Can I really get over the "icky" side of nursing.... (kind of long)

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I'm sorry if I seem to go into a rant, but I just need to vent...

Here's a little background info about me...I've wanted to work in the medical field since I was a little girl. I've always thought I'd like to be a nurse but worried about bodily fluids. I thought I would venture into becoming an ultrasound tech, but my heart steered me back towards becoming a nurse. I can't think of anything I've wanted more than to be a nurse but I just can't get over blood and guts. I've just been overwhelmed with this feeling due to an nasty little rat (my apt building recently developed a rat problem so we have traps set up).

I'm a little worried I can't be a nurse. I say I'm worried I can't be a nurse because I don't know if I can get over bodily fluids, etc.. I genuinely want to be a nurse, but I'm a wimp when it comes to the blood and guts aspect of nursing. For instance, the other day my hubby showed me his finger bleeding--he cut his cuticle and it was leaking blood like a leaky faucet and it gave me the chills. I shrugged it off because I figured I just need to become desensitized to the "icky" side of nursing. But, what has just set me off is rat brains.... I'm in the living room trying to lay with my two year old who can't sleep when all of a sudden, I hear the rat trap snap in the kitchen. So I go peek in the kitchen and there it is. Well, since DH is asleep, and I don't want to leave a nasty rat on my kitchen floor, I figure I would get it in a bag and throw it out. I knew there would be some "yuck" guts on the floor (the rat is on it's back and the trap is kind of on top of it) that I couldn't see but me wanting to be a nurse, I figured I need to "man up" and get the thing out. So, I hesitate but start to pick the trap up and then I see it--brownish-orange fluids (I'm assuming from it's brain cavity) on my floor. I drop the corner of the trap and almost puke--literally. What the heck is wrong with me?!?!? This happened almost a half hour ago, and I still feel sick to my stomach and have a lump in my throat. I feel like banging my head against the wall. If I can't pick up a rat with it's guts leaking out, how am I going to be a nurse?

One more thing I want to add is I really think it is only a fear of bodily fluids. About 4 years ago, my ex-boyfriend had surgery to remove a cyst located on his tailbone. He had a home care nurse that would come early A.M. and again in the evening, to clean it out and pack it. On the surface his incision looked only like a hairline cut, but when you opened it up, it was actually a hole about the size of a golf ball, down to the bone. His nurse came about 6:30 A.M. After about two weeks, and his nursed realized how particular I was about keeping his wound clean, she showed me how to properly clean, and pack it so that she wouldn't need to come so early in the morning. Doing that didn't bother me one bit. Not the least. It wasn't bleeding profusely and I think that's why it didn't bother me. Does it make sense that I'm okay with packing a wound, but not okay with blood and guts?

I've watched a couple videos of cadaver dissections (which I found pretty interesting) to try and ease into what I'll be faced with in the future, and while they bothered me, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be--I think because they seemed dried out (like beef jerky), and since there weren't gobs of blood and whatnot it didn't really bother me. Am I crazy for wanting to be a nurse? Can I conquer my fear of bodily fluids, etc? Can I really get over the "icky" side of nursing? Have any of you felt the way I do and gotten over it? PLEASE share your story if you've experienced something similar.

Thanks guys!

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Have you tried volunteering? The program that I do allows you to change/clean patients. You are in the room with the nurse as they change dressings, start IVs, even be in the OR! Currently I'm doing a rotation in the ER where there is blood present almost every shift.

You might want to look into opportunities like that to see how you do. Because you don't want to do all that schooling just to find out you can't handle it.

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I also recommend volunteering. I am slightly in the same boat as you. I really want to be a nurse and always have, but was a little leery about certain fluids (stool and vomit). I have been through all of my pre-req's and am now waiting to get into NS. I figured I would volunteer at my local hospital while I'm waiting to see how I would respond to the environment and so forth. I absolutely love it. Granted I obviously don't even touch on what a nurse really does, but it has exposed me to some "icky" things, and it doesn't seem to bother me. I hope that you can over this fear and pursue what you've always dreamed of doing! Good luck!

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

poop stinks, and you will never like it... it is a matter of finding out hoe can you adaptate to it!

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Specializes in CNA.

That story about the rat sounds horribly disgusting !!!:barf02:..(sorry, I had to).... Anyway, I think I would have reacted the same way, especially because it is in your house, in your own kitchen, on the floor that your kids run across everyday. I think that psychological factors come into play sometimes and I have to admit that I get grossed out easily too, But by the oposite things than you....blood, poop, vomit, doesn't really bother me too much, as long as I don't take a big whiff of it...I try to hold my breath..., but, I think you will get used to it, but you might not totally get over it....good luck...:barf01: LOL...

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Thank you to everyone who replied! I think a lot of why I was so repulsed was the rat itself, I was psychologically disgusted to begin with.....can't stand 'em! Also, that day was stressful to begin with (in the process of trying to find/buy our first home), so I think that was fuel to the fire.

I am going to try some volunteering, but no matter what, I'm not going to let anything stand in the way of what I would truly be happy doing-- I want a job that I'm going to love doing, and enjoy waking up for in the morning. I want to make a positive impression on someone's life, even if it's only one person. For me, I think nursing will do it for me, I can't see myself happy working an office job, or in retail, or much else. I think in light of having a weak stomach (which I WILL overcome), nursing is what I'm "meant" to do.

Again, thanks for all the feedback!

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I SO had to reply to this post....

because I could've written it! (well, all but the rat part~ which IMO rats are dirty little creatures and can't even compare to nursing!)

I too am worried that I won't be able to handle the "icky" side of nursing. :eek:

I have wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember, but have not pursued it for this reason.

Well, I've decided not to let my fears stop me from doing something that I know would be so fulfilling.

So I am going to cross that bridge when I get there....So many posts that I have read say that the professional in you kicks in and you just deal with things....and eventually get used to most of it.

I can't imagine there are many nurses who haven't had some sort of "ick" aversion....

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I am right there with you and it has kept me back as well. I assume that I will deal with it. It is what it is. I do think you can work through things and frankly the rat story is gross. I am sure many different things in nursing will be gross...but a rat on my floor with it's brain coming out? That is super sick... :)

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