Are my classmates delusional??

[Lola89]

Hello everyone,

I was recently in a study session with some of classmates for a Microbiology class. We started talking about nursing in general and I jokingly said we are going to be professional a$$ wipers! (btw, I was just joking no need to comment on this :)) But they both looked at me with puzzled looks and said that we don't have to do that as nurses that CNAs do that. I asked them, if a patient has an accident while under your care what are you going to do? They looked uncomfortable with this question and just answered that they are aware that as a nurse those situations are not common. One claimed that her entire family was in nursing and she knows first hand that nurses hardly have to do that.

It just baffles me how many people go into nursing thinking that this things are beneath them? As experienced nurses how often are you faced with that situation, where you have to clean up a patient's feces and vomit. I honestly thought that you have do that often.

[BluegrassRN]

Depends upon the position, I'll wager. When I worked in a doctor's office, I wasn't cleaning any bums. I'll be willing to bet good money that nursing instructors, telephone triage nurses, some LTC nurses, public health nurses, insurance company nurses, nursing administrators, on and on, are not cleaning up a whole lot of stool.

Most bedside nursing involves dirty work. Not a big deal.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

yes- your classmates are delusional. A lot of pts are two person assists. I often clean pts with a CNA or with another nurse.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

....... some LTC nurses..... are not cleaning up a whole lot of stool......

I know you said some LTC nurses- but LTC is where I've had the most BM duties as an RN.

[cokristinug]

YES they are delusional. Tell them good luck in the real world. They will never make it.

[leslie :-D]

i've honestly believed for years, the admissions process into nsg school, needs to be modified...

and was actually thinking of a way to incorporate 'cleaning-up poop' into the admissions process.

for example, let's say it was a multi-step admission, where you had to do the usual essays and interviews, but ALSO,

having to assist a 'real nurse' in cleaning up an incontinent patient.

anyone who truly wants to be a 'real nurse', would likely assist the nurse with this task.

if this were ever to happen, i believe we would have many more new grads who understand what 'real nursing' entails...

and those who say "NO WAY", would be weeded out and denied admission.

leslie:nurse:

[casi, ASN, RN]

i've honestly believed for years, the admissions process into nsg school, needs to be modified...

and was actually thinking of a way to incorporate 'cleaning-up poop' into the admissions process.

leslie:nurse:

The school I just graduated from expected us to be CNAs and to have worked for so many paid hours within the healthcare setting... So I think they kinda got teh cleaning up poop aspect into the admissions process.

[Valerie Salva, BSN, RN]

I own a book with a great title-

Nurses Work: the Sacred and the Profane.

The book itself isn't that great, but the title really speaks to me.

Nurses' work encompases the whole spectrum of addressing pt needs- from helping bring new life into the world, to doing respectful post-mortum care, to changing a sharps container, to cleaning up BM.

A true, real nurse is someone who can clean up BM, provide emotional support, critically assess her pt, and incorporate her findings into her pt care- and do all of these things simultaneously.

[leslie :-D]

The school I just graduated from expected us to be CNAs and to have worked for so many paid hours within the healthcare setting... So I think they kinda got teh cleaning up poop aspect into the admissions process.

thanks casi, i was specificially thinking of those who had no healthcare experience, and enter nsg school with the "that's what aides are for" attitude.

i admire your school's expectations.

it certainly makes admission a lot less arduous.

leslie

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

My,my, my! Let's see was an ICU nurse for 35 yrs We didn't have techs. soooo how many times did I clean up poop and vomit????? Every day, many times a day! It is a part of the job. Just the idea of poop and vomit is physiology. Have they not read part of that book yet?. I am just flabbergasted they don't think that is part of the job.

[CBsMommy]

That's just silly! I know that cleaning feces and vomit is not the funnest thing in the whole wide world but it can mean the world to the patient! Not only is that part of patient care but what a great time to assess the patient's skin and look for any signs of breakdown. And our school also makes us do the CNA class before we enter. They were getting a lot of people who would rethink nursing in their first semester because they didn't want to clean feces. The CNA class itself can be a great "weed out" process.

[inkedRN]

Tell your friends if they expect to have hands on care in a hospital setting they will be wiping a$$. If they don't want to clean people up like that, they should switch majors and go into accounting or something.

[cokristinug]

I think a lot of nursing schools are now requiring prospective students to be CNAs before they apply and i totally agree with this! In order to be able to "delegate" your nursing assistant to do something, you sure as heck better know how to do it yourself! Personally, I would way rather just do it myself than call my CNA in to do it for me, I like providing total care to my patients and it just doesnt provide a good therapeutic relationship between you and your nursing assistant if you call them from the patients room to empty a urinal (sorry, personal vent...)