, I've always had a desire to help the sick, I love customer service. I've always felt God has put me on the Earth to help people and to try to comfort them as best as possible. I know that in my heart, I was meant to go into medicine. After I took my sabbatical from rejection from nursing programs, I did reevaluate what I want to do. I still have that pull to become a nurse, but I also have the pull that tells me physically I may not be able to do it for a long period of time (which makes me sad to be honest). I've come across several options that would put me in healthcare and helping people, and I don't have to fear neglecting my patient due to my RA. Maybe I'm meant to follow one of those paths, which would still give me the ability to do what I want to do in healthcare.

Thanks for your input!

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