Least Physically demanding?

[freesia29, ASN, RN]

I am an LPN back in school for RN, and our final preceptorship is coming up. I am 49 and have RA and OA.

The last clinical has almost crippled me and I am worried about how I am going to get through this 120 hour preceptorship.

Is there a unit that is less physically demanding than others? I absolutely hated mental health and unfortunately our small hospital does not have a NICU. Most days they don't even have peds either.

Is hospice or home health less physical?

Thank you!

[Godsgirl73, MSN, NP]

I would think both hospice and home health could be very physical. Why? The very nature of hospice nursing involves caring for patients who are terminally ill. Think bedridden, unable to move a great deal on their own, and often in a fair bit of pain. In my own experience with hospice care, I had to be quite physically strong. Strong enough to at least be able to help assist a patient from floor to bed, bed to commode, or reposition a patient on my own. Plus, you need to be able to change a bed while a patient is lying in it, which is no easy task if the patient is not a small person.

Home health can be physical depending on the situation. Sometimes just getting to a patient's home can involve a lot of effort. In rural settings, I have had to contend with literally climbing up steep footpaths to get to a patient's house. In urban settings, there are walk-up apartments. There can also be non-patient care such as the physical strength that is needed to fend off a patient's large dog. (Think 95 lb Lab. Yes, this actually happened to me.) What if you arrive at a patient's home to find them lying on the floor? Will you be able to assist them in getting up? Are you able to help them if they fall while you are transferring them to the toilet? These are all things to consider.

The wonderful thing about nursing is that there are so many options! Would you consider doing something like telephone triage? What about legal nursing? Or teaching, either in person or online? Public Health can be a little bit less physically demanding, too, in my experience. Maybe think "outside the box". Could you lead workshops for some health-related issue? These are just a few things I can think of that might be good options. At the end of the day, only you know how capable you are! I hope you are able to find something that works for you!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

11 hours ago, Godsgirl73 said:

Would you consider doing something like telephone triage? What about legal nursing? Or teaching, either in person or online?

Many of those positions require experience to go along with it, and teaching usually requires an MSN at a minimum.

OP, have you visited the disability forum? You may find some helpful information there.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

I worked in an outpatient community health center as a new grad. Very little physical work other than walking to get patients from the waiting room, listening to lungs and performing some point of care testing. No lifting, turning, pushing beds. It paid less than a hospital job but if I wanted to transfer to a hospital based clinic after 1-2 years I could have to make more. Also phone triage, public health, research, case management, utilization review. Hopefully your LPN experience will help you get into roles that require experience. Good luck! Chronic pain is so hard to deal with