I hated cat dissection!!! Will I hate nursing?!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Okay, so we just dissected cats in my A&P I class. We literally had to skin the cat, and then tear its little body apart to look at its muscles. I could handle it, for the most part, but I REALLY didn't like it. Not even remotely enjoyable for me. Does this say anything about how I would fare in the nursing profession? I've done really well in the class so-far, and even kind-of liked it, but this was pretty off-putting. Any advice would be appreciated!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Being a cat lover, I hated that part of A&P as well. It has absolutely NO bearing on how you will handle nursing, however, so don't worry about it........it's just something many of us have to get through.:icon_hug:

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).

I thought it was gross, and I'm a guy. My cat started decomposing throughout the semester we studied it, and actually started melting. It smelled so horrible, we all threw them out and got out of lab early!

We also had to do a heart dissection on a "freshly-dead" rat. Meaning the instructor had just gassed them in the next room. I cut my supposedly dead rat's chest open, and his heart was still beating.....I had the creeps for a LONG time after that!

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I thought it was gross, and I'm a guy. My cat started decomposing throughout the semester we studied it, and actually started melting. It smelled so horrible, we all threw them out and got out of lab early!

We also had to do a heart dissection on a "freshly-dead" rat. Meaning the instructor had just gassed them in the next room. I cut my supposedly dead rat's chest open, and his heart was still beating.....I had the creeps for a LONG time after that!

oh my gosh that's horrible! :no: I don't think I could have handled that :(

We didn't have to do all that... the only dissections we had to do was a sheeps eye and a heart (also of a sheep). The instructor did a demo with a calf pluck (the lungs/heart/trachea of the calf) to show us how the lungs inflated...but I guess I dodged a bullet with the cat dissection. (but I had done it in high school, so that's totally fine with me).

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

I thought it was really neat...minus the smell...but don't worry, it won't have any bearing on hating nursing!

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Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..

I remember having to dissect dog-fish in high school!This was just after the summer holidays and the fish had been sitting at the railway station awaiting pick up for at least a week (in the heat) before we got them. I still throw up if I smell 'old' fish!!

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I have had no dissections in anatomy. My professor said dissecting other animals will just confuse you to the placement in the human body, so you will not do a dissection.:bow:

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Specializes in DOU.

I did multiple fetal pigs (professor needed extra for finals) and a cat. I enjoyed it. I didn't find the differences in location of organs to be all that great, to be honest.

I think that it was a good experience for a nurse. You are going to see plenty of really gross things in your career. It might be useful to know if you are a fainter before you invest the time in nursing school.

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We had male and female human cadavers. It was hard at first but then I really loved it.

I would have hated animal dissections.

Nursing has little to do with dissection - you should be fine. :D:D

steph

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Yes, I think if we wanted to do dissection daily we would have zeroed in on another career. The last thing I dissected was a frog.

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We never did any animal dissections, we had human cadavers. At the start, they were mostly prepped for us, skinned and such. It was still SO HARD to have to dig a garbage bag wrapped arm or leg out of a giant Rubbermade tub. I had nightmares at first. It was especially poignant to see nail polish on the fingers of one hand. That made it so uniquely human and personal. I kept thinking of all the things the hand had done in life - combed hair or made dinner or knitted booties. So bizarre. When we worked on the actual "whole" bodies there were times it was hard, but in a way, the insides were easier, once the body was opened. Less personal, I think. We also had the option to prep, skin and scrape. I declined. Those three bodies were with us the entire semester and it got pretty ripe in there toward the end! We brought Vicks and masks and Altoids. We also had cows and lamb eyes to dissect, and preserved hearts and brains, ugh, even genitalia. Disconcerting to say the least. But it helped to desensitize us, I think.

To me that was all so much more purposeful than dissecting a cat or other animal. I would have a terrible time skinning a kitty! Unless I was going to be a veterinary nurse, I don't see the point. I had a hard time in physio when I had to first "meet" my live frog before it was killed and we had to cut its heart out to do experiments on. I hated that! The killing. I saw no good in taking life from one of God's creatures just to note that its heart could be made to keep beating after death. It is enough to tell me it is so.

Anatomy in all was terrible and wonderful and fascinating and I was so grateful that people donated their bodies so I could learn. I was also grateful to have an AWESOME professor and the best lab partners ever.

I don't think that your discomfort and distress over cat dissection has any bearing on your ability to be a nurse. If anything, it shows your compassion and value of life. Hang in there!

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:confused: ummmm....just a guess...but i'm pretty sure you dont dissect cats in nursing. on humans...i'm pretty sure the surgeon handles that stuff...

sorry, couldnt resist. :trout:

but seriously, just dont go for a career in the or and you should be fine?

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