Does anyone here actually like or "not mind" cleaning poop???

[MrsNursey2006]

I have just completed my first year as an RN, BSN a couple of weeks ago. Nothing much to celebrate after I find out that I worked that hard

only to be cleaning so much poop as a person with a 4 year degree.

I think the nursing profession is too modest and afraid to admit that someone else should be doing the dirty job. I love medicine....and I love being a nurse even when orders pile up, and next shift nags at you for every little thing undone during your shift because of time constrictions, like they come on their shift to just sit around and do nothing. I can take snobby, unexperienced, stubborn doctors; I can get along fine with middle-aged bitter, old nurses; I can handle grumpy patients, and suspicious families; I can handle snobby unlicensed assist. personnel; I can handle all that even when all that can be tiring.

But on top of all that, we RNs have to clean poop! I think that is why the nursing profession don't get so much credit, that's why nurses grow old bitter and eat the next generation of nurses, it's because they are overworked, underpaid, and cleaning poop really lowers their morale. You get out of school thinking wow i'm a professional....I worked so hard...then you go and clean poooppp....!!! Nasty, foul smelling poop.

For that reason.....only for that reason I am quitting being a hospital staff nurses at the Veteran's Hospital. I am going to continue being an RN, but not one who cleans poop. I hate that poopy part of our profession, so shoot me. :welcome:

[deeDawntee, RN]

Anyway, go get your snack.

cheers!

:lol2:

No problem, anybody for some brownies!!! hehehe

[Chloe'sinNYNow]

:lol2:

No problem, anybody for some brownies!!! hehehe

I'll take mine w/ nuts in them!! ;>)

Seriously, I think the only thing that I can add to these posts fr nurses much more seasoned than myself is to say that I came to a few conclusions about this profession before entering into it. And I received advice from seasoned and capable nurses before I made my decision to head into it.

I was daunted by the responsibility that a nurse must take. My mom was my biggest nurse role model growing up and she was so glad that neither of her daughters wanted to go into nursing b/c of the disrespect, awful wages, hard patient loads and total frown upon nurses fr docs and other disciplines.

But times have changed and she's so proud of me now for the amt of responsibility and scope of practice an RN takes on every shift.

So now I had mom's approval and respect as well as my own fortitude to enter this chasm of an unknown vocation; it is so much more than I could have anticipated. But one step at a time. Once I decided that I would enter this profession, the only thing that held me back was my fear of bodily fluids. My only exposure to nursing itself before NS was what I saw on "ER" or other trauma shows. I had to make up my mind then and there whether this was something I could handle or not. Bodily fluids as I learned in my step-by-step indoctrination meant not only pee and blood, but also mucous, vomit, and all those colorful words used up above for poop. Spending a summer externship on an ABI/SCI unit where nearly everyone is dependent for tushy care and most are pegged, usually meant being up to my shoulders in poop and vomit. I read in many reply posts here that it takes a lot of trust and humility to allow a nurse to take care of that for you. I know that when I looked into the eyes of my brain injured pts that summer, we connected. And even if they couldn't speak the words, their eyes spoke volumes of thanks. And b/c speed was of importance, I learned a trick or two to roll and wipe and swipe teh dirties.

What I'm trying to say is that it comes w/ the job. It's full-service care occupation. We know that coming into it, but the advice given to me, is no one likes it at first, but you get used to it, b/c you will encounter a LOT of it.

My only dilemma now remains the smell. I would love to learn some tricks for not needing to run into the clean linen room if my pt is spewing or pooing.

Anyone?

P.S. to any poster that mentioned we all will have kids, please think twice before assuming such a thing. Not all of us can or will.

Thank you.

[Hoozdo, ADN]

. what if it's green and watery?

quote]

that's my favorite kind of poop! break out the flexiseal - let's contain that watery poop. brown and watery is good too, the key word being watery!

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I've learned that the easiest way of dealing with smells, be it poop, puke, pseudomonas, whatever is a couple of Altoids. Wintergreen works especially well at desensitizing the nose for a while. Those olfactory bulbs get fried a bit and bingo, no odor.

[Jerico, BSN, RN]

I agree with the $60K a year to clean up feces post.

AND the one who posted "I like to inspect the skin of my patient post".

I like DELEGATING to be honest, and then I inspect the skin and tell the CNA "GREAT job on the BIG job!!".

There is something humbling about cleaning up a helpless person....

BUT I cannot take the smell without vomiting.

[bethin]

I have just completed my first year as an RN, BSN a couple of weeks ago. Nothing much to celebrate after I find out that I worked that hard

only to be cleaning so much poop as a person with a 4 year degree.

I think the nursing profession is too modest and afraid to admit that someone else should be doing the dirty job. I love medicine....and I love being a nurse even when orders pile up, and next shift nags at you for every little thing undone during your shift because of time constrictions, like they come on their shift to just sit around and do nothing. I can take snobby, unexperienced, stubborn doctors; I can get along fine with middle-aged bitter, old nurses; I can handle grumpy patients, and suspicious families; I can handle snobby unlicensed assist. personnel; I can handle all that even when all that can be tiring.

But on top of all that, we RNs have to clean poop! I think that is why the nursing profession don't get so much credit, that's why nurses grow old bitter and eat the next generation of nurses, it's because they are overworked, underpaid, and cleaning poop really lowers their morale. You get out of school thinking wow i'm a professional....I worked so hard...then you go and clean poooppp....!!! Nasty, foul smelling poop.

For that reason.....only for that reason I am quitting being a hospital staff nurses at the Veteran's Hospital. I am going to continue being an RN, but not one who cleans poop. I hate that poopy part of our profession, so shoot me. :welcome:

No, don't really think that's it. I don't think poop lowers morale. I think it has to do more with management and PG scores and coworkers who think they are better than the job.

And if you think having a 4 year degree precludes you from cleaning poop: I had a MD with alot more than a 4 year degree help me (a CNA with no degree, what you must think of me) with a complete bath, bed change that included cleaning poop and a turn. You're probably asking why a dr would ever do such a thing. Because that dr knew the meaning of teamwork and even with her multiple degrees she never thought she was above anyone else.

If you hate cleaning poop that much it's probably best that you quit bedside nursing. It's ok to hate cleaning poop. But coming off as elitist isn't. And I would bet you all the tea in China that you poop and it stinks, and that you wipe your own butt too.

Funny you mention snobby unlicensed personnel. I just cannot stand snobby licensed personnel.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Funny you mention snobby unlicensed personnel. I just cannot stand snobby licensed personnel.

Can we maybe avoid getting personal? I don't want to have to put on my moderator hat... Thanks in advance!

[azor]

i love poop and i dont mind cleaning it as long as my patient is comfortable.When i look at some patient when they lie helpless,i put myself in their shoes.If i am the one lying there,i wouldn't want to lie in my poop,i wil want somebody to clean me up.So,i thank God for putting me in a position where i can make a difference in someone's life.

Yesterday,i cleaned a lady's poop and collected stool specimen for occult blood,so the lady said''i dont like the smell of the room after doing no 2''.I asked her,''is it your poop or anothers'',She said hers.I laugh cos i know she said it thinking i am feeling some how cos of it but i laughed telling her that it means nothing to me.I opened the door so that the smell can go away then,she'll be comfortable.I am happy when i clean pooop cos i'll expect that for me or my relative if we should lie sick.

[happydays352]

I'm currently a caregiver, so I clean a lot of poop. It used to make me sick to my stomach, but now I just laugh about it with my coworkers or my patients. Laughter and compassion can make a "crappy" (sorry I had to do it) situation enjoyable.

[leslie :-D]

nope, no one enjoys cleaning up poop.

but when i do give a thorough cleaning, not once have i ever felt it was beneath me.

rather, it has stangely been an honor.

granted, it doesn't take a refined skillset to perform this feat.

but it does require a certain mindset to do this, resulting in a positive experience for your pt.

meaning, to clean, pat dry and leave the room asap, is getting the job done.

but to clean, pat dry, engage in conversation, not only serves as a tool of distraction, but reinforces your pt's perception of worth.

to effectively clean up your pt's poop, it will not only result in a clean and refreshed bottom, but will have banished your pt's feelings of embarrassment and shame.

when we can turn an unpleasant task into one that produces a much relieved (ahem) and grateful customer, we have done a heck of a lot more than clean up poop.

and who would ever want to feel beneath that?

leslie

[harley007]

This situation just happened to me! I work in a Cardiac Cath Lab. So what are the chances of cleaning up much of anything aside from LOADS of blood? Perhaps every 10 months or so I need to clean somebody. It never bothers me and I feel, as it has been said, that it is part of total care. This recent patient just broke my heart. Something smelled a bit funny as we moved her to the table but I thought it was her breath - sedation does give patients rather odd smelling breath. That poor woman never said a word throught the whole proceedure. As I was putting her nightshirt back on I noticed fecal material on the bottom edge. I told her she had a small "accident" we needed to clean up. She had been aware of it the whole time but was so embarassed she didn't say anything. It held our schedule up a bit but you can believe we got lots of warm water, soap and lotion to make her poor sore bottom feel better. The fact that she suffered rather than tell us made me feel so badly. I came to work in this department for many reason none of whch had to do with not cleaning up BM's. This patient reminded me how important personal care is and I shouldn't assume where an oder is coming from. Here we are monitoring everything from head to toe giving super high level care and I missed something equally important to monitor - patient comfort and total body care. Imagine if I didn't notice her nightshirt and her groin stick had become contaminated from this BM? The higher the level of education the more important total body care should be.

[Chloe'sinNYNow]

Harley

that was a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing.

Chloe