Fainting as a pre-nursing student

Cvepo · Jun 20, 2017

You need a strong stomach for nursing, but that can come with time and experiences. There are certainly facets of nursing where you will not be exposed to this type of stuff. I think we could rule out surgical/trauma nursing for you. It's about finding out what you can tolerate. Kids/babies provide their own nasty challenges that you may need a stomach for. I don't think you need to rule yourself out as a nurse, but know that you will need a decent stomach in some situations. Best of luck!

Sour Lemon · Jun 20, 2017

To start, I apologize for the length. I just want this to be detailed :)
I am currently in my second year of college and I am a pre-nursing major. I plan on applying to the program within the next month for the spring 2018 semester. Well, there is one problem- I faint. A couple years ago, my then 2-year-old nephew got a pretty good gash on his face and I fainted in the hospital parking lot (hitting my mouth on the back of a car and busting out my two front teeth). I thought this was caused from the stress since there really wasn't much blood and I'd never fainted before then. About 3 weeks ago, my brother was in a bad motorcycle accident and lost his foot. I saw him in he hospital before surgery while he was sedated (because of pain). I had to sit down and drink a soda because I felt lightheaded. During surgery, he had a below the knee amputation. Last week when he was getting his stitches out, I was watching the process and was very interested. As the RN got to the last few, we noticed that the wound wasn't completely healed. At the sight and thought of this, I began to pass out. I started sweating and the nurse's voice and my brother's voice became muffled. I eventually got it under control after 5 minutes of having my eyes closed, having a wet wash cloth on my forehead, and drinking water.
Is this something I can overcome? I feel that I have the intellectual ability to be a nurse, but I can't become one if I faint. Also, I have been aiming to become a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner so I wouldn't really deal with situations like my brother's, but wouldn't I face such things during clinicals?

Yes ...these are issues that most people can overcome. I actually grew faint once and had to sit down after observing an accucheck.

You will have to deal with these situations in school, and very possibly, on the job. "Everyone" plans to be an NNP or a CRNA, etc. -but not everyone actually makes it that far. Even getting your foot in the door as an NICU nurse can be extremely difficult in some markets. So dream your dreams and work hard, but don't assume that you'll never work with sick and injured adults. Most individuals who need medical care are not babies.

Luckyyou, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2017

Plus, there's some pretty gross things you see as a NICU nurse too... un-siloed gastroschisis, cloacal extrophy, some of the gnarlier encephaloceles... I had a baby missing a face due to amniotic bands once.

chwcbesteph, RN · Jun 20, 2017

Have you tried taking meds before entering situations where you might be sensitive??

I almost passed out observing my first surgery (a c-section) and had to excuse myself. I laughed about it later and moved on. You just have to know yourself, keep trying, and don't ever use it as an excuse to not participate.

There are lots of things you can do as a nurse that don't deal with ick on a regular basis, but you will be exposed, so you need a plan.

Good luck!

SouthpawRN · Jun 20, 2017

One thought is that these also involved family which you have a personal/emotional connection with. That might make it worse too.

kkbb, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2017

One thought is that these also involved family which you have a personal/emotional connection with. That might make it worse too.

I was thinking the same thing. I saw a few surgeries during nursing school and was totally fine. I don't know if I would be fine watching anything to do with BKA on my brother.

For the record, for the first surgery I watched the surgeon asked if I had seen one before. When I said no he made it mandatory for me to sit for the entire procedure. He was very nice about it, but said that he had seen too many newbies (student nurses and student doctors) pass out and he didn't want to add me to the list.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 20, 2017

The only time this ever happened to me was when I was photographing a complicated hand/ tendon repair in the ED. Hand surgeon was more concerned that I'd damaged his camera than anything else!

HermioneG, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2017

It's definitely something that with experience and exposure you can overcome. Also, I'm sure that your brother being the patient added a whole different level of emotion and stress for you. I'm a firm believer that in addition to what you're seeing and experiencing in the physical aspect, a big part of fainting can also be due to emotions. I saw some pretty intense things in nursing school and I never struggled with fainting, but you should see how hard it is for me when my husband is getting anything done medically. I'm sure I might faint if he was the patient and something traumatic happened to him. That's one of the very many reasons why we can't take care of family members in the hospital!

While I've never struggled with incoming traumas or witnessing childbirth, I almost passed out once and it was on Labor and Delivery during an epidural. I wasn't even looking at anything, but it was the heightened emotions in the room that got to me. The mother had no support system available to her due to very personal and very traumatic reasons, and so I was both physically and emotionally supporting her during the process. She was sitting on the side of the bed, legs dangling off, and I was standing between her knees supporting her. She put her head on my chest and was alternating between contractions and crying, and as hard as I tried to fight it I started to feel faint. I was able to stand strong, but my hearing muffled and my vision became fuzzy. Eventually, I could only see pinpoints and I realized that I was a safety risk to her. I asked my nurse to take over and then I went out for some water and scarfed down a snack. It was pretty embarrassing.

Tips for not passing out for next time are don't lock your knees (that one is very important!), remember to breathe, give yourself short moments to focus on other senses and check in with yourself (ask yourself what do I hear? what do I feel with my hands? can I wiggle my toes?) and stay hydrated!

Long story, short, you will be just fine! Don't let this get to you :)

maggie0, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2017

I used to faint a lot, but I haven't in years since I figured out a technique. It's partly a matter of sensing when it's going to happen. The minute I feel even a little bit of that fuzzy disconnect, I take a HUGE slow breath and change position: sit if I'm standing, or if I can't, step towards a wall. Then I consciously push the faint back. I think sometimes we forget to breathe during mild shock, which contributes to the problem. The moving and the breath goose your blood pressure (esp if you normally have low blood pressure). If I were you, I wouldn't give up yet! Give yourself a chance to learn to deal with it during clinicals. Best of luck!

OliveOyl91, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2017

As others have said, it's something you will overcome with experience. I'm still working on it, myself. I've been working as a CNA for 3 years and before that I spent 2 years cleaning operating rooms. I thought I had a strong constitution until one of my patients pulled out their central line and blood was everywhere. I applied pressure with gauze until a couple RNs and another CNA stepped in. I started getting really lightheaded and had to excuse myself.

However, later that night I felt perfectly fine when another patient of mine had blood spattered everywhere by their Bi-PAP machine after they had some sort of ENT surgery.

Sometimes it just happens, but you also have to ask yourself: Were your legs clenched together? Did you have proper posture? Had you eaten? Were you hydrated? Sometimes these things can be just enough to push you over the edge.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2017

Plus, there's some pretty gross things you see as a NICU nurse too... un-siloed gastroschisis, cloacal extrophy, some of the gnarlier encephaloceles... I had a baby missing a face due to amniotic bands once.

Don't forget the neural tube defects. We had some pretty crazy encephaloceles when I worked in pediatric neurosurgery and I'll never forget the look on one of the Neurosurg NP's faces when she described her experience as a new grad encountering her first unrepaired myelomeningocele.