Getting over a weak stomach!

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Okay guys, I just got accepted into the nursing program. I want to know, I was fine with dissections, but when we started culturing urine and had to pee in a cup I almost threw up, I'm wondering, does it get any easier as you get farther when it comes to dealing with urine and feces and blood, guts, gore and anything else that's generally repulsive? I really love working with people and I love the medical field, I believe nursing is one of the best occupations you could do to help others, but I'm nervous I won't be able to handle it. Also, how does losing patients feel? Does it get easier as you progress in your career? I think that will be hard to deal with. Any expieriences, tips, stories would help a lot! Thanks! :D

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hehe um yea well lemme share u something. My first day as a cna 7 pre-operative patients alert nervous and bowels working like a finely tuned Italian bikini model very abruptly turned into well um does the running of the bulls ring a bell. It was baptism by fire. Diarrhea In One hand vomit in the other call lights blaring patients yelling for nausea and pain meds. And let's not leave out the genius patient who wakes up with staples in their abdomen and decides he would like to test their integrity. Doctors calling with orders IV's coming out and in families my personal favorite the patient who thinks she can run a daycare with 1000 screaming crying kids in the room. Oh yea and they Apollo stink. Personally I loved it all and signed for pre-nursing program and 3 years later I'm 6 months away from my nclex

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Familiarity & repeated exposure to noxious stimuli will take care of this problem. We all went through the same thing. The most important thing is to prevent the patient from seeing your revulsion. Keeping that game face on while mopping up after an exploded colostomy bag - yep, that's challenging. But to see the look of relief on the patient's face when you approach the task with compassion and empathy --- that's priceless.

We all have our kryptonite. Despite my eons in nursing, I still get squeeged out with oral secretions. GAH! As an ICU nurse, I was always trading favors to avoid having to extubate a patient. Nightmare? COPD with copious productive cough. Give me an active incontinent GI Bleed any day, but I always retch when I am faced with the dreaded lugie

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.

I still get nauseous from foul smelling stool and even vomit. However, I don't ever dry heave in front of the patient, lol.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Operating Room.

Breathe through your nose! :-) That helped me in first semester when I did LTC, and this semester in Med/Surg came a bit easier.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

It gets easier. It really does. I'm graduating in May and NOTHING bothers me anymore. I had never dealt with bodily fluids except my babies before I started and it really is trial by fire. You'll get used to it, and it'll become really important. Urine and stool tell you so much about your patient, that you'll look at it as just another assessment tool.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well I am really glad it gets easier! I would be horrified if i dry heaved in front of a pateint. I would feel soooo horrible! My nurse friend says that it gets easier, and she would bathe in urine compared to what she has had to deal with. and wooww!!! Some of these stories are HORRIFYING! LOL i will keep you posted when i get into the nursing program!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

You will learn how to discreetly breathe thru your mouth and smile at the same time. Just do the task as quick as you can. There are just somethings that will always gross you out. If I hear or see someone throw up, it makes me want to retch too! The worst thing that happened to me in nursing school was when I was taking care of this poor young lady with severe Crohn's. Turned out she had a bowel obstruction and I needed to place an ng. As I was inserting it, she projectile vomited fecal matter all down the front of me...we are talking chest to feet. Talk about wanting to retch, scream and then vomit myself. Somehow I kept it together and taped that ng in...the nurses got me scrubs from OR just so I could walk back to our dorm! I cried once I got out of the room. Worst moment ever!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Wow yikes! This is great preparation guys, I honestly would not of seen that kind of stuff coming.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.

Watch marathon showings of "Trauma: Life in the ER" on Discovery Health. They don't blur the shot and man, do you see some stuff. My favorite show, I could watch it all day long!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You get used to the icky stuff. I hardly have an iron stomach but when you're in front of someone cleaning their foul smelling stool, well, you know you can't really make a face and the experience is already humiliating for them. So you just figure, eh, it's just pee/poo/blood/whatever. Like I said, you get used to it.

Losing patients can be hard. But you do see it coming so you start to wrap your mind around it before it happens. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt but they're not your friend, they're your patients. If you get so involved that you fall apart, you're not being professional and you're not doing anyone any favors. The family and the rest of your patients needs you to keep on trucking and providing the best nursing care you can. When you go home, maybe you reflect and shed a tear. But you have to accept death as a part of life. And not all of nursing is about preserving life. We also have to be a part of dignified death.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment