A Pre-nursing Student who believes...

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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... that she will NEVER have to clean, feces, vomit, urine, blood, etc.! Here's what happened: So, today I was chatting with one of my fellow pre-nursing students while at school. I do not know this girl very well, in fact it was only the second time we spoke as we have no classes together. Today we strike up a conversation and I got a little bit of a squeamish vibe from her -- so I asked her "Have you given any thought to the fact that you will be cleaning bodily fluids, etc. and how do you feel about that?" She replied with this: "As an RN I will NEVER have to do that! That is what CNAs are for." So, I tried to explain to her that as far as I know and IMO EVERY RN has to do that at one time or another. She refuses to believe this and is convinced that I am wrong. Well, to all the nurses out there -- is there such a thing as a 'bodily fluid free' existence in nursing? I, personally, do NOT believe this and have already prepared myself (as much as one can w/o the actual experience) for having to do such things. Thoughts anyone??

Did she forget someone had to clean hers when she a child?!?!

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Thank you for that! :yeah: I WISH that was a requirement for acceptance into a nursing program. Then maybe they could weed out some of people who arent really cut out for it and the rest of us wouldnt have to wait a million years to get into the program!

You would have "weeded" me out. I was working FT as a computer programmer while attending school (pre-reqs and NS). I would NEVER have been able to quit my job to work as a CNA just so I could get into NS. I don't believe having NOT been a CNA makes me a less qualified RN. Heck, after raising 5 kids....I got my fair share of icky and I wasn't even paid to clean it up!! (LOL)

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Specializes in Peds, School Nurse, clinical instructor.

I would love to be a fly on the wall during her clinicals.........She will learn, probably the hard way ;)

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You would have "weeded" me out. I was working FT as a computer programmer while attending school (pre-reqs and NS). I would NEVER have been able to quit my job to work as a CNA just so I could get into NS. I don't believe having NOT been a CNA makes me a less qualified RN. Heck, after raising 5 kids....I got my fair share of icky and I wasn't even paid to clean it up!! (LOL)

You obviously didn't have poopphobia when you started nursing school. :clown:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

Wow, so many young nurses are under the impression they will NEVER have to *gasp* actually TOUCH a patient!

And where the h*ll do people get the idea that they are just going to walk into a nice, bodily free fluid job?

I would just tell her straight: guess what mate? You are not going to get any cushy job without clinical experience - and you got do the hard yards to get those cushy jobs.

I call them la la people - cos they just live in la la land.

Unreal.

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Originally Posted by awsmfun viewpost.gif

This is why every nursing student needs to work as a CNA before they apply to nursing school. Then they would really know what being an
RN
really involves! What ever happened to this requirement? No wonder so many bimbos are going into nursing!

As a nurse educator I have thought this way as well...our college admits based on GPA and you can admit all the book smart people you want but they need to have a lot of common sense and the ability to be a critical thinker. As for the student who isn't in nursing to clean up after patients...she will get a big dose of reality upon graduation and tries to find a job without that description. One poster was correct, she won't be very popular on her unit if she tries to find someone else to do the "dirty" work...I question her reason for being in nursing to begin with...because she'll "always have a job?"...I have known a few nurses in my past who got into nursing to meet a doctor..(that's a joke!). Someone who comes to nursing school because they have a strong desire to care for people who need their care...that's the kind of student I want to teach... as many posters said..."she will find out soon enough." Many non-bedside jobs don't come without clinical experience first...just read the want ads.

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Specializes in Mental Health.
Riiiighhht. Tell her to try accounting! :barf01: :barf01:

I was just about to say that!

Honestly, when I first came into my nursing program...I came in with the assumption that nurses ARE the ones who clean the poop and do all the nasty work.

Well, long behold I learned that yes, unfortunately we have to do some nasty things, BUT we get to do some really AWESOME things too.

And most importantly we help our patients.

I think selflessness should be a requirement for acceptance into Nursing.

PS. before nursing I was actually studying business (accounting actually) in high school. After I had my 2 month internship at this bank I knew that a desk job was not for me!

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I agree with RN Suz. I am from Ohio, here, even most L.P.N. Programs still DO require a S.T.N.A. Program, first. We NOW all know why. With this Student R.N.'s View on all the "Poop" etc.. issues that she has. And yes, I do realize that you were only having a casual discussion with her.... HOWEVER.., after 26 Years - (ie. twenty six) of Nursing and Medical Experience, I will probably say that your friend MAY be able to get away with a "Poop Free" non cleanup existence in, say, a geriatric Long Term Care facility, as an R.N. .... maybe, if shes "lucky" ! And not only poop hun. (c;} I have been peed on, pooped on, vomitted on... and once or twice vomitted WITH blood on !!! Wait till she gets on a First Shift and get ALL of her beds cleanly made and "tite cornered", and have a Patient get back in it and Poop all over it!! I know this is only MY experience, but please.... just prepare yourself with steely nerves and a Great Deal of Patience and Caring for them first. As always... good luck and ALL our best.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical - Care of adults.

OK. I've only been a registered nurse since 1969 (when I graduated on Friday the 13th; I wonder if that was an omen?). I don't want to require a CNA prior to admission into the clinical classes in the nursing curriculum. I've seen too many students (both ADN & BSN) come with pitiful poor attitudes (PPAs) based on their experiences as CNAs. Many of them have learned dangerous or just plain inappropriate "shortcuts" and many of them, having worked with RNs with PPAs believe that the "icky stuff" IS CNA work and that student nurses and registered nurses shouldn't have to do that stuff. Yes, a very few students get accepted into nursing programs without any idea of what they're getting in to in view of "icky stuff", but I see more students who drop out or fail because they weren't aware of how much critical thinking and in-depth understanding of patients' physical and mental and spiritual and emotional needs are. And to the poster who wasn't allowed to give the failing grade to the student who earned it by refusing to take care of a patient -- you were at the wrong school. None of the programs where I've taught (3 ADN & 4 BSN) would have allowed that student to progress. In fact, one student when I taught at a prestigious private university in the southeast US "freed a student to pursue another line of study" when she stated that she would only provide care to persons from certain parts of the city because rich people (like her) needed care just as much as poor people. Some attitudes truly make one "unfit for nursing".

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Not so sure I would want a nurse with this kind of attitude to be on my team or to take care of me if I were a patient! As a previous nurse manager, I NEVER asked my nurses or cnas to do anything I wasn't willing to do myself if need be. Nursing is about the whole person, not paper work or telling others what to do! This nurse will not make it in the REAL WORLD OF NURSING with this attitude.

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Specializes in Med-Surge, ER, GI Lab/Scopes.

I don't understand why some new nursing students do not understand the concept of addressing pts' needs first. If your pt is dirty and a CNA is not available, take care of the issue immediately! I would not let a pt remain in their own filth any longer than I would of my 15-month-old. If total care is too much for a nurse, perhaps that student should get certified as a CMA instead.

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We had a new nurse on our floor who left a mess in the nursing lounge and then told the cleaner "I am a degree nurse. It is beneath me to clean up garbage.' The cleaner was obviously quit dismayed with this comment as it was demeaning to him. I told him she empties bedpans for a living and you can't get much lower than that! LOL He thanked me. Can you imagine that nurse having such an "I'm better than others'" attitude. However, she did quickly learn when others got on her case for leaving a mess on subsequent occasions. Now not only does she clean up garbage, but she also cleans up a variety of bodily fluids as well. Something the cleaner does not have to do!

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