Nursing School and Career with Back Problems

person115 · Jun 17, 2020

HI amoLucia. Thanks for your response. My previous Bachelor's is in International Studies and I currently work in a social justice non-profit. I've always been interested in helping others and while there are many ways to do that, I've wanted to get into direct service. Ultimately I'd love to be involved in serving under served populations - sexual assault victims, HIV + populations.

amoLucia · Jun 17, 2020

TY for your comeback. With your background, an MPH/MHA, Master's in Legal Studies, Counseling, etc might be a better fit. The Master level education would offer you greater job opportunities.

To advance to such a similar level in nsg, you'd still need a Master's degree while still facing the physical demands required for school and that intimidating 'first' job.

Sadly, any new nurse is just that, a new nurse and judged accordingly. Past education & esp, past career experience just doesn't matter. No real consideration is important other than that 'first' job and then subsequent nsg positions. And at your age, you really do need that long-range pre-retirement plan. The likelihood of you ever finding that satisfying 'needle-in-the-haystack', 'I want to retire from this position', physically manageable job is slim at best as a nurse with health issues.

Please think out your options. Respondents here are being frankly honest.

Good luck to you.

**CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN** · Jun 18, 2020

On 6/13/2020 at 11:28 AM, person115 said:
Hi everyone,
I'm 36 years old and planning to start an accelerated BSN program in the Fall. I am a little nervous as to how I will deal with the physical aspects of the job. I currently have 5 herniated discs as well as arthritis in my spine and knees. Obviously this will not improve with age so I'm concerned about starting a new career at this age and what it will mean for me physically. Does anyone have any recommendations or advice on how the physical aspects of school and the job can be handled?
Thank you,
Mary

I completed an ABSN and got a job in community health. You most certainly do not have to work in a hospital after you graduate. There are many jobs (like mine) with no lifting, twisting, bending. The only difficulty will be in completing school. We did have to do a lot of bedside nursing and CNA skills during clinicals. I don’t know how much your school has to / will / will be willing to accommodate you but you should be proactive about your accommodations. But if you can get the degree in hand, there are MANY places to work that are not physically difficult.

NurseBlaq · Jun 18, 2020

5 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:
I completed an ABSN and got a job in community health. You most certainly do not have to work in a hospital after you graduate. There are many jobs (like mine) with no lifting, twisting, bending. The only difficulty will be in completing school. We did have to do a lot of bedside nursing and CNA skills during clinicals. I don’t know how much your school has to / will / will be willing to accommodate you but you should be proactive about your accommodations. But if you can get the degree in hand, there are MANY places to work that are not physically difficult.

What are your duties? I've never worked in community health.

**CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN** · Jun 18, 2020

5 hours ago, NurseBlaq said:
What are your duties? I've never worked in community health.

Well, pre-Covid: I did mostly patient education. Patients would come in with a new diagnosis of T2DM and I’d show them how to use a glucometer, how to inject insulin, what to eat. Similar for those with HTN, other chronic conditions. It felt very important to me, as our patients have very low health literacy and needed education on the very most basic things. I also gave a lot of vaccines and did the occasional wound care or ear flush. NOW... now our FQHC is functioning as a mass Covid testing site so I am outside in a tent all day swabbing noses. ?

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Jun 18, 2020

12 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:
I completed an ABSN and got a job in community health. You most certainly do not have to work in a hospital after you graduate. There are many jobs (like mine) with no lifting, twisting, bending. The only difficulty will be in completing school. We did have to do a lot of bedside nursing and CNA skills during clinicals. I don’t know how much your school has to / will / will be willing to accommodate you but you should be proactive about your accommodations. But if you can get the degree in hand, there are MANY places to work that are not physically difficult.

I would hazard to guess that getting these jobs as a new grad without any post-licensure experience may not be as easy as you're making it sound

You may be the exception that proves the rule.

person115 · Jun 18, 2020

13 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:
I completed an ABSN and got a job in community health. You most certainly do not have to work in a hospital after you graduate. There are many jobs (like mine) with no lifting, twisting, bending. The only difficulty will be in completing school. We did have to do a lot of bedside nursing and CNA skills during clinicals. I don’t know how much your school has to / will / will be willing to accommodate you but you should be proactive about your accommodations. But if you can get the degree in hand, there are MANY places to work that are not physically difficult.

Thanks so much for your response CommunityRNBSN. Appreciate the information. I have spoken with the school at least preliminary so I"ve least started the ball rolling non that conversation.

noyesno, MSN, APRN, NP · Jun 20, 2020

Facilities that are "with the times" should be using lift equipment and other technology to prevent employee injury (beds that help turn patients, air sliding devices).

Nobody should be manually lifting people. Preexisting back issues or not.

I do NOT think nursing is contraindicated for you.

Some options that are less physically demanding that inpatient nursing: school nursing, office nursing, nursing informatics, nurse educator, nurse manager, working for an insurance company, etc.

My current role as a family nurse practitioner is not physically demanding AT ALL. I put in 9 years on a surgical/trauma unit to get where I am at though. If you want to go the APRN route, I highly recommend inpatient experience.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 20, 2020

1 hour ago, noyesno said:
Facilities that are "with the times" should be using lift equipment and other technology to prevent employee injury (beds that help turn patients, air sliding devices).
Nobody should be manually lifting people. Preexisting back issues or not.
I do NOT think nursing is contraindicated for you.
Some options that are less physically demanding that inpatient nursing: school nursing, office nursing, nursing informatics, nurse educator, nurse manager, working for an insurance company, etc.
My current role as a family nurse practitioner is not physically demanding AT ALL. I put in 9 years on a surgical/trauma unit to get where I am at though. If you want to go the APRN route, I highly recommend inpatient experience.

Re. office nursing, nurses there are expected to "help" patients to get comfortable on exam table, for one thing. Patients can be up to slightly over 300 lbs (that's the heaviest one I'd seen still ambulatory to get in office). There will be no Hoyers and other equipment for sure. And those big ones are notoriously prone to falls.

There are tons of nursing specialties which offer perfect fit for people with back/mobility issues. Only one problem is that most of them require experience, advanced education or both. These which offer good accommodations for entry-level nurses are relatively few and far between (really, how many nurses your local public health department hires right now?). Far from many hospitals do what they should to protect their workforce too.

person115 · Jun 20, 2020

Thank you for your response noyesno and KatieMI. It is the case that I am concerned about where I will gather the experience as a new grad. I am looking at community/public health roles but most often they require at least a year of experience. I wonder about what roles are available to the new grad.

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 20, 2020

2 minutes ago, person115 said:
Thank you for your response noyesno and KatieMI. It is the case that I am concerned about where I will gather the experience as a new grad. I am looking at community/public health roles but most often they require at least a year of experience. I wonder about what roles are available to the new grad.

You can get to your program clinical advisor and tell her your situation and see what they can do. Also, start to build up your network. If you can, volunteer. And think seriously about getting MSN right away. Get a doctor's note with clear writing of what you can safely do and what not.

My traditional BSN class had several second career students (including myself) who had strict limitations of what they could not do due to health issues. I had to miss whole home care rotation because of my allergies, did HD clinic instead and liked it. One guy was lucky to get bypass surgery and then full sternal non-union right between years 2 and 3. He could not push for CPR, lift anything above 5 lbs, be near MRI, etc. Long story short, he graduated somehow and immediately went to IT nursing using his previous degree. He is now sitting in Silicon Valley grabbing money like a bandit on applications work for Epic.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2020

5 hours ago, noyesno said:
Facilities that are "with the times" should be using lift equipment and other technology to prevent employee injury (beds that help turn patients, air sliding devices).
Nobody should be manually lifting people. Preexisting back issues or not.
I do NOT think nursing is contraindicated for you.
Some options that are less physically demanding that inpatient nursing: school nursing, office nursing, nursing informatics, nurse educator, nurse manager, working for an insurance company, etc.
My current role as a family nurse practitioner is not physically demanding AT ALL. I put in 9 years on a surgical/trauma unit to get where I am at though. If you want to go the APRN route, I highly recommend inpatient experience.

Sounds good in theory, and no we don’t physically lift patients. But we sure as heck have to move them (and sometimes the hardware — halos, ex fixes, traction weights etc) for bed changes/wound care/bathing. Plus the other night, in the span of 8 hours my patient had to be rolled in bed to CT twice and to MRI once. That bed didn’t drive itself

My job has a completely non-negotiable requirement that we are able to lift 50 pounds. No exceptions.

And while it’s true that not all specialties are as physical as others... nobody is going to hire a green nurse to manage or teach other nurses or students.