Do you have to start out in a hospital?

SarasotaRN2b · Aug 8, 2005

Can you? maybe, yes...but you are still going to have to deal with "poo" during your nursing school clinicals. Also, many doctor's offices, I believe, are going to look for nurses with more experience.

No one, I'm sure likes to work with "poo," but it is a bodily function that we all do. I'm sure that a majority of the patients you are going to work with aren't going to feel any more comfortable having someone involved in such a private matter, but they don't have much choice either.

elkpark · Aug 9, 2005

Can you get a job fresh out of school in a non-hospital setting? Sure, probably, if you look long and hard enough. Is it a good idea? Probably not ...

Keep in mind that just getting through school will involve at least 2 years of clinical experiences in which you will not have the option of avoiding bodily fluids/waste -- by the time you get through with all that, it won't seem like such a big deal.

December716 · Aug 9, 2005

I didn't know how I was going to deal with poo when I started my CNA training. I'd never even changed a babies diaper! But honestly, it's not that bad. If I can do it, anyone can. You kind of enter a different mindset, at least I do, where this is what needs to be done. It's not bad at all.

Annabelle57 · Aug 11, 2005

I'm thinking about going back to school for nursing, and still trying to evaluate if I have what it takes to do it well, as well as the disposition to enjoy it.
I'm not especially sqeamish. Blood and bodily fluids don't bother me. However, I really don't want to deal with poo. I have thought I might enjoy working in a derm's office, for example. Can a new nurse start out somewhere other than a hospital, and are there 'non-poo' nursing options, lol?

There are non-poo options, or at least less poo options out there. However, I second everyone here: you're gonna do a whole bunch of cleaning up as a student. Poo, pee, barf, blood, loogeys, you name it! You have to get through school, and you'll probably have to deal with that stuff in clinicals. I had a friend of mine who was disgusted at the idea of sticking a needle in someone - she was okay with the rest of it, but she dreaded the phlebotomy part. She's an old pro at it now, thanks to school: you get over that stuff real quick. And any mom can tell you that you get over the poo fear once you have a little one on your hands - they can really fill up those diapers!

Don't limit yourself just yet. See what school does for you and how you feel after it's done, and you may find that those things that bugged you before aren't so bothersome anymore.

Best wishes!

student4ever · Aug 11, 2005

I second what everyone else has said - you will see, smell, and possibly get covered in plenty of poo during school. But, you will get over it. I always just try and make my patient feel as comfortable as possible when I'm cleaning them up. Laugh, joke, talk to them to take both their mind and mine off the task at hand. Also, I take pride in doing the cleaning job well. They're embarrassed enough to have someone else wiping their A$$ for them, they don't need to be left half clean because I'm too grossed out by it I can't hardly stand to look at them while I'm doing my job. I look at it as a challenge - get this butt cleaner and drier than it's ever been. When you look at it that way, you don't really see the poo - it's just a cleaning job. And if the smell is too bad, wear a mask and say you have a cold. Or carry a bottle of vicks vaporub around with you and spread a little in each nostril before entering the room. You won't smell a thing! Patient not offended, you're not gagging, everyone's happy, clean and dry! :chuckle

Nurse Ratched, RN · Aug 11, 2005

As you can see, many folks have wondered whether or not they had the constitution for certain of the messier aspects of nursing. You'll very likely desensitize to it, and while it's never a party, I'm sure you'll eventually find it tolerable (and, alas, an unavoidable part of the schooling.) Good luck!