How much poop/puke/cleaning of bodily fluids is there in nursing school?

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Hey all. I'm starting in September and just want to know what I should be preparing myself mentally for. How much poop/puke/pee etc is involved? Is it a daily basis thing or just once in a while?

I'm not totally averse to it, just want to start getting prepared. =)

I worked as an aide in inpatient psych. There were sporadic times we (aides and nurses) cleaned up poop or vomit or pee. Residents got angry and decided not to use the facilities or were ill and couldn't. We had a patient whose room we cleaned semen from daily until he was discharged. I'm sure it's not as common in an outpatient arena. My BIL works in outpt psych and had a pt pee on his office floor.

In nursing school, I cleaned up some sort of bodily fluid at least once a week. It was sometimes several times a day and sometimes not at all. It's very dependent on the type if patient. Surgical patients tend to use a bedpan. Critically ill and confused tend to be incontinent. No one can really tell you how often. Be prepared for it every day but I would think you could go several days without it if you don't go out of your way to help the other students or nurses (I'm not saying that in a snotty way). Not every patient is incontinent or vomiting.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
If you really need to ask this question you need to think about the career regardless of whether you want to go into psych. Mentally ill patients have many habits that are I appealing as well as many health issues in addition to their psych problems. I have been a nurse for 30 yrs and never had a patient that specifically planned to poop per, vomit, hemorrhage, or die. All these things are sheerly a toss of the coin![/quote']

^This.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Its impossible to give an exact amount. I don't remember an instant in school where I had to clean up BM or emesis, but, then again, I was a CNA so that was just "another day at the office"--in fact, if I only had one incontinent episode I had to clean up, that was a very very light day compared with the LTC facility.

On the other hand, based on the luck of the draw you might have a pt who is in the hospital from a SNF who is totally incontinent of B/B. You might be assigned to a pt with gastroparesis who has frequent bouts of nausea/vomiting. You might get a C diff pt. Then again, you may get none of the above. There really is no way of predicting.

^...and THIS.

It's relative to the experience in your clinicals...those natural body processes are unpredictable.

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Specializes in ER.

I love this thread!!

I was one of the lucky ones, I never had a messy moment until my last semester. I had an elderly, bedridden patient that a reaction to all of the meds they were taking. She was so embarrassed, and no matter what I did, I made it worse. There was poo everywhere. I nicely asked one of the PCTs to help me and she was a life safer. Be respectful to the people to sometimes do the "dirty" jobs. They can teach you the tips and tricks and can make your life a lot easier. Even if you never clean poo again in your career, it is a good learning experience.

The PCTs and CNAs can help you in so many ways. Please do not be one of those students that has the mentality that you are too good to wipe a butt (we had quite a few). It is not that bad and there are so many things you can learn from doing it.

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Unfortunately, yes, in the beginning clinical instructors seem to force you to do the yucky stuff that aides usually do. At my school, they told the aides which patients had students assigned so they'd skip over bathing/cleaning them. At first, that was good for learning the basics, but after a few weeks of bed baths and changing sheets, I was pretty sure I knew how to do it and started to feel really annoyed that 75% of my clinical day was the CNA's job. I wanted to learn actual skills!

Luckily, cleaning is non-existent in the specialty rotations, such as L&D, OR, psych, etc. I lived for those. Med/surg rotation, however, be prepared for 2-3 "clean ups" per week. Hold your nose, use strong gum, and wait for the day you move into a different specialty and never have to deal with med/surg again. I know I couldn't do it as a full-time job - I respect those that do, but it's not for me.

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FYI....Bedside won't be the only place you see pee and poop....Mental Health is where you get the patients that start eating it and throwing it at you! :roflmao:

Dementia patients do that too.

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In a field such as nursing, we are dealing with so many different people in any state of illness. I think, as has been said before, one must deal with all patients compassionately. I spent most of 2012 laid up with a fractured femur. I developed MRSA and required numerous surgeries to try to clean out the infection, without success. The bottom line is I required a transfemoral amputation of my right leg. I will always remember the nurses who cared for me AS A PERSON with feelings and fears, and not just another linen change or bedpan. In my years of nursing, I didn't care about what needed to be done, but helped to care for the patient. One's credibility tends to increase when you pitch in to help. Nursing deals with People, not predictable widgets or gadgets that excrete on a predictable time schedule. In my ADN program, we were taught to look at a person with biological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual needs. Nursing IS a work of heart.

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I dealt with poop everyday in clinicals.

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Specializes in Trauma, Orthopedics.
Dementia patients do that too.

Dementia is a part of mental health, too.

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Okay. Thanks for your feedback and advice, everyone. I am prepared to clean up poop every clinical (twice a week my first semester) or not often at all ... it sounds like your experiences really vary. I think anyone working with people - esp kids - could probably expect to occasionally clean pee off the floor in their job... but I don't think that PMHNPs - outpatient or inpatient - really do much cleaning of a patient - this is what I have gathered from actually talking to psych NPs, so I don't think it's super relevant to the daily work of a PMHNP. Especially outpatient, which is where I'd like to end up. I hope my thread didn't seem snobby. I absolutely think cleaning poop is an important part of nursing care. But, so is psychotherapy/medication management.

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Chrisrn I know I can handle it. I mean, I don't know, I feel your tone is a little judgmental/dismissive (it could just be the effect of the interwebs). I just was looking for factual information--how often does poop cleaning come up in nursing school (not everyone who goes to RN school plans to work as an RN for an extended period of time in an inpatient setting). Like once every clinical, twice every clinical, twice every other clinical.[/quote']

I would assume one who is going to RN school is going to work as a RN.

You are going to see poop and pee at clinical. And you most likely will work as a RN to put yourself through college unless you have a sugar daddy, am I right?

I'm trying hard not to be judgmental but frankly I don't know why someone would become a nurse if they don't want to provide basic care to patients. Sorry if that stings. There are other career options you could pursue without becoming a nurse. To my knowledge you don't need to be a nurse to be a PA.

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Specializes in critcal care, CRNA.
Okay. Thanks for your feedback and advice everyone. I am prepared to clean up poop every clinical (twice a week my first semester) or not often at all ... it sounds like your experiences really vary. I think anyone working with people - esp kids - could probably expect to occasionally clean pee off the floor in their job... but I don't think that PMHNPs - outpatient or inpatient - really do much cleaning of a patient - this is what I have gathered from actually talking to psych NPs, so I don't think it's super relevant to the daily work of a PMHNP. Especially outpatient, which is where I'd like to end up. I hope my thread didn't seem snobby. I absolutely think cleaning poop is an important part of nursing care. But, so is psychotherapy/medication management.[/quote']

I thought they told you to give up nursing bc you are lazy and unwilling to clean poop? Lol

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