Do you have to deal with these?

nursestudentx · Apr 17, 2005

also this forum confuses me because one nurse says one thing and the other one says something else. i still dont know what a RN really goes through at work and what they do on their "typical day" if there is such a thing :)

i know there are a lot of dedicated nurses on this forum, but there must be some things that you dont like about your job becasue there seems to be no such thing as "the perfect job" can you share some of the downs of being a nurse so those wont catch me off guard alter?

or better yet, give me any career (not including nursing) advices or stories so i can consider other career options if i find that nursing would not be right for me. there seems to be no adult around me who can help me with my situation right now and i am lost. thank you

Fluesy · Apr 17, 2005

one of the many reasons that there are clinical components to every nursing course is that it lets you see what the job is really about. our job is incredibly varied from place to place and from day to day.

most commonly we have to deal with the bodily functions of human beings and things that leak and ooze. it is not pretty it is not glamorous but it is rewarding. we get dumped on a lot by other professions and are often the ones at the end of the "find a scapegoat" line.

it is difficult demanding work.

it is not for everyone.

nursestudentx · Apr 17, 2005

arent there nurses who just do paperworks/organizing,ordering,filing etc at hospitals? or are they not nurses?

also i dont understand why you would have to deal with poo and pee in the ER. arent most of the pts there for short term visits? and how do you clean them? and what do you clean? bowls? clothes? i think this is the only problem that i find with nursing. nurses should be comopensated with higher salaries

Dixielee, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2005

arent there nurses who just do paperworks/organizing,ordering,filing etc at hospitals? or are they not nurses?

It sounds like you need to talk to a career counselor at your school. They offer a battery of aptitude tests that help you focus on your stong points and your weak points, likes and dislikes. As far as describing a typical day, that is impossible as there are as many differences as there are days. An ER nurses will be nothing like a home health nurse, and OB nurse, or a med surg nurse. Every area is different, every day is different, every nurse and every patient are different. That is why we can not put in a box what we do everyday. When you are dealing with human beings and not machines, you can not predict what will happen. That is one of the challenges and part of the reward.

There are plenty of people who do paperwork, ordering, filing etc, but they are generally not nurses. Most people go into nursing so they can help people, and know going in that there are unpleasant things that go with this path. I personally would rather clean up emesis, urine and feces all day rather than do endless, redundant paperwork. We all have our niche in the world. Yours just may not be nursing.

nursestudentx · Apr 17, 2005

really. i wouldnt want to do paperwork for the rest of my life either but i also dont want to clean other people's dirty poop! or maybe im just being immature right now :stone

time's running out and im really stressing. i feel like im rushing into making a decision and im asking all sorts of weird questions for no reason at all. i really think im overacting now. i think i want to be a nurse but im finding excuses to why i wont like nursing. again i dont know why. i wish i can live like a spoiled hollywood star's daughter and never have to deal with this and live doing whatever i want to do, whether it be spending my money or partying :rotfl: my head is going to explode anytime soon now! :chuckle

nursestudentx · Apr 17, 2005

are there any RNs who work in the ED that can give me some sort of idea of what it would be like working in the ED?

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2005

Yes! Some people are only in the ER for a short time but let me tell you about the last Diarrhea epidemic we had - and guess where everyone ended up - and guess what? Not all of them made it to the toilet in time, many were feeling very ill and not up to helping themselves so guess who got to..........

The ER clientelle is not a high society lady who has cut her finger paring an apple - it is more often a homeless person who has come in with rotten (literally!!) feet. Who has not had a bath for 10 years and has open runny sores.

I suggest you read THIS thread

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20151

It IS refective of what our job is and there is NO escaping some of this - no matter where you work in nursing you have had to walk through this to get there.

nursestudentx · Apr 17, 2005

OH MY......

i only read the first post and ewwwwww.......but im sure things like that happen RARELY right? hope so!

it seems like working in the OB would be the best for me pt sanitary wise xD i LOVE babies anyways..i still do want to work in the ED though..uhhhhhh

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2005

Wrong!!! You seem intent on believing that nursing is this "look at the chart and smile at the doctor" world. Sorry not so. We deal with EVERYTHING often on a daily basis (and BELIEVE ME you have done NOTHING until you have had to clean up your first C. Diff or your first Melena). That is what the job is about, Doing for someone what they cannot do for themselves. I have worked Accident and Emergency and it is a rare, rare night that someone is not vomiting, has a gross out nasty wound (and even the clean ones can gross you out - try watching a tongue being sutured and the patient is still talking and everytime they move that tongue the edges of the wound open), has diarrhoea or has an infection somewhere that is letting you know in no uncertain terms that it is there.

gwenith, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2005

it seems like working in the OB would be the best for me pt sanitary wise xD i LOVE babies anyways..i still do want to work in the ED though..uhhhhhh

Again you are deluding yourself if you think you can escape the "gross" parts of nursing by doing this. Firstly you will have to deal with those "gross" parts in clinical and secondly L&D can be one of the grossest places to work.

Not everyone is an upper class well manicured woman having her first and much loved child. You can and will have to deal with the drugged out young mother who has been earning her living as a prostitute, has sexually transmitted diseases that even the CDC doesn't know about and who has not changed her underwear in over a year. And she is about to give birth. Her waters have just broken - which means large amounts of fluid and she is delivering a baby that has been dead for some time.

Still think this is a viable option?

LPN1974, LPN · Apr 17, 2005

Nursing is a hard job. Not everyone can do it. Nurses help people who are sick and can't help themselves. That INCLUDES cleaning up pee, poop, vomit, blood, and any other body fluids you can think of. It's all there, and when someone is really sick they have no control over their body functions it's gonna come out...no way around it. And the nurse cleans them up...she gets the soiled clothing off of them , she gets water, wash cloths, shower chairs, gets whatever equipment she needs and she proceeds to clean up the mess her patient is in.

You either love this type of work or you have to get out. It's not glamorous....it's a get down/get dirty job, and then on the OTHER hand it has numerous multiple rewards, that if you love helping and taking care of people, NO other job can suffice.

It really sounds like you need some career counseling, or you might need to take a CNA class and work as a CNA for a few months. That gives basic nursing skills....if you can handle being a CNA you would have a good chance at being a nurse.

And keep in mind, if you want to work with babies, even they poop and pee and vomit.

How far are you in nursing school or have you started yet?

If you haven't started yet, if I were you, I would seriously consider investigating this field further before making any commitments to a nursing program.

You need to know what you're getting into.

Do you not know any nurses that you could talk to and visit with before making your decisions? If you don't, you might should consider the CNA class and working there for a few months.

MrsWampthang, BSN, RN · Apr 17, 2005

OH MY......
i only read the first post and ewwwwww.......but im sure things like that happen RARELY right? hope so!

Things like that happen only rarely?! NOT!!!!!!! I notice from your profile that you are just 19 going on twenty. Oh honey, you certainly have your whole life ahead of you to decide "what you want to be when you grow up." :chuckle

I was almost 42 when I finally realized what I wanted to do now that I was finally a grown up.......maybe.......that was the year that I graduated from nursing school after working for 12 years as a paramedic.

You don't say if you are living on your own or living with parents. It is good that you are getting your general ed classes out of the way first. I can tell you that your first biology and physiology class will tell you a lot about whether you want to go any further into any type of science path. Microbiology is no picnic either. And those are just the pre-reqs to any type of healthcare pathway. You think pee and poo smell bad, wait till you've smelled your first animal cadaver and had to dissect them on top of that! Nothing like the smell of formaldhyde. :chair:

I'm not sure there are very many people your age who really do know what they want to do with their lives, so don't feel bad if you don't. Hang in there and keep searching. When you find the career you want, you will know, because you will want to work there whether you get paid or not. At nineteen, maybe you could see about getting a very part-time job as a CNA or something. That would tell you if nursing is going to be something you might like, before you get too far down the nursing school road.

Another career you might think about is medical assistant or dental assistant. The pay might not be great, but the hours would probably be more reasonable, and you could work in an office where you might not be as likely to deal with unexpected body fluid leaks. As least not as much as in a LTC facility or a hospital. It would also be a good way to get your feet wet in the healthcare field.

Just putting in my two cents from someone who has been around the block a few too many times. Again, don't worry yet about not knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life, just hang in there with your studies and see where that takes you. Good luck!

Pam