Dealing with faeces?

[ToastaHands]

Hello everyone!

This is a question that has probably been asked before, but i still really need an answer (and reassurance.) Yesterday during my clinical, i had the "honour" of participating in my first so called "stool party." which is term we use here for cleaning the patient. I volunteered because during my 4 years of training i have never done one before. The patient had sever diarrhoea and it was EVERYWHERE. it took such a long time to clean because I was gagging so much, even though i was wearing double gloves and a facemask, i nearly threw up four times. I can deal with other bodily fluids no problem, blood, urine, sputum, you name it (except vomit) but i honestly could not stomach the stench and look of that "stool party" It was such a bad experience that I honestly truly thought about giving up on nursing after 4 years of studying. so can anyone give me any tips on how to deal with that? the nurses working there told me that you never get used to it so im kind of scared. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I can't think of any one person whether it be a nurse or a nursing student that likes the smell of feces. It doesn't happen often so you're fine.

It happens a lot if you work in ICU. People think critical care is exciting and glamorous. Not so much...

[twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN]

I think I just got really good at breathing through my mouth when dealing with poop but for the bad stuff I'll go for the Vicks vapor rub.

What bugs me is when people seem to think we need to see it to believe them. I'm an ER nurse and have a good imagination so when you tell me something I'll believe you. I don't need the water bottle FULL of brown phlegm to know you have a congestion issue.

[Kuriin, BSN, RN]

Just wait until you lean down to pull down a person's underwear before they sit down on the toilet and they let out a fart right in your face.

Yes. This happened to me yesterday. -.- Thank God it wasn't a wet one.

[RNjocelyn]

I never worked in the medical field before nursing school. I typically have a iron stomach and am able to hold my gag reflex well. Flash forward to my first semester of nursing school when we did clinical in a nursing home. I had several "poop parties" to attend to. I gagged, I had to step out of the room so I didn't vomit everywhere... i felt so defeated. (And my instructor told me I wouldn't be able to be a nurse if I couldn't deal with poop). I cleaned up another patient and same thing (but less dramatic), And then another and it got better. After 2 years of cleaning up feces I am PROUD to say I can clean up poop without gagging. HOORAY! :) What I've done is stop thinking about the poop and letting my mind take over, and bring my mind somewhere else. Works like a charm every time. Good luck to ya!

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

My school had its first clinical as soon as we learned enough in the classroom to safely attend a weeklong session in a nursing home to performed nurse's aide duties. This was six weeks into it and bring on the poop! My worst was a poop facial (the patient-not me). This was well after graduation and I was feeding a patient (primary care). He was clean ten minutes earlier when I checked his backside but he had left me a special something since then. I asked him if he wanted some oatmeal. He responded by taking his hand out from the covers, wiping his cheeks and was going for his eyes when I realized what he was doing and had to grab his arm and gently move it away from his face. I went to get wash towels, linen, and soap. This was the only time I think I really had to hold back vomit. Dementia is a terrible thing. I worked in a hospital where the most common diagnosis was nausea/vomiting/diarrhea. I got used to poop real fast with half my patients receiving tap water enemas until clear before their colonoscopies. Trust me. You get used to it. Now, the only poop I cannot stand the smell of and makes me want to vomit is in my cats literbox. I CANNOT stand cat poop.

Dont worry about this being the end of your career. No one likes a code brown, if you did then I'd be more worried.