Tracheostomy

[RN2bfro76]

Hello,

I have a Q.. I've had a tracheostomy in place my

whole life (42yrs) due to being born prematurely. I've weaned myself off of the sunctioning machine in my teens & I change my own trache. I wear scarves to cover my trache while out in public & no, I can breathe just fine. I can talk, eat & swallow too.. In fact, most people don't know I have a trache unless they're familiar with what a trache is..

My Q is, will I be able to get into a nursing program, hence having a tracheostomy in place? Does anyone know of a person who has gone into the RN program with a trache? Thanks!

[RN2bfro76]

Thank you so much for the support!! I'll keep y'all posted!

[RN2bfro76]

Thanks for this wonderful resource:)

[blenderbottle]

Good luck in your journal

[middleagednurse]

I used to work with a nurse who had a trach. She didn't cover it with scarves either.It didn't seem to affect her practice any.

[RN2bfro76]

Thanks for sharing this website. I'm now connected. I even reached out to one of the mentors on the website who also has a tracheostomy & went through the nursing program. This person unfortunately faced alot of discrimination from instructors & DON.. The person did get through the program & has been will received as a RN. There's hope for me yet.. Thanks again.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

Your medical conditions are your private concern (HIPAA and all that...) and I see no reason to share this one with anybody unless you have no choice.

The only issue that you face in clinical nursing pertains to airborne isolation. One of my facilities utilizes only PAPRs while the other does utilize N95 masks (though I fail the fit test so I still insist on a PAPR). Now in terms of employment, it strikes me as a reasonable accommodation to not care for the few airborne patients that we encounter. That said, if it were me, I would look into an engineering solution in the form of a custom N95 or PAPR 'hood' that would cover my device.

[MykRTstudent]

Go for it !! As a current student in school for respiratory therapy, I love to see something like this! I was also born premature as well, one of the reasons that drove me to respiratory since I had a lot of lung problems as a child. I don't see how having a trach will stop you from being a nurse at all. It'll only enhance your compassion for others. Best of luck !

[RN2bfro76]

Thank you, MykRT for the support!! I believe I can break down barriers within the nursing field. I'm glad I've been getting alot of positive feedback from diff nurses & now a R T.. I appreciate everyone's support so much!!