Light Duty, workers comp, cast

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Oncology.

Just wanted to run this by you all.. I'm an inpatient oncology nurse..

So I hurt my thumb (..jammed it against the pyxis of all things) 2 months ago- a couple days of it not improving, i filed workers comp and was told to wear a thumb spica brace. 2 weeks of light duty, and my left wrist starts acting up(tendosynovitis) (I do have a connective tissue disorder so am more prone to these things tho ive been injury free for quite some time)... that earned me another spica brace on the other side and more precautions.

2 months later i finally see the ortho hand specialist- he put a spica cast on my right hand/thumb/wrist/arm and a custom plastic spica splint thing up my forearm with cortisone injection for the left.. He gave me "modified duty" and said I can do whatever I'm allowed to do as long as I'm in my cast and brace..

I did light duty for the last 2 months- limited w my braces but i could write and stuff.. so all the chrge nurse paperwork/audits etc were all mine. Limited pt care but i did some, sometimes more than I should have.. (perhaps thats why they didn't heal..?)

Now I'm in this cast and brace for 6 weeks... So This time I had to write a list of things i can do... writing really hurts but with a big foam thing on a pen I can do it.. tho my handwriting is crap w this cast. No patient care (sanitation and liability..)tho I MIGHT be able to help w oral meds..if I use a pen to puncture the blister packs. No IV meds. call lights..If i can write enough, I can do all the audits they keep piling on the charge nurse.. Almost seems pointless. part of the issue is.. i don't know what I can do! this dang cast is way more limiting than the braces were.. and some things I CAN do but they end up hurting me later.. (major things hurt right away, other things take several hours to hit me). They really want me to switch to dayshift and do admin/secretary crap but I'm a true night shifter of 10 years+ and I can't tolerate functioning during the day.. and now with me on light duty (plus we're down one nurse as it is), we are super short staffed..

sorry this lengthy.. its just a frustrating situation and Ive also never had a cast before.. I miss being able to use my hands! i miss patients.. and I feel useless not being able to do my job or help out w a lot things at work.. anyone been in my shoes?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Oh my goodness - you've really been through the wringer.

Throughout my career as a nurse educator, I have always relished the opportunities to conscript any specialty nurse who was relegated to 'light duty'. They provided invaluable service as subject matter experts to help develop & teach clinical courses. You could also help with the onboarding/coaching of new nurses or new grads.

With your experience, you could add a lot of value ... maybe polishing up the chemotherapy course? developing new content on other aspects of oncology nursing? Your knowledge & expertise can make hugely valuable contributions - you're worth so much more than the ability to do physical tasks.

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It seems that by offering you admin/secretary duties on the day shift, your employer is complying with their duty to accommodate your disability. It is in your best interest to accept the day shift offer because if you resist/decline the day shift offer, the employer can say that it is no longer possible to accommodate you, as it would cause them undue hardship to accommodate you on nights.

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Specializes in Oncology.

Could you watch telemetry? Follow an aid with a computer and scribe vitals for them as they take them? Answer phones?

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Do you believe you've received the right treatment for your injury?

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