Temporary Lifting Restrictions?

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi. I am currently in an accelerated nursing program and found out that I have an umbilical hernia. I am needing to have surgery, so I planned it for a little break in school. My lifting restriction will be 10 pounds for first 3 weeks, 20 pounds for next 3, and 40 for the following 3 weeks. My school is trying to tell me that I’m not allowed on the clinical premises even if my only restriction is lifting. Therefore, I’m now having to postpone my surgery and risk injuring myself worse because my school refuses to cooperate with me for the literally 2 weeks of clinicals that I would need to attend without lifting.

Is this legal? 

I’m so worried about this because I’m in horrible pain, but there’s literally nothing I can do apparently. 

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Can the school do this? Absolutely. There are stated requirements of physical ability and lifting restrictions mean you would not meet them. If you were in staffing, you would be expected to take FMLA time. You need to sit down with someone from your school and discuss your options.

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Specializes in Occupational Health Nursing.

That is rough. It's not just lifting that you can do on clinicals, why they would not allow you to attend? You can observe and do other things. 

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Sure. I feel like they just want to protect them from litigation, if you get heart in clinical you might sue them and the hospital. I am not saying that you would sue them, but they just want to be safe.

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Specializes in oncology.

If a patient would fall, or buckle at the knees you need to be there to help them. 

11 hours ago, blenderbottle said:

I feel like they just want to protect them from litigation,

More like protecting patients who need a stable adult to guide them getting out of bed and walking.

Get the surgery 

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Specializes in oncology.
On 3/9/2022 at 5:13 PM, harachisauce said:

my school refuses to cooperate with me for the literally 2 weeks of clinicals that I would need to attend without lifting.

Is this legal? 

Yes. If you are not interested in putting your learning and patient safety first, you are in the wrong educational program. You are not there to sit at the nursing station desk.

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Should have clarified. All of my clinicals right now are purely shadowing. I’ve already had the surgery and thankfully I did it during a gap in my clinicals, so my school was only moderately difficult about it. 

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Specializes in oncology.
On 3/9/2022 at 5:13 PM, harachisauce said:

I’m now having to postpone my surgery and risk injuring myself worse because my school refuses to cooperate with me for the literally 2 weeks of clinicals that I would need to attend without lifting.

 

3 hours ago, harachisauce said:

I’ve already had the surgery and thankfully I did it during a gap in my clinicals,

Will these restrictions still apply? In your first message (repeated below) you said only 2 weeks. 

On 3/9/2022 at 5:13 PM, harachisauce said:

My lifting restriction will be 10 pounds for first 3 weeks, 20 pounds for next 3, and 40 for the following 3 weeks.

 

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No; I actually ended up going to a different surgeon. My hernia was really small and the first surgeon was wanting to do laparoscopic with mesh, but there was no need given how small it was. I went to a different doctor and he did an open repair and it was literally 2 stitches. I’m 1 week post op and my lifting restrictions end in 2 weeks. 

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