Don't wanna always give baths, clean up feces, etc., where to work?

Nurses General Nursing

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In clinicals we just give baths, clean up poop and puke, and feed patients. I honestly want nothing to do with this once I'm a nurse, so, where/what floors can I work on as a new grad, in order to avoid this? I do have an interest in Psych nursing.

Specializes in Telemetry, Oncology, Progressive Care.

The only bodily function I can envison a doctor having any part of blood and that's because they're a surgeon. I can just picture it now: doctor is in patient's room and pt is vomiting. The doctor comes out all flustered and stuttering saying umm, umm, umm "your" patient is throwing up. So then there goes the nurse to save the day.

When I had my psych rotation I didn't have to clean up feces but we did do a digital disempaction and a soap suds enema. Personally I'd love to clean up poop over doing that any day. I just don't really find it appealing to stick my finger up someone's but. But one has to do what one has to do. Of course after you do those then there comes the poop and then they will need to be cleaned.

Why exactly are you going into nursing? As a nurse I'm not constantly cleaning and bathing patients. On the occassion I do it I actually get to talk to my patients and find out things I might not otherwise have been able to talk to them about. I am not one of those nurses who will look the other way because I don't want to clean them up. I just don't have time to do their daily baths on top of doing their assessments, passing meds, charting, checking labs, and doing orders.

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if i was sick and could not help myself, i would want some one to clean me up and so i dont have a problem cleaning up another person who cant do it because they are too sick

nursing is a field for the compassionate and humble

if you dont have those then you are i the wrong field and you may be miserable

Some people need it for grad school, and have no interest in the dirty part. I don't say this to be rude, but people like that do represent a significant minority in the nursing profession.

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You don't do it everywhere. Where I'm in my clinicals now they have NO CNA's at all, only RN's and LPN's, so they do everything.

However, I have a friend that is an RN in a major city and she hasn't touched a bedpan in 15 years....management doesn't WANT them to give baths, etc...b/c they have extensive CNA staffing, and they want them to utililize their time doing other things.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2: If people only knew!

ebear

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Specializes in MR Peds, geris, psych, DON,ADON,SSD.
In clinicals we just give baths, clean up poop and puke, and feed patients. I honestly want nothing to do with this once I'm a nurse, so, where/what floors can I work on as a new grad, in order to avoid this? I do have an interest in Psych nursing.

Psych nursing is not a "breeze" either. you dont have to clean up poop or puke or even give baths. However, you DO have the clients who come to your office that need a bath, smell like poop or puke. Not to mention the clients who commit suicide or attempt to do so.

it is very emotionally draining.

you get yelled at on a daily basis about something or other, every thing that happens with your clients is your fault some how.

you are going to have to "work" no matter what you do......if you dont want to work......... DON'T BE A NURSE.

i love psych nursing.........and i've done EVERYTHING as a nurse of 24 years. maybe you should rethink the nurse thing

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Seriously... you've got to learn to love your inner poo. Celebrate the poo. Embrace the poo.

It's all about the poo.

:lol2::lol2: Too funny! I think most of us have involuntarily embraced the poo at one point or another. :lol2::lol2:

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Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.

Cleaning up poop is a lot less work than when a pt. doesn't move his bowels. ;) I also concur with the poster that stated that w/more exposure, the shock dessimates. At this point, my take is 'as long as it's out, I don't care'. Nobody likes doing it, but it's only part of the job, not all of it.

Besides, I would rather deal with body fluids the whole shift, than the bs (pun intended) of workplace politics anyday.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

[bANANA]Cleaning poo bothers you?????[/bANANA]

[MOUSE]Maybe you can get your masters of nursing, and go work for the government setting up guidelines for how bedside nurses clean poo?[/MOUSE]

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Specializes in Psych, Assertive Community Resource Team.

I'm going to say something not so popular but here goes anyway. I graduate in 3 weeks from nursing school and I just accepted a position at an acute care psychiatric facility on a unit that only admits 18-50 y\o males with schizophrenia who are ambulatory and self-care.

I sought this job out because a) I love treating patients with schizophrenia and b) I hate cleaning up feces and I know this type of patient is going to be 99% continent.

Say what you will about me, but I can recognize my own weaknesses and I know that if I took a position in geri-psych or med-psych I would be unhappy because everyday I would dread the "code brown". Lots of nurses do this. Nurses who hate phlegm and mouth secretions probably avoid jobs with a majority of vent patients, and nurses who despise vomit would probably avoid an oncology floor.

I'm not "above" poop, I just don't think I could be happy in a job where is was an everyday reality. I've cleaned up my share during nursing school as a student and as a tech at a regular psychiatric facility. I am taking a pay cut to leave the facility where I am at to go to this new job because I know we have started admitting far to many nursing home patients, and that is just not the patient population I got in to psych nursing to work with. I won't ever "get over it", I know I won't and I'm not ashamed to say that my niche in nursing involves no poop or bathing contact. I'm still a going to be a damned good nurse and I will do everything to help my patients with what they need.

P.S. Too the poster who thought you had to have a BSN to be a psych nurse... thats not true! I am graduating with my ASN, but I do have a BS in psychology, although that is not required. Most every nurse that works on my floor, even our unit supervisor, has an ASN. Good luck!

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Where else can you work that you actually look forward to someone breaking wind? And if they poo, why that's cause for celebration! poop.gif

As far as docs go, I guess I was very lucky... ours would pitch right in if need be.

We love da poo!

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You don't need a BSN to be a psych nurse- but psych pts have bodily functions, too.

I'd rather clean up a bottom than have no clue when they have last had a BM! A psych patient is not always interested in sharing when they've last had a good poop.

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Specializes in M/S/Ortho/Bari/ED.

LOL!

Nice you tube clip...:rotfl: Emmanuel, you crack me up! Thanks for the laugh, I needed it!

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