Unhappy at Work

What are you interested in doing? If you work in hospital or health system start reading the internal postings-- you might be able to change jobs without changing employers!

Change Jobs. It's sounds as though it is a danger to you to be there. You should be able to find something else fairly easily with being a RN.

I would think a nurse with 17 years experience could move into other health related fields quite easily. You knew about the lifting when you took this job, twelve hour shifts aren't that uncommon in your industry. I would think you have probably been 5 foot for quite some time, so why are any of these things issue. They didn't sneak this stuff in on you in the fine print. I, personally am not in the field. but several things come to mind. Move into a dr. office. Work with children, become a school nurse. Work in a hospital where others can help you lift patients. People live back injuries and what not everyday. Some have it much worse. . It seem that you took some time to make this situation look bleak, but the blessings there shine through.
If you don't think you can do this job, move to something else. But if you think you are miserable at work now, just wait till your co workers get tired of picking up the slack of what "you can't do" . Every industry has its drawbacks. I'm not trying to be mean, but it upsets me a little that you can't see how fortunate you really are. My gosh, as a nurse, I would think you see people on a continuous basis who have it worse.

what are you studying at school twice a week? Will this be something that will broaden your job opportunities? What about going into home health and doing patient evaluations (not day to day patient care)? What about working for an insurance company and staffing their "on line medical advice line or evaluating medical claims? What about becoming a discharge planner at the hospital? Good luck! Nursing is very physically demanding.

usually after a workers comp injury and recovery the docs will assign a permenant impairment rating and that will dictate what you can do as far as duties. keep going to workers comp dr and explain about what you can and cant do and will be expected to do on job. they dr will send a letter to employer telling them what you are able to do.

WOAH! Where is your lift equipment? I worked in a hospital for years and while not in direct patient care, even I know that is standard procedure to have the proper amount of lifting equipment on the floor and to be properly trained in how to use it, how to lift with help, etc.
I say that because if your facility is not providing this, that is a huge no, no in terms of "best practices" for workplace safety and there could be some workers comp issues here. Beyond that - it is proven that back injuries are the most prevalent injuries sustained by floor nurses in direct patient care due to the frequency and the fact we are all getting fatter and our sweet nurses have to lift us - LOL.
That said, look into your heart for what you really want to do - use some of this filing time to let your mind wander and really explore your passions. if it lies in patient care, consider office or NP work? clinical/office care or even county health department and even nurse training or community educator could be an option. all so needed and with your background you are priceless. As you know you are in-demand and any head hunter (martin fletcher, Merritt Hawkins, TNA) would love to have someone like you on the books - go look and good luck!

oh my, stop lifting and tell HR you're hurt. Why aren't there any men there to help with this sort of thing? How can a petite woman lift such a load? You should move to another section of the hospital. If you don't heal properly things will only get worse for you in the future. Sorry, but whose going to be lifting you then?

That's probably one of the biggest drawbacks when working in the medical field, the lifting. I have no idea what you could do other than get some physical therapy and figure out some exercises that would make you stronger and really watch your lifting technique. I know they use slings and lifts now, but it's such a pain when you know you can easily do it yourself without all the gear. Both my aunts were RNs and were completely physically impaired when they retired after 20 years of nursing with neck, back and knee problems. It goes with the territory.

Sounds like you should report your injured back to HR if you haven't already. And see if you can go to a chiropractor about your back. Try to find some positives. I really disagree with Shanna's approach on this, criticizing you.

Good luck :) and keep positive, even through the pain.

talk to a disability attorney. the government might pay to retrain you.

There are many outside the box type nursing jobs. Case management at a home health care company, medical insurance overseer, MDS, etc... good luck!

I just wanted to say that I'm sorry your struggling with your health. So you can interact more with patients and not be stuck in the file cabinets, maybe you could work in the front office of a drs. office. The receptionist or another office staff position. The pay wouldn't be the same, but it would have you still in the field of your choice and interacting with those that need care.

I'm a physical therapist and very familiar with lifting as I worked in a long term acute care hospital for many years where we needed lift patients of all sizes, even 400+lbs. (For the record, I'm 5'7" and have been injured on the job once before.) There are SO many techniques you can use to lift people. A lot of it will depend on your facility. You may need to talk to your D.O.N. or physical therapist/rehab director to see what your options are. Many facilities now have "lifting teams" who are specially-trained on how to work together for maximum patient and staff safety. There are lifting devices (hoyer lifts, etc.) that should be available for staff to use. Maybe your PT needs to inservice the whole staff, especially if workplace injuries are common where you work. I'm amazed that you have OI and you are even lifting much at all!

You didn't mention what kind of treatment the worker's comp. has done for you. At a minimum, you should be receiving some kind of PT to help heal your back issue. If you are not, please see if they will give you a referral. Give your back a chance to heal and the PT should additionally help strengthen your core muscles to help prevent future injuries. Once you feel better, your outlook might change, or you might find that trying a different type of nursing would fit you better at this time in your life. Good luck and hang in there!

I see from an earlier post that you are going back for your BSN. Congrats to you! I am doing the same. I have only been an RN for 8 years, but know that some facilities are better at helping nurses be prepared with the correct equipment to move their patients. If your employer expects you to lift patients that large with no assistance, then I would suggest you find another facility that has a better reputation for caring for their patients and employees. If geri-psych is your passion, then why not find a facility that specializes in that? Do they have nursing homes with Alzheimer's units where you live? They seem to be more prevalent these days. As for your OI, do you take medication or get infusions? It seems pretty dangerous to have a brittle bone disease and work around the population that you do. Just a thought. Good luck and I hope things get better for you!

Sounds like it is time for you to get on the administrative side of the nursing profession, if you have a degree there are many good places out there looking for YOU! Monster.com & your local paper would be a good place to start as well as your local hospitals, VA, etc..

Good Luck & GET OUT of that depressing windowless room STAT!

You're a nurse I'm sure you can find a job else where no problem. But I have to agree with shanna. That sounds pretty normal for a nursin home this didn't sneak up on you but if you don't think you can do the physical part of the job it's time o start looking for a new one that you can do.