Considering a Nursing Career

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I hope this does not sound like a dumb question. I am considering a career in nursing, but there is one thing that I am not sure if I could handle. So I wanted to ask here if this happens very often, and if so how do you deal with it.

I don't think I would have a problem cleaning or dealing with bodily fluids of other, my problem would be if I got bodily fluids on my clothes or face.

Does this happen very often? If so, how do you deal with it?

TIA (Thanks in Advance.)

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Yes honey, depending on the area where you will be working I believe there is a possibility for that to happen often...

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I can think of a few areas of nursing such as Informatics, Research, Legal (I'm sure there are others) that you would not come in contact with bodily fluids. The thing is, you usually need years of nursing experience to get into those areas.

I'd like to say that you get used to it, but it's probably more accurate to say that you learn to accept it as part of the job.

Good luck to you.

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Yes it does happen. You would wash off the fluid with soap and water. Report to the charge nurse, fill out whatever paperwork they have for employee injury.

Hospitals should have eye wash stations where eyes can get washed out if it gets in your eyes. Good reason to wear glasses. (Nurses who wear contacts at work bug me for this reason!!!!) I've heard you can buy glasses that have no corrective lenses, just would be for eye protection but look like regular glasses. Or wear heavy duty protective type glasses/goggles?

Personally I wash it off and go about the rest of my shift, but it would depend on what type of fluid, how much, where it landed, etc. I am just not a paranoid or high yuck factor person!

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So, just to clarify. You are saying that bodily fluids get on your clothes and face often?

I understand that you would wash your face with soap and water, plus the eyewash if it got in your eye.

If it gets on your clothes, what do you do. Just stay the whole day with that on there or what?

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Seldom on the face. More often than it should on my clothes (but I'm kind of a messy sloppy nurse!!!) If a nurse is cautious and careful it SHOULDN'T happen often.

If our clothes get dirty the supervisor can get us OR scrubs we can change into. We have even had the hospital separately bag and send out staff clothes to be cleaned with the hospital laundry, but that is REALLY rare.

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I always just keep an extra set of clothes in my locker... down to the undies. (And yes, I've needed to change undies. And socks.) If I've forgotten to bring an extra set of clothes, we get OR scrubs. If I'm going to be doing something that I think might be particularly messy, like a bad diaper change or a big dressing change, I will put on an isolation gown to try to save my clothes as much as possible.

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If you're concerned about that, you just wear a face shield and a gown, anytime that exposure is possible. It's a good practice anyway, although I admit that I don't always anticipate well.

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yup, you stay the entire day. you cannot simply leave, it is patient abandonment. i am in nursing school, but my experience has been in long term care and assisted living. i have worked in the hospital before, only briefly, as i love ltc.

i have been peed on, pooped on, and vommited on. i wipe up as best i can, and move on. that's all you can do, really. i would take extra clothes to work at times, but you become so busy that you do not want to take the time to change.

bodily fluids are part of the job.

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Risk of fluid exposure for nurses is real! There are also smells and visuals that you will deal with as well.

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