How Physically Demanding is Your Job

[Satori77]

And what unit do you work on? I am a prenursing student, leaving a very physically demanding job as a vet tech. A lot of bending, stooping, kneeling on the floor, wrestling with big dogs, lifting and carrying big dogs (either by myself or with help). And of course the occasional scratch or bite. My knees hurt a lot, and a decade ago I tore my trapezius muscle, which still hurts sometimes.

So one thing I worry about transitioning to nursing is how physical the job will be and the chances of getting hurt. I don't want to keep beating up my body. I'm almost 40 and am a small woman (5" about 105lbs). I'm not worried about the long shifts, being on my feet the whole time, or not getting breaks to eat or pee. I deal with that now no problem. And prefer to run around and be on my feet to sitting at a desk for 8 hours.

I just want to know what units are more demanding, more physical. I personally can't see myself doing ortho, but have an interest in NICU and the OR. And yes, I do know they are highly sought after fields. Likely I would have to work in other areas for a few years.

[Bright7]

i hate my current job

[vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN]

Okay. 😀 I misunderstood this post the 1st time I saw it. For one, most nursing jobs involve physical labor.

However, I worked in a few LTCs that were different. In 1 non medical facility for dementia pts, there was hardly any lifting, except for when A fall occurred. However, becuz it was non medical, the beds did not have lifts and therefore I had to bend or squat to coax my confused clients to take their PO meds.

Also, reaching into the Lower drawer of the med cart multiple times really hurt my back. Lots of squatting or bending. Both hurt!

In my other position, also LTC, the clients were not geriatric. It was also non medical (psych) I had very few physically demanding duties. I power walked often and ran sometimes, I did have to implement physical restraints at Times, but the job was basically not physical. Clients were independent in ADLs.

However, my back and feet still felt strain from sitting, standing, power walking, sitting, jumping up due to a call for help, etc.

[Aliareza, BSN]

I work on an ortho unit and it is very physically demanding, as you have surmised in your original post. When I come in, I know for a fact that I will likely spend my entire morning just passing meds to my patients, getting daily assessments done, dealing with doctors rounding and morning PT sessions, and helping out with movement in general. Nothing gets charted until after I've eaten lunch, which may be at 1 pm or it may be at 3 pm, depends on the day. The exception is if I have a patient going for a procedure who requires their daily assessment charted beforehand.

The running joke on the floor is that ortho nurses become ortho patients, and it's very true. I've known a number of the long-time floor nurses to have injuries, back injuries especially, that necessitated surgery. The recoveries usually took a while. You'd be crazy not to take short term disability as a benefit on our floor.

I stay on my feet basically all day. Some of that is because I'm new and not as good at organization as some of the long-time nurses, but most of it is just the very physical pace of the floor. With that said, I've seen med surg floors be much worse due to their patients being much sicker in general and having much more required care.

[Satori77, ADN]

I also need to say something about this readiness to be on your feet 12 hrs without eating or peeing. Get rid of that mindset. You will have days where things get crazy, sure. But you have to prioritize self-care. You are training to be part of a profession worthy of scholarly publication and malpractice suits. Eat your meals and pee when you need to. There are very few things that cannot wait the two min. it takes to pee. Phone calls, MDs needing help, call bells, pain meds, admissions, discharges...........they can wait two minutes.

I never meant that I would martyr myself. That I was literally ok with not eating or peeing for a full 12 hours straight. Just that I have had physical, busy jobs. On my feet for 10, 12, even 14 hours. I know what it is like to rush to the bathroom in between duties, and shove a granola bar in your mouth because you can't clock out and sit down for 30 or 60 minutes for a lunch break like other jobs.

[Satori77, ADN]

at least you worked with animals that seems fun.

Sometimes. But there is a lot of not fun stuff. More than most people realize.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I dunno. I sense a great attitude and a literate way of describing your outlook on life. I think you'll do fine wherever you go...if you love critical care-types of things, take every chance you get a a student to peek in to the ICU or NICU (less heavy lifting, more like cats than Great Danes), meet the staffs, take your senior practicum in a critical care unit and excel at it.

For most new grads we recommend that they take whatever job they can get, because it's hard to find jobs. It is really not too soon to start cultivating relationships, though. Work a day a week as a CNA and volunteer to help in the ICUs. Get known. Soak up everything you can.

Looking forward to seeing you go through school! Good luck!

(Here's my experience with vet ICU from an old thread about whether it's appropriate to call them "vet nurses." ... bless you guys...

Our Naja kitty squatted and gave me a bloody sample on the floor, and having seen this before I took her to our vet and reported she had a UTI. He stuck her for a urine sample and gave her an antibiotic. Next day he called to say the urine C&S came back clean, and we shrugged and went back to life. Alas, Naja almost went on to die, as she had a rare side effect to this very common antibiotic and almost infarcted her bowel. After a stat CAT scan (really) she had emergent surgery that night by a guy that reminded me of a pedi surgeon-- great huge guy with immense hands and a heart of gold. "Oh, I love calicos!" he said. "I'll take good care of her." But he didn't know if she'd live.

We went to visit her in the ICU the next afternoon. She had a staple line from her pubis to xiphoid, drains, and a little kitty PICC line in a shaved foreleg for blood draws, IVs and pain meds so she didn't have to get stuck all the time. She was wrapped in a pedi-sized BAIR hugger and in an oxygen cage. Do not ask what all this cost us.

And those nurses were great-- I watched them check her SpO2, take vs, give her IV pain med before moving her, turn her from side to side, check her urine specific gravity, and pet her and croon to her all the time. I don't know what they had to learn in school, but whatever it was, they knew exactly what they were doing and looked like they'd be perfectly at home in any PICU I've ever seen. So yes, in the vet context, they're nurses.

I bless that surgeon but I also bless the nurses, and told them so, nurse to nurse, how much I appreciated their skills. I was able to talk shop so well with them that they assessed me as being able to manage home care a day sooner than usual for this sort of thing; I took her home with the big collar, a few meds, a schedule to give them, a med sheet to chart them, and dressing supplies. She was in step-down (confined to our bedroom) for three weeks. I took out her staples at 8 days; I saw she wasn't paying any attention at all to her staple line if I let her have the collar off to eat, so after a few trials of observation I let her keep it off. Good patient, adherent to treatment plan.

She's fine now, two years later, catching rabbits and cuddling with us whenever she wants, very communicative and a pushy cat. We're glad to have her. )

[Satori77, ADN]

Thank you GrnTea! And thank you for sharing the story of your cat. So glad she is ok now! Those are the stories that make being a vet tech worth it. I need a change, but I'm thankful I've had 15 years in this profession.