Concerns about Nursing

Ayvah, RN · Mar 25, 2008

Hello everone, my name is Ryan and I have been trying to decide between two programs my school offers. One is Nursing and the other is Radiologic Technology. I have the pre-reqs for both done, however my first choice is Nursing as I think I would like to pursue Nurse Practitioner someday.
My problem is I have a problem with feeling faint(cold sweats, clammy etc) with certain things. I dont know how I would feel about catheters and really invasive procedures. I also cant say Id be thrilled about vomit and feces either. I used to work at a nursing home as a activities aide but didnt have to change them obviously.

One can get over these things. I would recommend gradual desensitization - look at online pictures/videos of procedures being done first until you are comfortable viewing them. (Personally, this helped me a LOT) In nursing school you will practice on dummies, or, in some cases, you can practice on other nursing students. I took a phlebotomy class on my own and it helped greatly, as we got in a lot of practice on each other (was also an option to go to the local hospital to get practice there too). Have you taken anatomy/physiology? If so, did you work with cadavers? How did you do with those?

I think that if I could get over those things that my personality would make me a good male nurse. My other concerns are with me being a MALE. I have heard conflicting things as far as Males in nursing, also about males who attempt to become NP's. What is the outlook for male RN's/NP's?

There is a male subforum on these boards, I'd think you'd get good advice about this issue there. Yes, you may have to face additional challenges because of your gender.

If anyone could give me some insight/advice about my weak stomach or support to help me in my decisions, I would greatly appreciate it. I just dont want to go into a career where all I do is clean up vomit/feces and be miserable as the people in the first year in nursing forums are.

Dealing with vomit/feces is a necessary part of general floor nursing. However, there is far, far more than that. Nurses play a large role in the health and well being of their patients. As to the first-year forum, some reasons, of many, that these nurses are depressed is because of very poor hospital working conditions, including unsafe staffing ratios, mandatory overtime, high patient acuity coupled with lack of experience, and lack of time for breaks. I loved the work I did at the hospital, but the poor working conditions which led to health problems and a neglected family is what keeps me from going back. However - there is more to nursing than the hospital! Just look at the specialty tab/nursing specialties at the top of the webpage to see the myraid of opportunities available for nurses. Many of these do not deal with vomit/feces at all (well, they may on occasion). You can make a big difference in a variety of ways.

One more thing do new grads always have to do a year of med/surg?
Thank you in advance to anyone ho can help out!
-Ryan

No. While it is a good idea as you learn an immense amount about the human body and basic nursing, it is not a requirement.

atomic1976 · Mar 26, 2008

I had the same problem with the weak stomach/dizziness when I first started nursing school. Watching my classmates give practice injections and observing an RN pack a wound during clinicals nearly made me faint. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to get over it, but I found that once I was actually DOING the procedures rather than watching them being done, I was fine. I was able to stop focusing on empathetic pain for the patient and concentrate more on my technique. So try not to worry too much.