thicklynn

Hi everyone. I've been a lurker for a while now and have finally decided to speak up!! I've been a nurse for 20+ years now...last 5 in the OR which I love. My problem is this: For the past two years I've been suffering from RA and had to have hip surgery this past Jul (not a hip replacement, thank God, but my ortho surgeon said that I'm looking at one down the road). Even though I'm under the care of a rheumatologist and we're working to stabilize my condition, I'm concerned with how long I'll be able to continue to work. If I can't handle the more physical aspects of nursing, especially in the OR, what area of nursing is out there for someone with my condition? Any and all advice would be very much welcomed

I spent my first 16 years of nursing doing the Med-Surg thing and after spending the last three years in the OR, I could kick myself for not getting into it a lot sooner!!! I love the fact that I deal with one patient at a time, instead of the loaded patient census I had before. Of course you have some crazy surgeons to deal with but I deal with that by remembering that the case will eventually be over and that those guys don't pay my salary!!! LOL!!!