I have an elbow injury... what field of nursing should I look into?

Published

Sorry for the long post but I am looking for advice from nurses who have "been there and done that."

Let me introduce myself. My name is Andrea, I'm from MO, and I'm 30 y/o with a BS in business admin. I have been motivated to change careers to nursing for quite some time now. However, in April of this year I was in a pretty horrific car crash that pretty much crushed my left arm. Of the numerous injuries to my arm, I broke my distal humerus and proximal radius and ulna, leaving me with a floating elbow. The rest of my arm has healed up nicely but I just had to have a fourth surgery on my elbow to remove heterotopic ossification because my elbow had locked up from being casted for a long period of time. I'm currently in physical therapy and both my ortho and my p.t. are optimistic that I'll get some of my range of motion back, however, I've been told by about every health professional that I've been in contact with "that elbow is never going to be perfect again." :crying2:

My physical therapist and I were discussing college today while he was working on my arm. I told him how I am starting my prerequisites for nursing school next week and he got all excited... then gave me a look resembling this---> :confused:. lol He said "Now you know your going to have to pick a nursing field that involves as little lifting as possible..." I told him i was aware of it, and had even wondered if I could be a nurse at all... if I should look into a less physically demanding area of healthcare. He assured me I could still be a nurse... I'd just really have to do my homework. He said LTC would definitely be a no-no... that I might get away with something like that for about 6 months before my elbow would fail on me.

So that being said and adding the fact that I also suffer from fibromyalgia, what do you think? What field(s) of nursing would be good for me? Will I be able to hack it at nursing at all? Will I even pass the nursing school physical?? Would you suggest a different healthcare field? My ultimate goal is to be a nurse practitioner or CRNA. Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in oncology, med/surg (all kinds).

there are lots and lots of nursing jobs you can do with a bum elbow. clinicals and your first job might be tough because in clinicals you are trying very hard to impress and might not be as careful as you need to be. and first jobs in nursing, like most jobs, are rarely the job of your dreams. but, you don't have to start in med/surg (where most nurses are encouraged to start their careers for many good reasons).

there are even lots of nursing jobs that don't seem like nursing, until you really know what they do, like research nursing. check out the "specialty" section on this web site to give you an idea. by all means, don't let anyone talk you out of nursing. except me, on a bad day. i could probably make you run away very fast.

and whatever you do, don't make up your mind what kind of nurse you think you want to be before you get thru school! you might really know what your calling is, but then again, if you close your mind to other options, you might dismiss something you could be great at. if someone told me when i started nursing school that i would be an oncology nurse, i would have never believed them. good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have no advice for you, however, I am interested in what others say. I have chronic shoulder pain due to tendonitis.....but I desperately want to be a nurse. I plan on pursuing my ADN anyway and just pray that my shoulder can handle it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

thanks for the comments! by no means have I made up my mind as to what nursing field I want to go into, or even sure about the crna/np thing. I'm definitely keeping an open mind, especially since I'm just now starting my pre-req's. ;) I guess my real question is what fields of nursing are the "easiest" when it comes to lifting/ physical demands? and are most fields forgiving of nurses with physical limitations? I understand LTC would be all about lifting, situating the patients... wht about critical care/ICU? med-surg? etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in oncology, med/surg (all kinds).

critical care/icu is full of lifting. med/surg too. most outpatient types of nursing would have less lifting. peds would have lifting but the load is lighter. post partum and l&d aren't terribly hard physically--compared to lifting comatose 300 pound people. hmmmm..... some cardiac floors aren't too heavy with the lifting--not the cardiac ICU--that's heavy. home health might have some lifting, but the travelling between patients might give you the break your body needs. hospice would likely be more lifting than you want. if you live in a big city, some hospitals are big enough that they have units based on diseases. a urology floor full of prostatectomies might not take too much out of the elbow. i had better stop. i will end up offending someone by insinuating their job is easy when all i mean is that it might not be too hard on your elbow. chronic diseases and trauma and surgery patients i think are the most likely to have the heaviest lifting. 'night!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

ask your doc/pt if you will ever be able to do CPR......i would think this might not be doable for you, and this would take you out......good luck

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Can you lift a gallon of water? 90% of NICU patients weigh less than that ( many of them FAR less!) The problem will be getting through Nursing school, where you will be expected to care for a wide range of patients, including the 350 lb ortho patient. Good luck to you!:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, ASC.

I have chronic back issues and physical restrictions and unfortunately have found first hand that most health care organizations are less than accommodating...even the outpatient clinics. I am currently looking into non-traditional nursing roles, such as education.

You may be able to squeak through though - depends on the school's willingness to work with you probably. You may also want to consider just doing a direct entry masters program - might be able to help you avoid injuring yourself and allowing you to go directly into the NP/CRNA field...although there me be some discrimination at that level as well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Perhaps working in a dr office. Or in a mental health unit. It is not impossible, but will not be easy for you. The problem with the situation is that most employers want you to have some basic med/surg experience that will be difficult for you to obtain with your physical limitations. Perhaps you need to speak with someone in the nursing program that you want to enter before you go any further.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology.
ask your doc/pt if you will ever be able to do CPR......i would think this might not be doable for you, and this would take you out......good luck

I can see where CPR would be a likely problem; if so, you may want to stick to peds or NICU, where the CPR is more often than not limited to requiring the use of only one arm rather than two (except in the case of those older peds, since most hospitals will consider 17 year olds to be peds).

Does your PT know of any braces or anything you could wear that may help with some moderate lifting you may have to do?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thank you all for the information you have given me. You have given me a lot to think about and some really good questions to ask my care team! I will ask my PT next week what he thinks about my elbow holding up during CPR or if there are any techniques, etc. to get around over use of the elbow. I will follow up with my ortho next time I see him too and see what he thinks. I have mentioned nursing school around him too, and he hasn't ever said anything negative about my ability to do it, so I'll corner him and see if his not saying anything was a good sign or if he just didn't really put 2 and 2 together... LOL

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion