<p>Have you thought about a PhD in medical anthropology? I know you don’t want a strictly research career, but you’d likely spend a lot of time in the field working with real people, addressing some pressing issues.</p>
<p>What about hospital laboratory work. It wouldn’t be as physically strenuous but is vitally important to patient care. </p>
<p>Medical Social workers are so important. Many families are lost and confused when they have a sick family member and don’t understand how to navigate the medical care system and just really feel helpless. </p>
<p>My own family was in that situation when our mother was in declining health and we needed help. The social worker at the hospital was so kind and helpful. She was never in a rush, explained each scenario to us and just really eased the load on our family.</p>
<p>I love PackMom’s idea about medical social work – if the career appeals to you.</p>
<p>If I were the patient or a family member, it would be so reassuring to me to work with a medical social worker with a visible disability because it would be obvious that at various times in your life, you have dealt with the medical “system” yourself. I would feel so much better knowing that my social worker knows what it’s like to be on the other side of the desk. </p>
<p>But of course, if you prefer something more science-y, there are lots of other options.</p>
<p>Dear Wolfpiper, I am so sorry you are going through this. I’m trying to think of a place that might have information for you, and be able to put you in touch with others who have similar physical challenges but work in health professions. If you haven’t already, have you considered calling the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, CA? They are dynamos who advocate strongly for their constituency, and if they don’t have the info you need, I would imagine they could come up with excellent referrals either in your home state or in Washington, D.C. And do talk with them, or another advocacy group, about that CPR requirement! Good luck. It would seem to me that any profession you choose would be lucky to have you.</p>
<p>Go to law school and become a medical malpractice defense attorney.</p>
<p>Or how about a mental health therapist/psychologist? </p>
<p>Remember the adage: “When one door closes, another one opens.”</p>
<p>What does it take to get into medical inventions/engineering? I’m remembering a classmate of my brother’s (Oberlin ‘69) named Ralph Hotchkiss, who was in a motorcycle accident during college that returned him to campus paraplegic. He went on to invent wheelchairs that traverse terrain found in underdevloped nations where there are land-mines taking peoples’ limbs away, especially in Africa and Afghanistan. Western wheelchairs depend upon the paved streets and sidewalks we enjoy. His life work returned some life for those whose bodies were shattered, in countries too poor for words. </p>
<p>He’s made a lifelong career of new inventions to provide mobility, combining this with an interest in worldwide equity for the poor. </p>
<p>His name can be googled. It’s really Ralph’s way of approaching problems that I so admire. </p>
<p>Wolfpiper, please never believe you’re unemployable. The most important fact about a person is what they believe about themself.</p>
<p>My S’s college classmate used a wheelchair, but defined herself by her love of literature. She majored in English, went to Ireland for her masters degree, returned to campus to work in administration while she considers her next move. There were things she could do, and things she couldn’t do, but she did find her way. She taught me a lot, too, so I understood right away your comment that it’s not the disability in the way as much as people. I understood you on that.</p>
<p>You will figure this out, once you get over the deep anger which is justified. Your business prof’s comment that businesses hate the ADA is just a comment, and their problem not yours. They get plenty of profits, so if now they have to put in an elevator at lose profit at .00000000x% that year, well, nuts to them.</p>
<p>I do not know what your disabilities are, but nearly 30 years ago there was a paraplegic med student a few years ahead of me. And that was before ADA. I can be done.</p>
<p>I agree with paying3tuitions idea of medical inventions/engineering. If you choose a specialty carefully, you can put your brain and experiences to great use at something that you are very interested in, as well as have the opportunity to work directly with patients. Within the past year I have had both a professor and a teaching assistant that are paraplegics with limited arm mobility - they are both involved with medical research and have been very successful.</p>
<p>Are you sure you need to do CPR as opposed to simply being trained in CPR (which involves knowing HOW to do it, not necessarily doing it]. I did some Googling and found several online CPR certification programs – you don’t have to DO anything, you have to study materials and take an online test. I’m not sure if that is acceptable to the school programs or not, but I think that if you are seeing a requirement to be “CPR Certified” you should at least find out whether you have to perform CPR to get the certification, or merely demonstrate that you know HOW to perform CPR well enough so that you could direct someone else. </p>
<p>I can think of many situations in health care professions where it would be critical that you know HOW to do CPR, but not that you actually be able to physically do it – simply because someone has called you in an emergency and you have to give good, clear, calm & accurate advice and instructions over the telephone. </p>
<p>I may be very mistaken because I haven’t actually reviewed the requirements for the health care programs you are looking at… but I’m thinking you might be assuming that you “can’t” do something when in fact you can. Have you tried contacting CPR training programs to find out whether you can be certified in CPR even if you cannot physically do all that would be required?</p>
<p>calmom:
Interesting! I have an appt. to talk people at the pharmacy school about technical requirements, and I’ll bring this up. Also, my dad’s coworker’s wife is a cpr instructor, and he said he’d ask her about training, too. I’m hoping there’s some way I can get to stimulate the technical requirements for pharmd programs soon… I haven’t given up completely, but if I can’t do it, I’d like to know NOW, not after spending three-four years preparing to do something if I can’t.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh, I know that. Trust me, I won’t want to be a danger to someone (or get sued, for that matter;)).</p>
<p>Thanks for all your advice… I am trying to get everything fleshed out as soon as possible in terms of IF I can do pharmacy and if not what I can and WANT to do…</p>
<p>I feel like I’m in metaphorical purgatory for the next week, waiting to see if I can do this or not. And, honestly, I really do want to see if I CAN do what is required reasonably independently… I think it would be a disservice to the profession and myself if I had to make someone do all my work by proxy, and I certainly would never want to endanger someone, of course. I’m hoping I can, but I also know this door may be shut… I just wish I could know now (or better yet, if there was no question at all, but rarely in life are we so blessed). I just dread the thought of winding up as one of the 65% of people with CP who are unemployed because I think I’m smart enough to do great (or at least good) things.</p>
<p>Of course you’ll be employed. 
There’s no end of things you’ll be able to do. </p>
<p>But if you want to stay in the “people business” and medicine or pharmacy doesn’t work out, you might find a career in developmental disability services rewarding (if not terribly lucrative, unfortunately). Many states are going toward providing most or all of their services in the home and community rather than institutions. Professionals are needed to write and monitor treatment plans, serve as advocates for cutting the red tape and helping families get and maintain their benefits, serving as program director or administrator, etc. I worked with several professionals with CP over the years.</p>
<p>As long as you aren’t providing direct support (working as a personal care attendant or skills trainer, for example), you shouldn’t need CPR certification. You don’t here at least, and our regs are based on the federal guidelines.</p>
<p>wolfpiper, whatever else you decide to do, you might want to consider taking a science writing course or two along the way.</p>
<p>You write well (this is obvious from your posts). You have an interest in science. That combination could lead to an interesting career.</p>
<p>Dear Wolfpiper,
You probably know I am a pharmacist. We did take CPR and become certified in pharmacy school, I cannot remember if it was required or not. We did get our cards. I work hospital pharmacy. I have worked at facilities where the pharmacist participates in the code. I have never performed CPR-the RT’s usually do. I took control of the drugs, my knowledge allowed me to have everything ready to go before the physician called for it. I usually gave it to the nurse, a few times I probably administered it. Sometimes, but not always, I recorded the meds, etc. Each member of the team ends up doing what they do best for the patient.<br>
Please do what you want to do, don’t limit yourself.
LA</p>
<p>Hello, WP, STOP THE PITY PARTY!! One of my favorite buds is a neurologist who has been in a wheelchair since young adulthood from a swimming accident. He went through med school in a chair during a time when people stopped and stared at women med students, let alone someone with a disability. Contact someone within the professional association for pharmacists. A significant physical disability may well limit your choices - physical therapy is probably not a good career move - but you can certainly do pharmacy. Also, requiring CPR certification is not the same thing as proving your competency by saving a life. All the employees in our laboratory are required to do BCLS (or what ever they call it now) every year, but some of them would physically have difficulties actually resuscitating a person, ie it is a lot easier to get certified than to actually do a resuscitation.
We just acquired an employee in the lab through a lateral transfer. This person was working as a technician in the cardiac cath lab for years. He has had a work related injury to his shoulders, and cannot produce enough pressure to do unaided CPR, so he can’t work in the cath lab anymore. BUT, he can demonstrate knowledge of CPR, and can work in our area where the need to do unaided CPR at work is almost unknown. There is a place for you in health care.</p>
<p>wolfpiper,
My SIL is a pharmacist (we were roommates in colege, so I remember her coursework and training), and I don’t recall her needing to take a CPR course. Best of luck – with your will to conquer obstacles, you’ll be successful in whatever field you choose to pursue.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice (and the compliment on writing ability:))! Like I said, I’m not giving up on pharmacy yet! I’m talking some pharmacy admins and trying to “feel out” what areas of the training may present problems and if they could be worked around. I’m trying to be proactive, but at the same time, be prepared for the “worst case” (not really in the scheme of life) outcome in this. I just want to know if I can handle with punches thrown at me.</p>
<p>lamom,
It’s funny–most of areas that seem to present potential problems are things pharmacists I’ve spoken with say they rarely or never use in practice, which sort of begs the question of why they’re being taught, but I suppose there’s a reason for it and who am I to question?</p>
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</p>
<p>You are a significant and hard-working person with a lot of ability who, for your sake and for the sake of your clients and colleagues, should have has every possible opportunity and encouragement to use that ability!</p>
<p>That’s who. :)</p>
<p>Wolfpiper, I really don’t know how your disabilities will limit you in med fields. I do think that your attitude of being proactive is great. There are so many avenues to explore, I can’t imagine having to put yourself in a field where you have not met requirements & engage in battles to be admitted. </p>
<p>Lamom speaks of codes where pharmacists participate. As she said, the professionals in a code are multitasking. Every nurse & pharmacist knows exactly what drugs the doc will order, even though technically they can’t proceed without an order. Respiratory techs, who start lines all day long, are usually the one called upon to do that. But whoever is there first has to jump in. I’m pretty certain the nurses in a hospital have much more experience with CPR than the pharmacists, but it’s one of those critical skills every professional should know. I’d imagine if a pharmacist were to be on an elevator with a patient who suddenly codes, she’d be expected to respond. Imagine the trial lawyers jumping all over that one: “Why do you employ medical professionals at this hospital who aren’t fully trained & certified in CPR?”</p>
<p>Well, the meeting with the pharmacy school people was today. They said they would have serious reservations about admiting someone with a disability such as mine, said CPR was a non-negotionable requirement, and said I probably won’t be able to fulfill the technical requirements of pharmd programs, so, yeah, not what I wanted to hear, but I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it… They did say in August I can be tested on the what would be required of me in pharmacy school, but that if I can’t pass that, it’s pretty unlikely I could ever be admitted or licensed. This puts me in a bad position because if I can’t meet the technical standards of pharmd programs, I have to change my major, and by the time I would know for sure in August, most of the classes I would need would probably be filled… On the plus side, both reps. were very nice, and you could tell they felt bad about giving me such news… Mom’s spitting mad, but I understand that their motives aren’t malicious at all. They did say I seemed very intelligent and mature and wished me well, which was nice :). I’m disappointed, yes, but I guess that’s the cards I’ve been dealt, and I can’t change it. I’m still holding out a tiny silver of hope that I might pass this test, but honestly, it seems pretty unlikely, especially wrt the CPR requirement. I guess I need to start looking for a plan B now in case I fail…</p>