New nurse & ? of future career plans....

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Dec 31, 2005

I don't know that there is a specialty in what you are wanting to do. However, there are people who are personal trainers that specifically work with people who have medical problems and disabilities. The hospital in my community started a program for people who needed to exercise, but not necessarily physical therapy. You had to have a doctor's order to get into the gym, were evaluated by a physical therapist and then an exercise program developed for you. My chiropractor utilizes several personal trainers who have specialized training beyond that of personal trainers to work with his back people. I went to one of them for a weekly lesson. She consulted with the chiropractor frequently and taylored my activity to what my back was going to be able to tolerate.

I suspect that you are probably going to have to carve out your own niche. However, with the increasing focus on exercise and health and more and more people with medical and health problems being encouraged to exercise, I think there is a wide open customer base out there for the picking. The svelt, fashionably dressed for exercise person is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the exercise industry. There's also the REAL people that need this service and even through they might stick out like sore thumbs, they need people to help them and facilities where they can feel comfortable.

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 31, 2005

We have a Cardio Rehab department which is basically an excercise/wellness program for patients with heart Hx. The doc, patient and nurse (along with PT if necessary) work on programs for the patient. We have a nurse that staffs the Cardio Rehab center at all times it's open and basically just helps the patient with their excercise and wellness program. Have you thought about something similiar to that?

I've also been refered to a wellness center with my past insurance and I had a RN who helped me design a health/wellness/excercise plan which was really nice. She had clients and basically she worked with you anytime you came into the center. She spent a lot of time talking about nutrition and preventive care type issues. They had a personal trainer on site at this center who designed your actual excercise plan and helped you with the proper tech. but the RN was the one that helped you along the way. I have no idea if she had any additional certifications for that or not.

I've noticed in the paper recently PT was hiring for a RN. I'm not sure what the RN would be doing in the PT department....but that might be another route......

Good luck to you!!!!