Can you learn to have a strong stomach?

[ZoeBS]

Hi! I'm not yet a nursing student, but I'll be applying to colleges for nursing in October. I have a fairly strong stomach, but not as strong as I think I will need to have as a nurse. At one of the schools I visited the student who showed me around the simulation floor said that when before she became a nurse she was terrified of needles, so much so that she fainted on her first day. I'm not so over-fond of them myself, but I know I can desensitize myself to them. My question is, can I desensitize myself to other unpleasant things, like severe wounds and compound fractures and suchlike? Is it possible to learn to have a strong stomach, and is it ok if I'm sort of nauseous at my first clinical or in the sim lab? I'm sure I've got the will to keep going in spite of the unpleasantness.

[schnookimz]

I've gotten over pretty much everything. However, one of my first days as a CNA, I was gowned and masked in an isolation room and watching someone draw blood. She was moving the needle around trying to find the vein. And watching that needle moving around and already being warm made me see spots. I was on the ground!!! But I've gotten over it all!

[ZoeBS]

I've gotten over pretty much everything. However, one of my first days as a CNA, I was gowned and masked in an isolation room and watching someone draw blood. She was moving the needle around trying to find the vein. And watching that needle moving around and already being warm made me see spots. I was on the ground!!! But I've gotten over it all!

Thanks! I was worried about that. When I was at summer camp a few years ago I had a friend with Diabetes I, and I used to force myself to watch her give herself her insulin injections. That cured me for a week or so, but then needles started bothering me again. I guess this will last, though.