Too many injuries on job, need another job,? leaving nursing

Crocuta, RN · Feb 24, 2006

Have you considered working in a doctor's office? Depending on the office, there shouldn't really be any lifting at all, it's mostly 9-5 work which would be good for you as a single mom, and would probably leave you enough time to look into an online RN-BSN program once you stabilize financially so that you could advance your options. Be honest about your physical limitations, and play up your strengths. Someone would be happy to have a nurse working for them with your experience.

Best regards -

Lee

chrispicritah · Feb 24, 2006

i am in your same situation.

after numerous back injuries, light duty, private investigators trying to say i was lying... :coollook:

i did return to school, for a B.A. in theatre, which is my passion.

i worked as a teaching artist last summer and it was so nice...however those jobs are hard to find so i had to keep looking in the meantime. i went to a job fair and have been offered a job in a nice clinic, part-time.

so it can be done, i was honest with them and told them not about my injuries, but that after so many years, bedside nursing was beginning to take its toll on my body, and i wanted to work with ambulatory patients.

i am a good listener, i am organized, i love to talk (i am a performer) and i was right for the job. it is less money but what is good money that is going to the doctor bills?

part of me is happy, the other part is numb. but i am getting there.

i know that i have to get away from the damn hospital...it is making me sick.

i am wearing a capsicum patch now, and it is starting to wear off. :crying2:

good luck in whatever you decide to do.:balloons:

C.

applesRN · Feb 24, 2006

Got the MRI back today- it was negative. That's good news, but it still upset me, because there's nothing concrete to explain the pain. I feel like I need to justify it somehow- to quit whining and suck it up like a (wo)man.

The MD I saw was new to me. She was very sweet- but not at all helpful. Without seeing my XRays, she pronounced that I will be fully healed and that a little bone spursis nothign to worry about- it's just a little arthritis. This is much different from what the 2 doctors said about it- those who saw it said I had progressive degenerative changes in my t-spine. She then went on to say- I know you're in pain, but you'll get through this. (I've gotten through this before- it keeps happening- to which she said, you are at increased risk of re-injury for the next 6 months. But- then you'll be fine....etc. I asked her to let me go back on reg. duty- have my patient assignments again and let someone else do the lifting and bending. She said she couldn't let me go off light duty . I tried to reason with her- that this hospital puts me through more repetative tasks on light duty than as a 'real nurse'. So she called Employee Health. Just what i need- I knew nothing would change, and now they are probably thinking that I'm trying to get out of something.

I just can not afford to have 2 more weeks of light duty. 60% pay is not good- and that's probably causign me more stress than anything- and making my back tighten even more.

Now, I like the flexibility of my job. I don't know anything else but hospital work. Can anyone give me some pointers on working in clinics, offices, etc? For instance, if my daughter had a field trip, now I can easily work around it. But having a regular day job, I don't know. Do many other RN jobs earn time off? I ask for your prayers as I try to do/ be where God wants me to be. Thanks,

F. :mad:

rach_nc_03 · Feb 25, 2006

My situation is similar to yours, but it took place over a much shorter time period.

I graduated in 2005, and started working in a PICU. I was having hip pain about a month or so before i started my job, but it got significantly worse when i started working. I don't know if it would help someone with back trouble to do PICU, but it was murder on my back, because most of our patients were babies who were intubated and had to stay in the cribs- I'm six feet tall, so there was always a problem with crib height whenever i was working on a kid with someone else.

I moved out to peds stepdown, and my hip got worse. I went on unpaid personal leave (didn't qualify for FMLA because of part-time work hours while i was in school) in mid-november and had hip surgery on november 30th. My manager, empathetic soul that she is, told me i most likely wouldn't have a job if it took more than 2 weeks for me to heal.

I actually haven't gotten much better since the surgery. I decided to pursue desk jobs in nursing, and looked at the pharmaceutical and insurance fields. I had some successful interviews, and eventually accepted a job as a clinical educator at a rehab/subacute facility. My pay went up by 50%, and I work at a desk! When I lead classes, I stand up and walk some, but not nearly as much as i did as a staff nurse. I also set my own hours, so if I'm having mobility or pain issues in the morning, I just go in later.

I found out last week, after having an EMG, that I have either a severe disc herniation or L5 nerve impingement (I've had no back pain, but paresthesias in my leg and foot). I've lost some of the function in my toes, and some of the sensation in my leg and foot. It looks like my hip hasn't improved because I probably have a congenital abnormality that went undetected when i was a child. Long story short, it looks like I won't be able to go back to bedside nursing. My PT said that nurses are the worst patients, as the everyday tasks of nursing are incredibly damaging to the back.

I was lucky that I had a lot of experience with training and education of adults; that made me a good candidate for this kind of job, even though I don't have a ton of clinical experience as a nurse. Oh, and I have an ADN.

I would encourage you to apply for non-bedside nursing jobs, regardless of your lack of a BSN. You're WAY too young to be going through this much pain.

Good luck- feel free to PM me if you'd like to talk.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Feb 25, 2006

Have you considered working in assisted living? I'm the health services coordinator/assistant administrator of a 42-apartment ALF, and I love it!! Much of what I do can be done sitting down, and I can get up and move when I want/need to---in other words, I control my own activity levels. I don't lift or transfer residents, and I don't do much in the way of personal care (although I treat wounds, cut fingernails and so on) but I still get the benefit of lots of one-on-one time with my residents. For me, it's the best of all possible worlds........and although the company 'strongly preferred' a BSN, I certainly didn't have to have one to be hired.

The pay/benefits are nowhere near what I was getting in acute care, but far better than the MD offices and urgent care places offer, and I'd rather take a pay cut than have to go through what I did in the hospital anyway. There is a HUGE amount of autonomy, which is a bonus since I don't have a bunch of people micro-managing me (I never needed it, but try telling THAT to some nurse-managers:rolleyes: ). And I have every major holiday, nights and weekends off. :nurse: The only disadvantage is that I am on call 24/7, but so is the administrator, it's just part of the job, and since I have a well-trained staff there aren't too many middle-of-the-night emergencies they can't deal with.

I wish you the best of luck. My hospital's management began pushing me toward the door when my body started breaking down from the physical and emotional stress........you'd think they'd want to hang onto us aging nurses because of the experience we bring to the job, but when you get older and the body won't take the punishment anymore, do they try to adapt the workplace to accomodate us? HECK NO!!:angryfire They can't fire us because we are protected by the Older Workers Act, so they sneak around it and make it all about something else (we're 'too slow', or we're not focusing, or we spend too much time with the patients and not on paperwork, etc. etc.). And don't even get me started on those managers who snipe and point out every little thing we do 'wrong'.........:angryfire

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 25, 2006

Telephone triage might be another option?

highasthesky · Feb 25, 2006

I don't have the health problems you have but I do have a friend who has fibromyalgia and some days she won't even get out of bed she hurts so bad. I cannot imagine waking up and feeling that much pain, so I sympathize with you immensely. Have you ever thought about teaching? When I took CNA classes they were taught by an RN who had gotten burnt out.....so she said she actually went around to nursing homes asking if they needed an instructor for their CNA program and landed her job that way. One of the instructors in the program I attend now was a physical therapist, and another a RN, another a MA. One still works for a hospital as her 2nd job and one of the others took the teaching job because of her health declining. Not sure if it's for you but just a thought. Good luck to you with your health and future employment!

dekatn · Feb 25, 2006

Personally, because of one statement you made, "even though I'm an RN, I get stuck with a bunch of bending/walking/catering to everyones needs", and you don't like the computers because they keep locking down. Sounds like you want the money and the RN title more than anything else. I'm not saying you're not in pain, there are a lot of us out here that work everyday in pain. But, the kind of jobs you seem to want aren't handed out on silver platters, most nurses have to put in their time to get to the point you seem to want to go to without putting in the effort to get there. Do you really think that just because you are an "RN" that you don't have to "cater to and help others". Sorry that just rubbed me the wrong way.

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Feb 25, 2006

A couple thoughts one you have been hurt at work- are you dealing with issue yourself or have you spoke to a workers comp attorney. There are too many legal issues to be wading around in that muck alone. Especially ones that can effect your lively hood for a considerable period of time. And before you say it yes you can afford one, what you get generally exceeds the cost.

Two are you actually seeing the right kind of doctors. A GP or FP is not the person to be seeing for back problems. The person in mentioned above can assist you in that endevor as well.

RJ

applesRN · Feb 25, 2006

by being on light duty - even though I'm a RN- I get stuck with a bunch of bending/ walking / catering to everyone's needs because I am another 'floating' warm body. (you can't take a pt assignment when on light duty- even if you can do everything but lift).

Ok, first, DEKATN, I apologize if I offended you. :flowersfo Let me clarify.

I enjoy helping others. If I had my own group of patients, I would not hurt as much at the end of the day(provided someone else would lift them up). Floating and other tasks tend to make things worse. I often offer to help others out. I'd rather have my patients, do my nursing work, and get paid my wage than be on disability pay and task-oriented duties that make my back worse.

Secondly, the computer system (that I'm actually pretty good at- if it works like it is supposed to) has made nurses with guts of steel weep over the mouse pad. It is vastly different, time consuming and maddening sometimes. Many nurses have left the hospital. :crying2:

Sounds like you want the money and the RN title more than anything else.

You know, I am proud to be an RN. I worked very hard to earn my degree, graduating when I was 20 as a single mom with a 5 year old. I did choose nursing partly because of money, so that I could raise my daughter and be self-sufficient. So yes, money is important to being able to make the bills. I take higher pay with flexibility and no benefits so I can raise my daughter and my teenage brother. I have a lot of volunteer duties outside of work- in the community and church, that I enjoy doing- that would not get done if I worked 40 hours a week- not to mention that my pain and stress level tends to increase (at hospital) as my hours do. But right now, I am on disability pay. I have not lost my brain or my heart- so it seems to me that the hospital bases my worth on whether I can lift 50 lbs rather than if I have the education, compassion, ability and insight to care for my patients.

I'm not looking for a job to be handed on a silver platter. Each job had it's good and bad points. I'm trying to find one that lets me keep sane, be a good sole provider, able to be with my daughter during important times, and have some time to have a small bit of life, without hurting my health. Is that too much to ask? And what sort of effort am I not putting into getting a good job? I have experience in several areas, work on projects and improving nursing at the hospital, go to seminars, take extra CEUS, hope to be certified in May, hope to continue towards my BSN....

Fawn :nurse:

RazorbackRN, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2006

"Sounds like you want the money and the RN title more than anything else."

That's really tacky for you to say. I didn't get that impression at all...