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

[WannaBCRNA]

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.

[EmmaG, RN]

A lot of these posts are pretty harsh IMHO. I'm a wee bit fed up with older nurses rolling their eyes and muttering about young university trained nurses not being able to deal with the realities blah blah blah. Get over it. I suggest you remember how you felt when confronted with some of the more smellier aspects of nursing.

Perhaps you two should go back and re-read the thread title and the initial post. It wasn't just about the "smellier" aspects of nursing:

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

"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..."

Now go to some threads where students and new grads worry about ever being able to deal with bodily fluids/stool, and read the responses.

Big difference here.

And I stand by my first post in this thread. This person is headed into the wrong field if they want "nothing to do" with caring for the basic needs of others.

Get over it, indeed.

[Djuna]

A lot of these posts are pretty harsh IMHO. I'm a wee bit fed up with older nurses rolling their eyes and muttering about young university trained nurses not being able to deal with the realities blah blah blah. Get over it. I suggest you remember how you felt when confronted with some of the more smellier aspects of nursing. They don't really expose you with this sort of thing when your training at uni and it can be a difficult thing to deal with.

Even if students are not exposed to the smellier, dirtier aspects of nursing at university, you can't tell me people are unaware nurses do those sort of jobs. And if they don't know, don't you think you would do some research into what nursing actually entails before you begin your training?

[Scrubby]

["In clinicals we just give baths, clean up poop and puke, and feed patients]

So what? If that's all i ever did as a student i'd probably get sick and tired of it as well. In fact, i do recall feeling exactly the same way before i was allowed to do more of the exciting stuff.

Of course it's part of some areas of nursing but i really don't think it's fair to jump on someone for expressing how they feel.

[This person is headed into the wrong field if they want "nothing to do" with caring for the basic needs of others.]

As has been previously pointed out, there are some nursing areas that you don't have to deal with this sort of thing all day everyday. Saying 'go into another field' is to me sounds a bit intolerant.

[Even if students are not exposed to the smellier, dirtier aspects of nursing at university, you can't tell me people are unaware nurses do those sort of jobs.]

Of course i was aware but being aware and actually doing it are two different things.

I chose to work in theatre as a scrub nurse. I very rarely clean up faeces and vomit, never give baths or even feed a person. Does this make me less of a nurse? I would never balk at giving this sort of care or palm it off to an enrolled nurse, but i would never choose to work in an area in which this was a daily thing either.

[doe9181]

From what I've been seeing, I think it's very true. At least in the US. Things may be different in Oz.

I'm a new grad (well I've been a nurse for a year) and I have no problem helping my CNA's and getting my hands dirty and neither do any of the other 50 people I graduated with. If anything I notice the older, more experienced nurses will let their patients sit in poop while they run wild looking for the techs to do all their dirty work. I see it all the time.

[swee2000]

while i agree that the crux of nursing is bedside/direct care, they are plenty of "sanitary" areas that do not involve direct care. the opinions that i see here are that cleaning up patients is part of being a nurse. so am i to infer that those of us who are not involved in that on a day to day basis are not "real" nurses?? i beg to differ....

the fact of the matter is that there are areas a nurse can work, and not routinely be confronted with bodily functions, and it is unfair to define your professional value by the amount of poop you sling.

that being said, i cleaned up my fair share of pee, poop, vomit, snot, blood and so on to get where i am today. case management is not an area for the new grad.

and even then...you never really get away from it.....just over a year ago, i had a new rn colleague eating lunch with us. as our group drifted back to the office, the two of us lagged behind...and i watched the blood drain out of her face, her cheeks filled up, and the vomit squirted between her fingers....right on to my shoes. so, since the rest of the group had no idea what was happening, i led her to the bathroom, and helped her clean up (bare-handed by the way, since you dont keep ppe in a business office) guess you can run, but you cant hide!!!

although i've strayed from my point, i think that everyone is doing a disservice to the op by so brazenly attacking her. remember that she is a student, does not have the benefit of having cleaned up countless piles of poop and puddles of pee. i doubt that any of the posters here did the happy dance the first time they were confronted with the challenge. why not show the girl a little support? if i were in her shoes, i might reconsider my career choice as well, not because of some pee and poop, but because of the response i got here.

i don't think anyone said or meant that one is less of a nurse just because they don't deal with patients losing their bodily fluids on a day-to-day basis. rather, the argument being made is that some nurses....and i stress the word some....come across with this "holier than though/i'm above the law/i'm too good for that" attitude. thus, it is beneath them as nurses if they are ever asked or expected to do the tedious "cna tasks" because now that they have a bunch of initials after their name, doing anything more than what an rn or lpn does would be wrong and tarnishing to their reputation. guess what? i'm an lpn who bathes & toilets patients every day in addition to doing assessments(data collections), administering meds, etc. am i less of a nurse for doing so? no! am i more of a nurse for dong so? no! does it make me feel like i'm "doing the cna work"? no! to me, it's all a part of nursing!!

as i mentioned in an earlier post, what did nurses do back in the day when they didn't have cnas? did they just leave the patients to soak in their own urine or stool, only to realize this leads to skin breakdown on top of other problems? or did they dive in and care for the patient at one of their most important times of need? some of us need to get off our high horses and bring our egos back down to reality.

[EmmaG, RN]

["In clinicals we just give baths, clean up poop and puke, and feed patients]

So what? If that's all i ever did as a student i'd probably get sick and tired of it as well. In fact, i do recall feeling exactly the same way before i was allowed to do more of the exciting stuff.

Being fed and kept clean in a respectful, dignified manner can be pretty exciting when you're unable to do it for yourself.

[Scrubby]

[being fed and kept clean in a respectful, dignified manner can be pretty exciting when you're unable to do it for yourself.]

emmanuel goldstein i could not agree more. total patient care is an integral part of nursing.

from reading wannabcrna's initial post i gained the impression of someone who is fed up doing what they consider to be the less exciting part of nursing care and wants to do other things. i can empathize with how they feel because i have been there. i just don't think it's fair to say go change your career aspirations your in the wrong field etc. and comments such as 'whats the deal these days with new grads' etc and 'stepford nurses' really annoy me because it's a very negative attitude. wannabcrna may make a fantastic nurse for all we know and we should be showing support and empathy.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

lol, i am having a hard time getting past this... i am fixin to leave for work and when i am getting poo clung at me today im gonna remember ....ok now don't panic...just embrace the poo...lolololol:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

seriously... you've got to learn to love your inner poo. celebrate the poo. embrace the poo.

it's all about the poo.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

You do where I live....

Where is that?

I have a friend who's been a psych nurse for 20+ years. She's a diploma RN.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

Perhaps you two should go back and re-read the thread title and the initial post. It wasn't just about the "smellier" aspects of nursing:

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

"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..."

Now go to some threads where students and new grads worry about ever being able to deal with bodily fluids/stool, and read the responses.

Big difference here.

And I stand by my first post in this thread. This person is headed into the wrong field if they want "nothing to do" with caring for the basic needs of others.

Get over it, indeed.

Exactly- I agree totally.

Some here have stated that my comments were rude- but I stand by them. I called it like I saw it. I did not say those things to be rude- but to be completely honest and express the impression I got from the OP. I felt she was saying "Tell me how I can be a nurse without really having to be a nurse."

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

A lot of these posts are pretty harsh IMHO. I'm a wee bit fed up with older nurses rolling their eyes and muttering about young university trained nurses not being able to deal with the realities blah blah blah. Get over it. I suggest you remember how you felt when confronted with some of the more smellier aspects of nursing. They don't really expose you with this sort of thing when your training at uni and it can be a difficult thing to deal with.

(my bolding)

My mother-in-law is an RN, PhD, Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is also a respected published author, head of a teaching hospital's research dept, and serves as an expert witness in court cases.

She does not feel that she is above the grittier aspects of nursing. She still regulary works the hospital floor to maintain contact with the every-day realities of nursing.

The OP wrote that she does not even want to give bed baths.

A couple of Thanksgivings ago, I was visiting my MIL when her elderly neighbor had an accident in his front yard, and bloodied himself from head to toe.

My "university trained" mil did not stand back and let me- an ADN RN- deal it. She jumped right in and got her nice holiday outfit all bloody, just like I did.

Also, when I was an LPN at an inpt hospice unit, one of the best RNs there was a PhD RN. She did plan to go into the "higher" aspects of nursing, but she said she felt she would not be an authentic nurse, and would not feel personally credible as a nurse scholar without paying her dues, and experiencing direct pt care.

There is nothing wrong with working in the less carnal areas of nursing- but I do feel there is something wrong with wanting to step right over the fundamentals of nursing to do it.

To quote E. Goldstein- Get over it, indeed.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

I'm a new grad (well I've been a nurse for a year) and I have no problem helping my CNA's and getting my hands dirty and neither do any of the other 50 people I graduated with. If anything I notice the older, more experienced nurses will let their patients sit in poop while they run wild looking for the techs to do all their dirty work. I see it all the time.

Your experience is very different from mine.

I was a CNA for three years, an LPN for eight ,and have been an RN for seven.

I work in dialysis, where the techs do not undergo CNA training and are not taught how to deal with incontinance. Recently, a pt on tx soiled himself. The tech ran right over to me and said "You have a degree in this crap. You deal with it."

There are a lot of dialysis techs who love doing needle cannulations, and giving heparin, but they shrink from anything that is "gross" or "not cool."

In my experience, it doesn't matter if you are an CNA, an RN, or whatever. A person who has a good work ethic and is a team player will dive right in and take care of things.

Education level and experience have little to do with it.