Working as a Theatre Nurse

[islelassie]

My son in law is in his early 30s and works as a Theatre nurse, which often means him being on duty in theatre for 8 hours without any breaks. He became ill two weeks ago and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He is currently in hospital being stabilised but what happens in terms of his work.

I can't see how he can do long shifts without breaks, now he is insulin dependent and all that means.

I have told him to see Occ Health, but will they have to offer him a different type of work or will they expect him to carry on unless he has a hypo?

He is in shell shock at the moment as this literally happened suddenly with no previous ill health. He has a young family and mortgage to maintain, what sort of help can he expect while he is being stabilised and in the longer term?

 

[romylin7]

i suggest that he should try again to talk to his head dept and to be supported with medical healthcare who understand the disease and med certificates, he must go and try and try . As a Nurse also, it is easy to get another job.

2nd option: i suggest that please tell him once he really understand the disease and the managemnt of diabetes he surely overcome the Theatre issues, means he can go for break because i believe in the theatre there is breaktimes. studying and learning the diabetes well will help him a lot and can overcome his hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.Go and see diabetes educator.

 

[sugar2]

:shock: Do they not even get loo breaks? I have new admiration for theatre staff! I would have thought that it is managable, with the understanding of his managers. I am no expet, but would have thought that if he moved to work in teh theatre that does the shorter operations...where staff get chance to come out, and change their clothes etc before the next patient.

I suspect that he will be able to keep working in his current job, but in a modifeid, but no less valuable way.

In is such early days, and it must be a huge shock. There are ways and means around most things when you are a T1, but we do have to be flexible sometimes, and hange our routine a bit, to enable us to do what we want to do. There is a great thread on here about a chap who wants to be a paramedic. This is one of those things that is difficult for T1s, but on there, he did get some good suggestion for alternatives. Best of luck, and wishing him a speedy return home.