LTC's no longer accept "limited duty" or just my LTC?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I have been a nurse for many years. Over these many years, I have worked with both nurses and CNA's who have been on "limited duty". Now for the very first time in my life, I am on "limited duty" because of a minor surgical procedure. I assumed I would be able to work on "limited duty" for 2 weeks just like everyone else. Now, I have been taken off the "work schedule" and told that I can't work for 2 weeks until the "limited duty" is finished. When did they start doing this? I had no idea. I just wanted to let everyone know about it before they find out "the hard way" that they cannot work at all while on limited duty.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
I have been a nurse for many years. Over these many years, I have worked with both nurses and CNA's who have been on "limited duty". Now for the very first time in my life, I am on "limited duty" because of a minor surgical procedure. I assumed I would be able to work on "limited duty" for 2 weeks just like everyone else. Now, I have been taken off the "work schedule" and told that I can't work for 2 weeks until the "limited duty" is finished. When did they start doing this? I had no idea. I just wanted to let everyone know about it before they find out "the hard way" that they cannot work at all while on limited duty.

Employers sometimes offer "limited duty" on their own accord, but they aren't required to do so. In the meantime, do you qualify for state disability? Usually HR can help with that. Best wishes.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

In my experience, "limited" or "light duty" is only provided to those who are limited due to injuries sustained on the job, such as my coworker whose hand was sliced open by a careless surgeon. Said coworker was unable to scrub while the sutures were in place and the wound was healing, but because it was a workplace injury, she was given the assignment every day of pulling supplies for surgeries the next day and putting away the extra supplies from completed surgeries.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I've been in the business since the '80s. Limited duty was only offered to employees who were injured on the job, never for post op people or those who were injured on their own time.

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I've been in the business since the '80s. Limited duty was only offered to employees who were injured on the job, never for post op people or those who were injured on their own time.

Yep. (I started mid 90's) Light duty was never a think unless you were injured at work or you might have had a desk job to begin with.

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We don't have light duty even if injured at work....

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WoW! That's amazing! I am having trouble believing that all of those people in my past were on limited duty because they got injured at work.

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My employer does not allow light or limited duty for anyone in a clinical position.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

I've only worked in one facility in which "Light duty" was offered to anyone

who was injured outside of the job. Every other place that I've worked, it

has only been offered to those folks injured on the job.

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I think that fewer and fewer organizations and facilities are offering this because they realize it is a liability for the organization to have people at work who are unable to fulfill the full responsibilities and physical requirements of the job. What I have seen in recent years in the employment situations of which I've been aware (all acute care, not LTC) is employers taking the position that, if you can't be "fully functional" at work, you need to stay home until you can be, and that's why they offer short and long term disability as job benefits.

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There is someone at my work who is on modified duty because of an injury he sustained at work. About two weeks ago he told a roomful of us that he felt perfectly fine, and has been for several weeks without any pain or physical limitations at all, and that his doctor was the one insisting he remain on modified duty. I smell bull**** because a week later he was telling people at work that he had to get a shot in his spine for pain and was nervous about it. Why would your doctor prescribe such a thing if you're telling him you're not in pain? I think he's milking it because he's so damn lazy, disappears for hours at a time, is rude to the patients, etc. ugh ok rant over! Lol

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

One place I worked a nurse was on modified duty for 3 years!!! At another place, a nurse who broke her ankle on company property was seen dancing in town- it was a very small town. She was out on Workman's Comp. The company hired a detective. Once she knew there were pictures of her shenanigans, her pain miraculously resolved and she was back at work.

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