Please help. Career over before it starts.

[Emjked123]

Hello everyone. I am 24 years old and just graduated with my BSN in may. I have a job lined up in a busy ICU but unfortunately I've been diagnosed with Degenerative disc disease and have been having a lot of back problems for the last 6 months. Doctor says I will likely improve but that I will have to be careful from now. Because of my illness, it seems like my worst nightmare is coming true and I'm going to have to turn down the job. At this point it seems like the vast majority of nursing jobs are out of the question for me due to having to turn/readjust patients and just the general physical nature of nursing. I still however want to be a clinical nurse, and most non-clinical nursing jobs seem to require at least a little bit of clinical experience. I've been trying to think of clinical nursing jobs that might be practical for me. So far all I have been able to come up with is NICU or Psych. I would really appreciate some suggestions from people in specialties that are not very physically taxing as well as advice from others with DDD or other back issues. I'm pretty desperate here. Thank you in advance. :)

[mondanaz]

Don't count yourself out! You have many years ahead to try this job and see if it does not work and move on. Your best bet would be to take it and make the modifications that you can. These modifications include utilizing the support of other nurses and staff to move patients. A big one is making sure the bed is lifted to the perfect height before you move a patient!

I truly believe you can do it with the right techniques!

[nightlightnurseaide]

Show me a nurse who doesn't have degenerative disc disease ...

i have like basically two nurses that walk with a slight limp. i do not know what it is, but is that something common seen with nurses

[KR]

That is essentially what I am looming into doing, just praying I can even get thru one Private Duty shift a week. I had/have avery severe on the job back injury 3 years ago and cant be on my feet for very long at all. But due to other health concerns issues, meds, etc, i cant do dayshift so office jobs are out. Is there a proper/legal way to go about getting ADA accomodated for back issues? The one night shift a week if i can find a small enough kiddo is gonna be a trial run. Im praying i can work up to 2-3 shifts/week. Where i live is super low cost of living and my bills r minimal so i am thankful for that. Every day my pain level is 6 or higher.

[KR]

i have like basically two nurses that walk with a slight limp. i do not know what it is, but is that something common seen with nurses

When I did LTAC, Long Term Acute Care, high nurse to very sick & heavy patient ratios, we were all gimped out, hobbling out at the end of 12 hours. Harder physically, mentally, etc than ICU by far.